A little help please

[Rufnek]

Ok sportsfans I have an 03 Alpine Coach, the daytime driving lights only work sometimes and for no reason sometimes they work, #2 the low-airpressure alarm has stopped working as well as the alarm for the gen-slide. I don't see why the two alarms stopped working and what would cause the daytime driving lights to not work when the engine is started?

If anyone has had these problems and found a cure I would love to hear about it.

Thanks and drive safe...

[frankdamp]

It sounds as though you have either a loose connector or loose fuses. Don't know the Alpine at all, but if you check the wiring diagram and see if the wires for the DRLs and the and the warning hornd go through the same connector or fuse panel, that would give you a clue.

I'd be quite happy for the DRLs to quit. When I want my headlights on , there's a switch on the dash for the purpose. I don't need some safety "nanny" doing it for me, particularly the stupid way some GM vehicles were done!

[Old Rv'er]

My guess is a lose connector up under the dash, which attaches to the guage set. It's time to get on your back (wear safety glasses so nothing falls into your eyes) and poke around pushing on all the connectors, to ensure they are tight. You can all do a search on the actica guages and read other posts of issues people have had. Good luck.

[takepride]

Rufnek:

My '03 had intermittently working DRLs, too. Never did figure it out. When I installed the new headlights, they came with halo rings, which I wired directly the the ignition switched terminal on the PS firewall. Works now.

[OldForester]

Rufnek,

Do your turn signal clickers and your other startup noises for running through the gauge checks (when you turn the key on) work as they always did? And do you get the low air warning and gen slide out display in the LCD panel on the speedo?

Reason I ask is when my alarms stopped working, it was first the turn signal clicks, then the start up noises, then the low air and gen slide warnings. They came in a series, one at a time until they were all gone. I had to send the speedo panel back to Actia to get the alarm repaired and the LCD panel in the speedo replaced. Took about a week, dealing with Patrick at Actia.

If it's just the gen slide and low air warning, then it might be loose wires, but since it's both, and they're both connected to the speedo alarm, that might be what's causing it.

[EngineerMike]

Bill- the 03 is analog wired (no Actia or Vansco VMM), so Ruf's inoperative features are relay/fuse based.

Ruf- if you need the wiring schematics for your coach, I have them in paper form for the cost of the copies & postage. You can email me at EngineerMike at Vagabondwater dot com. These don't tell where the parts are, but at least you can figure out how the various gizmos are wired, and start a trace from there.

[Rufnek]

Thanks for all the good advice and direction. I'm back state-side in a week and plan on checking for wiring problems and such. I think it's strange that 3-4 alarms all quit working, I forgot to mention the alarm when the jacks are down also quit working.

Thanks Again...Currently Offshore Drilling - Saudi

[Old Rv'er]

Ok, just a connector must have come lose. Since you work in the industry, let us know the truth sometime.

[ga traveler]

I am with the guy that doesnt like daytime running lights. If you put more of a load on your gen. it makes it harder to turn and uses more gas. If anyone has a Ford, all you have to do is look under the hood of the MH and find the FORD fuse panel. unlock the lid find the fuse marked daytime running lights remove the fuse and wow no more DRL.

[Old Rv'er]

All - as all my alpine buddies know, I am not bashful when someone posts a question or a comment.
DTRL - Daytime Running Lights/headlights have been proven in automotive studies to show a 30-40% drop in accidents.

As all of us age, anything we can do to give us an advantage so we don't have an accident is a great thing. The "angel eyes" type of lights show an even better light pattern and are more easily seen, again providing a better safety margin. This is especially true when either the sun is rising or setting because that is the hardest time to see a darker vehicle, which MH's sometimes are, especially the light brown/green/tan colors favored by many. We won’t even talk about the black/gold combination which you cannot see at all when those conditions present themselves. Rain; with the resulting spray makes it even harder to see, so why not err on the side of safety. If you don’t care about it, maybe your passenger does.

I believe it's a personal choice, but if you vehicle is equipped with DTRL's from the factory and you have them disconnected and I hit you. Brother you better have a ton of money, cause you in a heap of trouble, aside from the fact, you have disabled a (I Believe) Federal Mandated Safety feature, and in some states, GA for instance, if its wiper time, you better have on headlights, or you are breaking the law. In Canada, it is the law period and they had better be on, and you better have brakes on your toad and/or dolly when traveling there. Headlights are cheap to replace, and normally it is just the bulb, not the complete housing assembly, unless you are changing to Angle eyes.

[mythplaced]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Old Rv'er Ok, just a connector must have come lose. Since you work in the industry, let us know the truth sometime.

Amen to that!

[takepride]

My LED halos (Angel Eyes) draw mere milliamps. I haven't notice that they make it harder to turn.

[MegaRoadie]

Always seems to be the "Shade Tree Magicians" outsmarting (??????) the dumb engineers that worked to make things safer for us all !

Agree with Monty in Post #10...if you have an accident and have purposely disabled a safety feature you better be ready for a lil jailtime or large cash outlay !

[ga traveler]

Oldrvr. Have you not noticed that most of the new cars dont have daytime running lights? You want me to believe that a safety feature that stops 40% of the accidents is just dropped from the scene? No they are not fed. mandated, because they didnt work. If they had, the fed. nanny state would NEVER let the companys drop them. The fact that you would pull out in front of me. cause a wreck. Then sue me, says more about you than me.