Serious Dash Gauge Electrical Problems

[John & Angie]

Problems with 2001 Monaco LaPalma (Workhorse Chassis)


1. About six months ago, I noticed that the gas gauge needle would swing from empty to full to three quarters. After a few weeks, it just pegged itself beyond full. (The workaround was to fill the gas tank every 300-350 miles and reset the trip odometer).
2. About four months ago, I noticed that when the headlights are "on"�, and you adjust the brightness wheel next to the switch, all of the gauges would swing erratically. (The workaround was to leave the dash brightness on "dim"� permanently).
3. Five days ago, I noticed the orange bars on the dash that indicate whether the transmission is in P N D 3 2 1 began to flicker and then they went out completely.
4. Two days ago (after a very slow two mile trip on a washboard gravel road to a campground) theRPM gauge started to flicker erratically and the MPH gauge also flickered. The regular odometer and the trip odometer stopped working.

I really don't know what's causing this. From my experience with trailers, when the lights acted strange, it always seemed to be the ground connection. Is there a common ground wire for all these gauges that could be loose?


John Myerchin

[John & Angie]

Problems with 2001 Monaco LaPalma (Workhorse Chassis)


1. About six months ago, I noticed that the gas gauge needle would swing from empty to full to three quarters. After a few weeks, it just pegged itself beyond full. (The workaround was to fill the gas tank every 300-350 miles and reset the trip odometer).
2. About four months ago, I noticed that when the headlights are "on"�, and you adjust the brightness wheel next to the switch, all of the gauges would swing erratically. (The workaround was to leave the dash brightness on "dim"� permanently).
3. Five days ago, I noticed the orange bars on the dash that indicate whether the transmission is in P N D 3 2 1 began to flicker and then they went out completely.
4. Two days ago (after a very slow two mile trip on a washboard gravel road to a campground) theRPM gauge started to flicker erratically and the MPH gauge also flickered. The regular odometer and the trip odometer stopped working.

I really don't know what's causing this. From my experience with trailers, when the lights acted strange, it always seemed to be the ground connection. Is there a common ground wire for all these gauges that could be loose?


John Myerchin

[oemtech]

Sounds like a classic IP cluster going bad....

Call Workhorse to start with.

[abarkl]

I had similar problems with my '01 last year and found that by cleaning all the ground connections on the chassis near the engine the problem was fixed.

[Bigdaddy]

I think you are on the right tract. Sounds like a grounding problem. Body builders don't know what a star washer is! I added extra grounds up front to the batteries. Plus star washers!

["007"]

John Myerchin, welcome to irv2.
The WH chassis has a ground post on the frame up near front bumper that has 5 or 6 ground wires on it . These wires feed back to your jack sys and power panels on fire wall and under dash. When I got my coach found the nut loose and wires on bolt loose and dirty. Cleaned and protected with di-electric grease and tighten up with star-washer, as BigDaddy said, to hold in place. Have 02 chassis with same IP dash unit.
Check all your grounds there and on frame for batteries,gen,converter and house,coach batteries.
NEWMAR HAS NOT HAD THE PROBLEMS WITH IP as some other MFG's have had.

[Tom N]

Wasn't there a recall on the Actia dash for ~2000-2003???

-Tom

[abarkl]

My '01 has analog gauges and not the digital to which I think you are referring.

[KTYSTR]

Workhose has replaced my dash module once, reprogrammed once and I still have it all go totally blank occasionally. I was told there is an issue with their supplier (ACTIVIA I believe). You need to contact a Workhorse service center, tell them you problem, and schedule a service. They should be able to pull up any recall on your unit if you give them the VIN number.
So, if it is not a simple ground issue, and I doubt that it is, you need a new instrument cluster module which will only happen once you have taken it to a service center.
Good luck

[Bill & Micki]

Take it to a WH service center. On the way back from Alaska this fall my gage cluster went completley wakoo (it did this two or three times). All the warning lights would come on and all the alarms would go off. The gages would peg. Also, shift indicator numbers were faing away. WH replaced the cluster and everything is back to normal

[Mahlon]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by "007":
&lt;snip&gt; The WH chassis has a ground post on the frame up near front bumper that has 5 or 6 ground wires on it . These wires feed back to your jack sys and power panels on fire wall and under dash. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Hey 007,can you share with us, exactly, where this ground post is?

Mine has a self-tapping screw screwed into the side of the dash upright support with a bunch of wires on it; it's almost impossible to get at because of its location behind the hyd fluid tank et al, unless you are a midget or have extra-long arms with extra elbows and eyes on stalks. Seems to me that you're talking about something else, because the wires to this screw are only 14 ga. or so.

[max49]

About a year ago, I was on my way to the WH svc center for something else. For the first time all of my gauges went 'off the chart', fuel and temp. I pulled in, left the engine running, the svc writer came out to verify the eroneous gauge readings, he said some thing is definitly wrong. Several hours later when they were finished they said that after they turned the coach off and started other work. When they started the coach back up, all the gauges worked properly so they didnt fix or attempt to fix any thing. Their explanation to me was that with it being so cold outside (and it was , about 0 to 10 degrees) "the cold weather does strange things".
This has not happened again in about a year. However, I and they both know that it may do it again, because they were also mystified. But then it fixed itself. Warranty or not some of these things are not easy to get fixed. I suppose I could try to check/ tighten all the grounds I can find.

["007"]

Mahlon, the ground post on my chassis is located on the C channel that crosses from your two main rails up front. Look up under your bumper its their on mine. It will have a number of white ground wires on it, all mine were loose dirty and corroded. Cleaned them up reconnected and placed a star washer to keep them tight.
ALSO GO TO FIND and type in "ground post" and you will find alot on grounding where they are and what to look for. Leave the check mark.
I posted a bulletin on one of those posts, from WH, as for service centers to check this ground post that its connected tight and welded to "C" channel.
Don't know if you ever had your IP changed but most Newmar owners have not had the problems that other MFG's have had with the IP being changed out muiltible times.
Still have same one on my 02 chassis.

[Mahlon]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by "007":
&lt;snip&gt; Don't know if you ever had your IP changed but most Newmar owners have not had the problems that other MFG's have had with the IP being changed out muiltible times.
Still have same one on my 02 chassis. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I haven't had my panel changed out because the instrumentation problems I've had aren't really in the panel:

- Flickering ABS light: Partially de-mated connector on ABS computer (found & fixed just yesterday).

- Erratic fuel gage: Likely a defective sending unit.

Now, that said, I've noticed that the LCD is missing two or three lines in the "grid" which is an IP issue, probably caused by dirty conductive elastomer strips between the circuit board and the display glass. I may try to fix that myself.