Community Forums

farmertom · 01-02-2017, 04:08 PM

After sitting in my enclosed shed for about a month after our last trip the comfort drive on my 09 Ventanna isi not working. When I parked it was working and now is not. Have checked wiring and fuses although not sure which fuse one labeled steering column was good as well as instrument panel.
All power wires seem to be hot going into CD unit as well as one wire going into control adjustment knob. The diagnostic bulletin reported on this site suggests a wake up procedure and I do not think I am getting the click when I turn the ignition swtich on. If anyone has experience with a good service technician in central Louisiana that is familiar with CD I would appreciate the help. Power seems to be going to unit but wake up procedure does not work. Thanks in advance and a blessed New Year!!!!

palehorse89 · 01-02-2017, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farmertom

After sitting in my enclosed shed for about a month after our last trip the comfort drive on my 09 Ventanna isi not working. When I parked it was working and now is not. Have checked wiring and fuses although not sure which fuse one labeled steering column was good as well as instrument panel.
All power wires seem to be hot going into CD unit as well as one wire going into control adjustment knob. The diagnostic bulletin reported on this site suggests a wake up procedure and I do not think I am getting the click when I turn the ignition swtich on. If anyone has experience with a good service technician in central Louisiana that is familiar with CD I would appreciate the help. Power seems to be going to unit but wake up procedure does not work. Thanks in advance and a blessed New Year!!!!

First thing I would do is shoot Ken Sherwin a PM ,as he is the man that invented the Comfort Drive, he is retired now, but is active on here and always willing to help.......
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/an-a...se-297696.html

KenSherwin · 01-02-2017, 05:43 PM

The PM isn't necessary. The best way to solve this since the quick fix didn't work is to have a heavy truck technician run the diagnostic program on it. This free program is available at trucksteering.com/diagnostics, then click on 'ReAX/ColumnDrive Diagnostic Program'. The instructions are right beside it.

The only requirement is that the technician have an RP1210-compliant J1939 diagnostics reader as all good ones will. They do not need to be familiar with Comfort Drive because, frankly, very few of them are. The instructions with the diagnostic program will lead them through what needs checked.

Let me know what you find out.

Ken

You might want to download the instructions and review what gets done so you can talk to the technicians

palehorse89 · 01-02-2017, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenSherwin

The PM isn't necessary. The best way to solve this since the quick fix didn't work is to have a heavy truck technician run the diagnostic program on it. This free program is available at trucksteering.com/diagnostics, then click on 'ReAX/ColumnDrive Diagnostic Program'. The instructions are right beside it.

The only requirement is that the technician have an RP1210-compliant J1939 diagnostics reader as all good ones will. They do not need to be familiar with Comfort Drive because, frankly, very few of them are. The instructions with the diagnostic program will lead them through what needs checked.

Let me know what you find out.

Ken

You might want to download the instructions and review what gets done so you can talk to the technicians

You are right on top of things , as always Ken!
Hope you had a wonderful Christmas Holiday

KenSherwin · 01-02-2017, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by palehorse89

You are right on top of things , as always Ken!

I'm not always this quick. Sometimes Dirk (Route 66) has to get my attention first. I beat him to it this time, though.

rebelsbeach · 01-02-2017, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KenSherwin

I'm not always this quick. Sometimes Dirk (Route 66) has to get my attention first. I beat him to it this time, though.

7:00 P.M. is past Dirk's bedtime...

Nice "seeing" you Ken, here's wishing you a Happy and Healthy New Year

akadeadeye · 01-02-2017, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by farmertom

After sitting in my enclosed shed for about a month after our last trip the comfort drive on my 09 Ventanna isi not working. When I parked it was working and now is not. Have checked wiring and fuses although not sure which fuse one labeled steering column was good as well as instrument panel.
All power wires seem to be hot going into CD unit as well as one wire going into control adjustment knob. The diagnostic bulletin reported on this site suggests a wake up procedure and I do not think I am getting the click when I turn the ignition swtich on. If anyone has experience with a good service technician in central Louisiana that is familiar with CD I would appreciate the help. Power seems to be going to unit but wake up procedure does not work. Thanks in advance and a blessed New Year!!!!

I am not familiar with the "wake up procedure". Can you direct me to that information please?

