12V Electrical Problem ('08 Essex 4508)

[BonanzaFlyer]

On a recent trip I encountered an interesting electircal problem.

Upon arriving home, I turned on the docking lights to assist with parking. They were on for about 15 seconds, then when off. I assumed a fuse blew, but when I checked it, the fuse was fine. I then notice there were several things that were not functioning properly. When I turn on any of the following switches (from the center console: dock lights, step cover, entry lock, dash AC switch; driver-side console: driver window, fog lights; and the baggage door lock switch right of the passenger seat) the TripTek overlay on the Pioneer screen on the center console disappears and the tire pressure warning light goes on. When the switch is turned off, the checklist reappears on the Pioneer screen. The Trip Tek appears to be reset when any of those switches are operated. The same happens when I operate the entry and baggage door remote switches. Also, I noticed with all these switches in the off position, I am not getting any tire pressure/temperature readings.

I have checked all fuses in the green Newmar fuse panel in the compartment below the driver's window and they are all fine. Interestingly, all these switches with the exception of the dash air conditioner are colocated on this circuit board.

I also notice while I was traveling in the coach this past week that movements in the coach chassis or a bump in the road had the same effect, it reset the TripTek, cleared whatever was displayed on the Panasonic navigation screen, and then redisplayed the starting checklist. This was even happening after I removed the TripTek fuse from the fuse box under the driver’s window.

Has anybody seen or heard of this before? Is there a recommended approach to narrowing this down? Any help is much appreciated.

Mike

[soricobob]

When this happened to me it took several technicians, in several places, over the course of two months, and phone calls to Newmar to figure it out. Turns out it was a loose connection behind the speedometer. One group of wires was loosened from another whenever we hit a bump. Finally a "mobile tech" in West Yellowstone fixed it with Newmar's (Tom) help (access was from below and behind steering column-no dash removal needed).

[BonanzaFlyer]

Before I reach out to Newmar for support, I just wanted understand how similar the symptoms were?

[RVDude]

Classic some wire/connector/ground is loose symptom.

Here's another thing to check. This one is easy. Go in the ODS (off door side) forward outside compartment where all the electrical stuff is. On the main blocks that are mounted on the left wall as you are looking directly into the compartment (the same wall that is the front of the RV) are 2 or 3 stud bolts with a stack of lugged wires on them. A master ground and a hot if I recall. Tighten those nuts up a notch using a socket wrench and being careful on the hot one.

Might do the trick and worth doing anyway!

[soricobob]

The symptoms I had: whenever I hit a bump (and this was from San Diego-to- Reno-to-Oregon-to-West Yellowstone) the rear view went blank(next bump it would come on), at the same time the lights illuminating the dash switches would go out (as would their function) or come back on. Very dangerous situation when passing (and not having rear view). There seemed to be an accompanying "clunk" in the wall near the passenger seat, but we never were able to relate it to anything (and when the problem was fixed that noise went away).

[BonanzaFlyer]

Thanks, I will follow-up with Newmar tomorrow and post what I hear.

[BonanzaFlyer]

Feedback I received from Newmar: "It could be a ground issue. There are a couple places you would need to check. First check the batteries to see if there are any loose ground cables (should be white). Also most of those switches attach to a ground behind the dash and will need to be checked to see if they are loose. The grounds attach to a metal clip and larger ground that goes to the batteries. You should be able to access this by removing the center part of the dash around the radio."

I will be working on this over the weekend and will post my results.