First Trip

[Bootjack]

I just got back from a 3 week trip in my 89 CCC. It was my first pleasure run since buying it a couple months ago. I found a few problems and would love some input.

Hooked up the fresh water but no water in the coach. Had to fill the tank and use the onboard pump.

one level jack didn't come down but the pump would run trying to make it move. Shut it off after a few min of it not coming down.

toilet leaks fresh water into the black tank. noticed the water level going down on fresh and black going up.

freezer and ice maker works great but fridge not so well

AC blows ice cold someday and cold other times.

if anyone has some advise on any of these problems that would be great

Byron

[lymanlouis]

Originally Posted by Bootjack

I just got back from a 3 week trip in my 89 CCC. It was my first pleasure run since buying it a couple months ago. I found a few problems and would love some input.

Hooked up the fresh water but no water in the coach. Had to fill the tank and use the onboard pump.

There's likely a check valve that's frozen. Look upstream of the city water hook up.

one level jack didn't come down but the pump would run trying to make it move. Shut it off after a few min of it not coming down.

Start by checking the hydraulic fluid level. Check your book first but most will need to be topped up with the jacks fully retracted.

toilet leaks fresh water into the black tank. noticed the water level going down on fresh and black going up.

Probably need to rebuild the toilet. Get a seal kit and several pair of nitrile gloves Depending on the toilet it's not a hard job but a bit icky.

Good luck!

[Bootjack]

thanks so much for the imput

[Smitty77]

Byron - Think I remember you posting when you bought this rig! (?) It is a rolling classic, with opportunities of 'Classic Maintenance' too!

Just keep on coming up with your lists, post here, and also on the Yahoo CC Owner's Group, and those who have experience with your rig will chime in where they can...

I can't help you specifically, but agree with the steps Lyman outlined.

It's not 'If?' - It's 'When!' you will have opportunities to spend some coin...

We just moved form the Cardston/Waterton Lake area to Banff NP a few days ago... Heading form Village 1 campground to a small park in Donald, BC tomorrow. Really enjoying ourselves, the weather, the bears and the wolves (At distance, thank you!)... Oh, and the scenery ain't bad either!

Go slow, take notes, ask. And keep plugging away on the items that pop up... That era's quality coach, warrants the effort.

Best,
Smitty

[deandec]

Originally Posted by Bootjack

I just got back from a 3 week trip in my 89 CCC. It was my first pleasure run since buying it a couple months ago. I found a few problems and would love some input.

Hooked up the fresh water but no water in the coach. Had to fill the tank and use the onboard pump.

My rig has a gate valve at the shore water hookup to be opened to allow shore water to reach the fresh water lines.

one level jack didn't come down but the pump would run trying to make it move. Shut it off after a few min of it not coming down.

I have no help here except to check the hydraulic fluid level.


toilet leaks fresh water into the black tank. noticed the water level going down on fresh and black going up.

It sounds like you have two leaks? One into the toilet and one from the toilet. On our Microphor electric toilet, I need to don a mechanics glove and clean the flapper to prevent the toilet from losing water. I do not know what causes water to flow into your toilet unchecked, but there must be a valve or switch that has failed.

freezer and ice maker works great but fridge not so well

Our Dometic side by side can be adjusted on the refer side by moving the slider on the internal fins up or down to vary the refer temp. Also check at the bottom freezer door for the defroster heater switch. It should be off. Do the dollar bill test on your refer door seals. On warm days, our refer takes 24 hours to be at <40 degrees. Computer fans can be added internally or to the outside rear of the refer to assist cooling efficiency.

AC blows ice cold someday and cold other times.

AC should reduce ambient temp by about 20 degrees. Out bound air 20 degrees cooler than return air. Be sure the outbound duct is well sealed from the return air in the ceiling unit. Also good not to have a duct blowing on the thermostat. ( One of mine does.) Clean the fins on the roof gently with water.

if anyone has some advise on any of these problems that would be great

Byron

Good looking rig!!

[pumper9x9]

On you toilet issues. If you have water running into the toilet all the time the water supply valve is malfunctioning. I have torn mine apart and cleaned it up a couple of time but eventually you should replace it. If you keep finding the bowl dry it is leaking past the seal. You have 2 options replace the seal (if it's a Sea Land toilet) or you can pull it apart and and scrub the seal down to remove the scale that accumulates. Do not use harsh chemicals or apprasives to clean the toilet. "Bar Keepers Friend" (BKF) is the cleaner that Sea Land recommends. Periodic scrubbing on the bottom side of the seal with a stiff brush and BKF will help cut down on the times you have to tear the toilet down to clean the seal or replace it. If you don't know how long it's been since the seal has been replaced it's probably worth your time to replace it.

City water problem: We full time and boondock as well as going campgrounds with hook ups. I sanitize my water system 1/ yr but I have no information on how log the water in the fresh water tank will stay good. So we just run off our fresh water tank with the water pump and fill the tank when it gets low. We have only used city water hook ups a handful of time.

To paraphrase a quote from a friend of mine. "If you're still RVing you're just between breakdowns." It's just that some are a bigger issue than others.
Save travels

[Bootjack]

I haven't figured out for sure whats going on with the toilet. When I first bought the coach I had left the water pump on. woke up the next morning and the water was coming over the side and on the floor. I don't hear anything running but the pump comes on every few min. The guy I bought it from said it had lots of fresh water on and the black was only 1/4 full. So through the night it slowly filled the black from the fresh tank. I don't see water coming in the bowl so I assume the prob is underneath the toilet at a valve ?

[deandec]

what kind of toilet do you have?

