Community Forums

cwk · 04-08-2018, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by guardrail53

Also check the wires and cables at the battery that you took out, very easy for a wire to fall behind something, and not see it when you are hooking it back up! How do I know this?

Rail and mackwrench are the winners!

As soon as I read this last night, something clicked. This morning I looked at the battery again. Nothing seemed wrong. One cable to each battery terminal. However, one was heavy gauge, and one light gauge. Hmm... Then started looking around. When I was removing the battery one wire kept getting in the way. So I shoved it behind a piece of angle iron, and completely out of sight. It was the second heavy gauge (positive) wire.

I guess this means I am earning my way into an elite club membership?

Chuck: Thanks for the manual. Will keep it on file for future reference.

Thanks to all for coming up with so many ideas.

NHRA225 · 04-10-2018, 01:34 PM

Here's another tidbit for future Reference.

cwk · 04-10-2018, 02:13 PM

Chuck: Thanks!

cwk · 04-12-2018, 05:36 PM

A few weeks ago I sent both dashboard instrument clusters to ISSPro for refurbishing. They arrived back safely packed last week. Last weekend I carefully replaced the clusters, fired up the coach, and watched the gauges come to life. But, I did not drive anywhere. It still was not registered since the odometer was out of the coach and could not be verified by DMV personnel.

ISSPro replaced a lot of the gauges and some resistors and such.

The hour gauge on the genny is now working. The main engine never got warm enough to read anything on the temperature gauges. Of course, the transmission temperature gauge did not move either. As I mentioned above, I did not drive anywhere.

This afternoon I had the opportunity to drive the 4.5 miles to our local tax office to register the coach.

Here is what did and did not happen:

The temperature gauges did start to register after a small bit of mileage. The air gauges work. The voltmeter works.

I asked ISSPro to set the odometer to 90,325. That is the best estimate of the current mileage. They did so.

Since I backed the coach in last time, all movement was forward until I returned back home and backed the coach in its spot.

The speedometer read ZERO. The odometer increased to 90,325.2. I noticed this in the first half mile after I saw that the speedometer was still reading ZERO.

I continued on to DMV, registered the coach (including having the odometer verified by them as 90,325 miles - they do not record tenths), then drove back home. Through local traffic I estimate that I never exceeded 45 mph. The speedometer never read above ZERO.

After returning from the 9 mile trip, the odometer still reads 90,325.2.

I have a call into Don at ISSPro (he is the contact in the Technical dept) and am awaiting his reply.

Since ISSPro repaired/replaced parts on the cluster and pronounced it fit for duty, I probably need to troubleshoot the rest of the system. I do believe ISSPro when they told me that a number of the gauges needed to be replaced. A number of them were reported as working but inaccurate, so I agreed to replacing those.

A bit of background on the troubleshooting. The prior owner said his mechanic told him that the speedometer in the cluster was bad. Prior owner decided not to address the issue, and used a GPS to determine his driving speed. He also recorded his mileage in a log based on his estimates, which is why we knew the approximate current mileage.

However, I have no idea if there are any other issues with the system.

Meanwhile, does anyone have any ideas how to troubleshoot the speedometer?

Where is the sensor that sends data to the speedometer? It is not a mechanical connection between the transmission or drive train and the speedometer like I have seen in some older cars.

NHRA225 · 04-12-2018, 06:15 PM

I'll do some research tomorrow - The Tach is driven from the Alternator I believe and the Speedo is driven from the Tranny Via a Flywheel sensor.

idoxlr8 · 04-12-2018, 08:42 PM

Charles, might check any instructions they sent with your repaired gauges. It's quite possible you have to calibrate that speedometer to get it to work correctly - or even work at all. I ran into the with my VDO tach.

harleyjt · 04-12-2018, 09:10 PM

I'm thinking he's got s bad speed sensor.
jt

cwk · 04-12-2018, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by idoxlr8

Charles, might check any instructions they sent with your repaired gauges. It's quite possible you have to calibrate that speedometer to get it to work correctly - or even work at all. I ran into the with my VDO tach.

No instructions sent with repaired gauges. Thanks for the idea.

seanp · 04-12-2018, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cwk

A few weeks ago I sent both dashboard instrument clusters to ISSPro for refurbishing. They arrived back safely packed last week.

Charles, are you willing/able to share an approximate cost for the gauge cluster repair? My cluster is in a similar state to how you described yours.

cwk · 04-13-2018, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seanp

Charles, are you willing/able to share an approximate cost for the gauge cluster repair? My cluster is in a similar state to how you described yours.

I had both clusters refurbished. Lots of gauges replaced. The larger one was about 500. The smaller one was under 400. If you call Don at ISSPro and talk to him on the phone, he can give you an approximation before you send anything to him. He will also call you after they evaluate the clusters to get your approval before they do any repairs.

cwk · 04-13-2018, 05:32 PM

I talked to Don at ISSPro today. He confirmed what I already knew: the old speedo was bad and needed to be replaced. The new speedo was tested on their computer before they sent it to me, so it is known to be good.

Don did make one comment about my observations from yesterday. Since both the speedo and the odometer are not functioning, and since they both receive a signal from the same input, then the input is probably bad.

He did send me a diagram showing the pin-configuration for my particular cluster. That will help me identify the input wire. I can try to physically trace the wire to somewhere. But, I am not sure where.

I am guessing that it will be some type of sensor on the transmission. That's a long run. Maybe I could disconnect the wire from the speedo first, then put a tone generator on the wire and listen to where it leads. I've never used a tone generator on a coach so I am not sure if it will even work.

The pin diagram also identifies the ground pins on the two connectors on the back of the instrument panel. I should check resistance to chassis ground to determine a poor ground might be an issue. Don's diagram will help me do that. Thank you, Don.

NHRA225 · 04-13-2018, 06:38 PM

Keep at it I'm sure your getting close !
My Old bird has a tach sensor on the Alternator and My Speedo sensor is on the bell housing of the transmission --- But I have a MD3060 Allison.
If you get lost call American Coach and ask for Deb--She worked on the line when ours were built.

Gordon Dewald · 04-13-2018, 10:25 PM

I used a tone sensor on our coach. Our wiring is either white or yellow. Numbers are the identifier but it is difficult to read a number when the wire is bundled in a 2" harness! The tone sensor worked fine. Found that the wire I wanted did not go to the location I wanted so I ran a new one.

Fortunately I got the wiring chart from customer service at WGO. 36 pages of single spaced numbers. The chart/number tells the purpose of the wire and it seems in a lot of instances to be able to find the other end.

Lloyd in S.C. · 04-14-2018, 06:22 AM

Hi CWK!

I've used a toner on my coach a couple times, works fine. I agree, running back to the transmission is a long ways,,,,,, when the front wheels are right there nearby.

Any thoughts on where to purchase a new pickup? If you had one in hand, might help you identify it.

L.