Air bag deflate when coach in gear

[Ken Parsons]

I have a neighbor who owns a 02 Country Coach. It has been parked for a couple months. He took it out of his garage to use for company. Upon starting he aired up the air bags then put it in gear and the air bags deflated. Any ideas? Ken Parsons

[Medico]

All the air bags deflated? I would place a call to CC service and ask their opinion or advice. They are usually very receptive.

[Ken Parsons]

Not being a CC owner I thought CC went bankrupt and no one was home. Do you have a phone number? My neighbor is not an RVer but just owns one, if you know what I mean. Ken Parsons

[Medico]

Country Coach They have a booming parts and service center and the rumors are they are gearing up to start building coaches again.

Ron Lee, one of the original CC brothers, bought the company back after the bankruptcy and brought the company back to life.

[pumper9x9]

If it is all the bags I don't know but if it's only one it's more than likely a bad air leveling valve. One way to test it. drive it out of the garage on to the street. Place it in neutral and set the brake. See if the coach will level itself while the brake is set and hold air. Then go to the Left front compartmant and pull the 7.5 amp fuse for the air bags. Then put it in gear and take the air brake off. It it holds air it is 99% sure it's one of the air leveling valves. If it doesn't hold air with the fuse out then I have no idea what it is. Note that he can do all this without crawling under the coach. Which is something you do not want to do if you have air bag problems.
The reason I speak with such certainty is that I too have a 2002 CC 36' and have had to replace all 3 air leveling valves. The last one I had go bad was about 300 miles from someplace that might be able to fix it. So I figured out the fuse trick. One thing to note if they take it to the shop and the mechanics start by pulling the wiriing diagram the oweners will more than likely get stuck with a big bill and not have the problem fixed. If they are thinking about taking it to Transwest in Grand Jucntion, Co. Tell them to drive to Denver. Those idiots can't even spell HWH.
Good Luck

[dons2346]

I have been thinking about this for a couple of days and I have no idea. I do suggest you check the HWH website for some troubleshooting tips and then call HWH.

[palehorse89]

I would think it has to be something in the control board that is giving the solenoid valves voltage (12 vdc) to dump. The air leveling valves them selfs will not dump, they hold a preset level.

[stkhlm]

We have a 2000 Intrigue with the same problem. Taking out the 7.5 amp fuse in the HWH panel to bypass travel mode and the bags don't deflate. I talked with HWH and they said this proves it is not the controller but the height valves. I haven't looked for replacements yet to replace and confirm. With the fuse out you can manually set the proper ride height and travel. The Tavel light will still be on when in gear but the bags stay inflated as you last set them. When parked the system will still auto level like normal.

If anyone has suggestions on where to get the height valves that would be nice.

[dons2346]

"If anyone has suggestions on where to get the height valves that would be nice."

You can get valves from your local NAPA auto parts store or and big truck parst store. They are nothing specific to CC.

[Janshark]

I have the same problem with my 1991 Beaver. The air bags fill properly and then when I put it in gear to travel, one of the right side air bag/bags deflates.

I saw the instructions above about taking out the fuse but my unit is so old I'm not sure how to do that. In fact, I have no idea where to find the control with the fuse. I believe it's a 14 x 9 by 3 box... would that be right?

Any ideas out there where Beaver might have stashed that thing?

Thanks!
Jan

[stkhlm]

Originally Posted by Janshark

I have the same problem with my 1991 Beaver. The air bags fill properly and then when I put it in gear to travel, one of the right side air bag/bags deflates.

I saw the instructions above about taking out the fuse but my unit is so old I'm not sure how to do that. In fact, I have no idea where to find the control with the fuse. I believe it's a 14 x 9 by 3 box... would that be right?

Any ideas out there where Beaver might have stashed that thing?

Thanks!
Jan

ours was located under the front dash behind a panel in front of the co-pilot but that is on a 2000 Country Coach.

good luck!

[Janshark]

Thank you for your help.

I actually found it yesterday, took off the cover and guess what, no 7.5 amp fuse. They were all 5's and 15's or 30's (I think). Fortunately the cover had a schematic which showed which fuse should have been the 7.5 amp fuse and I pulled it out.

And joy, oh joy... when I put the rv in travel, the bags didn't deflate. I am SO thrilled as I have had this problem for quite some time.

And I'm kind of proud of myself for managing to do it (I'm a 54 year old woman).

A big thank you IRV2 forum. You came through for me once again.

[deandec]

Just an additional caution.

Removing the fuse is a temporary solution to get the rig to a repair service.

With the fuse removed, you will have to guess at the correct ride height for travel.

The ideal ride height establishes the best angle for your drive shaft to do its job.

Extensive use of the wrong selection might cause problems for your drive shaft which will likely be much more expensive than a new ride height valve.

[Dennis E]

My Father had the same issue with his 43 Magna. It was a bad solenoid.