[Bootjack]

Im not sure but I will find out. Its a very nice one, full size porcelain. I just shut the water valve by the toilet off now when not using it and only turn the pump on when needing water.

[TQ60]

W have an 89 savanna so similar hardware.

If toilet has the electric shutter door and electronic timed water fill then either timer bad or valve not seating.

Push button and listen.

Also watch water flow.

If it slows and yiu hear maybe a click then carefully remove water valve and place inside a very large pan to catch things and remove to cover and remove maybe a chunk of crud or remove the rubber part and hunt for a replacement.

For the leveler contact hwh as they will send out a full manual set and maybe some calendars too.

Look for a manifold under the front maybe as that is where ours is but yours mar be somewhere else.

Should have a group of large selenoids withe wire mounted blade fuses.

Check all of the fuses and check for loose wires.

You can have a helper "tap" the controls for each corner so you can determine by feel which selenoids are for each corner to maybe isolate the bad one.

Likely just a loose wire or bad fuse.

If you have seperate water fill then look where connection to city water is and just behind is a check valve and regulator.

Easy to remove and are servicable so they may be stuck closed but can be opened and cleaned.

Do this in a large pan to catch parts that pop out.

Cover with rag as last screws turned as they contain "holy smoke" springs

Those that fly out and you say "holy smoke" where the £*\=did that &_%#/spring go!

[cntrylife]

On the leveling jack, its a pretty straightforward system. Check the fluid and then us a volt meter to see that the valves are getting power. The valves are in your accessory air compartment under the drivers window. They are big bolt lookin things. It sounds like you have a valve that is not opening. Could be a loose wire or ground. The pump is running and there is not fluid spraying all over so it has to be the valve.
On the toilet, look in your manual. I can not remember the company but I have had to call them and they are super knowledgeable and nice to work with.

As for the fridge, the big thing to look out for is the smell of ammonia, if you have it your in trouble but other than that our fridges run on 3 systems lp, 12dc, 110v ac is it functioning poorly on all 3? if so open up the access on the side of the coach and clean it out. There are instructions all over on youtube to help them run more efficiently. Keep in mind they do not like to sit so time might be up on it as well.

AC and etc, welcome to the wild world of chasing gremlins on older coaches. The first thing I would do is open your engine intake air pannel (passenger) there is a condenser filter there for the ac, is should be replaced and the radiator blown out with compressed air to increase air flow.

Just a few thoughts

[Rsponsford]

Originally Posted by Bootjack

I just got back from a 3 week trip in my 89 CCC. It was my first pleasure run since buying it a couple months ago. I found a few problems and would love some input.



Hooked up the fresh water but no water in the coach. Had to fill the tank and use the onboard pump.



one level jack didn't come down but the pump would run trying to make it move. Shut it off after a few min of it not coming down.



toilet leaks fresh water into the black tank. noticed the water level going down on fresh and black going up.



freezer and ice maker works great but fridge not so well



AC blows ice cold someday and cold other times.



if anyone has some advise on any of these problems that would be great



Byron

Bootjack-

Beautiful coach. I hope I can shed some light on some of your issues so here goes:

City Water- The original design used a needle valve with a small t-handle located right next to the hose connection. You may just need to open the valve or it may be locked up in the closed position. The idea was to use the valve to regulate water pressure and to turn this valve all the way off when not in use so as to prevent the water from back-flowing out of the hose connection. Mine was so stiff with age it couldn't be turned by hand and it also leaked badly. I replaced mine with a 1/4 turn ball valve and we an inline pressure regulator to prevent over-pressurization. There are also several (at least 5) 12VDC solenoids in the system but none of them are to control or turn off/on the city water connection. Replacement solenoids are very difficult to find and are very expensive ($220-$250 each). After getting two separate valves (one directly for CC) which did not work I eventually found a much cheaper valve on Amazon for $29.90 (1/2" inch 2 Position Brass DC 12V Water Gas Fuel Air Valve Electric Solenoid Valve Normally Closed https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ALIL1B2..._-JSQxbPEAJ2ED) and installed it a few months ago. It's been working perfectly so far.

Hydraulics- What Cntrylife said.

Toilet- you have a Microflush Model LF220 12 Volt DC Half Gallon Toilet. Give Sue at Mullaney & Associates a call at (856) 596-1299. She's very knowledgeable, patient and helpful. You will probably want to get the rebuild kit for the valve solenoid but it's worth taking it apart and cleaning first. Mine had grains of sand in it allowing water to flow past the valve diaphragm. It's also worth taking apart the vacuum breaker and cleaning that while you're at it. The water leaking past the flapper is a separate issue. Try cleaning as suggested in an earlier post.

Fridge/Freezer- We were having nervous issues with our unit. I tried every troubleshooting tip I could find online but in the end my circuit board needed to be replaced. I used an aftermarket board from Dinosaur Electronics and it works perfectly now. IMO it's worth replacing the old circuit board with the newer style board anyway.

AC Temperature- There are. number of things that can act up on the central AC but from your brief description it sounds like your evaporator may be freezing up with ice after running for awhile. The ice will block the airflow and overheat the system. If this is the case you will want to figure out the problem source right away as this can ruin your system. Another potential cause of your symptom could be a bad compressor fan. My compressor fan bearing has gone bad would sometimes seize causing a stop of airflow the duct air would be the same temperature as the room air temp. This too can ruin your AC system the compressor fan is buried in the electrical compartment and VERY difficult to remove. If you end up having to replace the compressor fan be prepared to also replace the exhaust fan which vents out the bottom of the coach.

I've also had to work on all these systems on my coach. Feel free to PM me or post here with any further questions and good luck!

Russ


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[Bootjack]

Thank you so much for all that info !