Don

farmertom · 01-02-2017, 06:25 PM

Thanks Ken. I had followed your other reply's here and was hoping you would have suggestion. Will make phone calls am and try and get rolling on this as we have travel plans starting mid Jan. Will let you know what we come up with.

farmertom · 01-02-2017, 07:38 PM

Don, TRW ColumnDrive Diagnostics in google or "quick tips and modifications 3" in forum will have link to this information. That has procedure for wake up. Hope this helps

KenSherwin · 01-02-2017, 09:41 PM

One more thing I just remembered. Do NOT let anybody take your CD out or replace it without running the diagnostic program first. Before I created that diagnostic, there was nothing wrong with more than 90% of the units we got back. Hammer mechanics were just throwing parts (and your money !) at the issues. Make sure you actually have a fault code that comes back, even after being cleared before anybody gets out a wrench.

KenSherwin · 01-03-2017, 07:32 AM

I'm a little confused here. According to me email notifications, Farmertom me a message that says:

Ken can a laptop be used for diagnostic if I have correct adapter and program downloaded. Looking at instructions it appears to be pretty much straight forward where issues could be. Thanks

but the message did not show up in my inbox. I thought it might be interesting to others so I copied it here.

Of course you can download and use the diagnostic program yourself if you have a suitable adapter. As far as I know, all RP1210-compliant adapters convert the J1939 messages in the coach (as read on the round 9-pin connector under the dash or the one near the engine) to a USB format. A Windows laptop would be most convenient for the USB end.

When I googled 'rp1210 adapter' just now, I got over 1,000 hits, many of which are sources to purchase one. I used adapters from DG Technologies, Noregon, and Nexiq but those are in the neighborhood of $700. I see some others that are cheaper but I have not tried them. Theoretically, anything that is RP1210-compatible should work because that was the specific intent of RP1210.

As for where you can learn to use the specific diagnostic program for your Comfort Drive, the accompanying instructions are intended to take somebody who can read (and actually follow !!!) them all the way through the testing. Remember that the target audience for that program has most likely never been close to a CD. One slightly confusing point that needs cleared up is the name of system that is being tested.

'Comfort Drive' is the marketing name that Newmar uses. It was thought up by Barney Barnett and I'm still mad at him because I didn't think of it first!
'ColumnDrive' is the name TRW has used for the first and second generation systems. The second generation hardware looks and works identically to the first generation hardware with the addition of optional driver-controllable steering efforts. Motor homes typically use this but transit buses do not.
'ReAX' is the name TRW is using for the 3rd generation system that will use a completely different motor system and this one is still in development. This system is running around in various places in Engineering test vehicles but is not commercially available yet. When I left, the diagnostic program and the ReAX program had both been updated to work together.

Short version --- different names, same system.

Another name to clear up is who made it. I, along with a very few others, started working on this system at Commercial Steering Division of TRW Automotive in 2000. For you old guys (I mean OLD guys), that was originally Ross Gear and Tool Company. TRW bought Ross Gear in 1964 and then sold the Ross name around 1988.

Where it gets interesting is that a couple of years ago, our major world-wide competitor ZF purchased TRW Automotive and called the whole thing ZF TRW.

Since I retired in June, the Commercial Steering Division that makes parts for big vehicles including motorhomes, was folded into the heavy truck division of ZF and the TRW name has been erased.

Short version --- different names, same company.

All of this is intended to explain why the diagnostic program does not say 'Comfort Drive' anyplace on it but it does say 'ZF TRW'.

I hope all this does not overwhelm the original question of 'Can I do this myself?' or the answer of 'yes'.

farmertom · 01-03-2017, 04:03 PM

Thanks Ken, I probably entered your message in wrong spot. I did not have luck with local heavy truck mechanics but was able to find certified (for what that's worth) Spartan shop about a hour from here. They have diagnostic ability. Will be able to have it looked at on 18th. I tried disconnecting batteries and another wake up today and that also did no good. Thanks for making your expertise available.

spinn · 01-03-2017, 09:45 PM

Ken has saved me before in CD crisis and I have learned some lessons! So this prompts me to ask if FarmerTom, when he stored his coach, have the wheels cut hard when he turned the engine off?

farmertom · 01-04-2017, 07:59 AM

Steve, thanks for suggestion. I'm not certain, but usually with CD in past when the steering wheel is released it pretty much returns to center. Also the way my shed is built (narrow and deep) the wheels are straight when I'm parked. It will be couple of weeks before my unit goes in shop so I will post diagnostic results. I usually enjoy trying to solve these problems (40 years farming, retired) so I'm curious myself what's happening.