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ecalvi · 05-13-2013, 12:46 AM

I recently purchased a 2013 Tiffin Allegro 32CA motorhome. The first one that I drove at the dealer in Sacramento CA lost power on the return trip back to the dealer. I went back one month later after they said that it was fixed and once again it lost power on the trip back to the dealer. I told them that I would not buy that one and that they need to order me a new one. I picked up the new one on 03-13-13 and drove it home 110 miles and had no problems with it. We decided to take a trip to Arizona and 40 miles from our home it lost power and kicked on the brake and accumulator lights. After pulling off of the freeway and turning it off and restarting it cleared all lights and appeared to be working OK. Two days later in Barstow while pulling on the freeway it kicked on the brake and accumulator lights but did not appear to lose power. Once again pulled off of the freeway and restarted the engine and it cleared all lights and appeared to be running OK. On the return trip home we were on Hwy 395 at about 8000ft and we lost power and it once again kicked on the brake and accumulator lights. After pumping the throttle a few times we regained power and continued a few miles to where we were able to pull off of the road. In the 1500 miles we drove this issue only happened three times.
I have contacted Ford and they are not aware of this problem. I have also contacted Tiffin Motors and they also have indicated that they have not
heard of this problem. There appears to be no codes in the computer to help diagnose this problem. Does anyone have any ideas as to what could be causing this?

woodburner · 05-13-2013, 02:32 AM

When you loose power; do you hear a ticking sound?

I had the same issue and it was my foot hitting the brake and the gas @ the same time.
Maybe your situation/ maybe not.
I would check to see if you're not accidentally hitting both at the same time.

luvlabs · 05-13-2013, 07:37 AM

What do you mean by brake and accumulator lights? There is no accumulator or accumulator lights that I'm aware of, nor are there brake lights visible on the dashboard. There are ABS warning lights, emergency brake warning lights, etc.

The Ford F53 chassis uses a powered brake booster to power the brakes when engine vacuum is not available but it is normally off. Step on the brake with the engine off, you will hear it.

I'm with Woodburner - check and see what your feet are doing. The pedals are close together and you can hit both if your feet are big enough. Also, if you are a left foot braker, stop the practice. You are riding your foot on the brake pedal and causing your own problems.

ecalvi · 05-13-2013, 10:34 PM

Thank you for the input. I do not heard a clicking sound when I lose power. I will pay attention to where my foot is in the future. I have been having problems with the accelerator pedal because of the proximity of the engine cover.

ecalvi · 05-13-2013, 10:42 PM

When I lose power there is a brake light that comes on and I am not sure if it says more. My rig has a light that indicates that there is a problem with the accumulator. It is a orange light with a strange symbol. I had to look it up in the user manual to figure out what it was for. I will try and see next time I drive it to see if I touch the brake will that cause me to lose power and kick the lights on. The only way that I am able to regain power is to pump the Throttle a few times and it will eventually come back.

SuperGewl · 05-15-2013, 10:18 PM

When you start the engine, do you have your foot on the go pedal? Also check in the area on the floor near the pedals and see if there are any cables or plugs in the area where your foot might be. Its possible you are hitting them causing the connection to wiggle and create the problem.
Just my .000001 worth

garykk · 05-17-2013, 02:44 PM

If the symbol you are seeing is orange with a sort of crooked arrow pointing down in what appears to be parenthesis, its the Brake Reserve Warning, it will light when the engine is off, it may also light up if you turn the steering wheel fully in one direction as it receives its power from the power steering pump.
This chassis also has a Brake over Accelerator system where the brake will override the accelerator if the brake is depressed.
It sounds like you have a bad connection or bad computer, especially if you are losing power(engine dying).
I would get it to a Ford dealer asap...

ecalvi · 05-18-2013, 11:42 PM

Hello GaryKK,

Thank you for the input. It is sounding like the problem I am having has to do with an over sensitive brake pedal switch. I have not proved it yet but I am told that if you touch the brake pedal when the accelerator pedal is depressed it will cause the engine to go to idle. When my wide foot is on the accelerator pedal it is very close to the brake pedal. I could be touching it inadvertly and cousing this problem. The next time I drive it I will touch the brake pedal with my left foot while driving and see if it causes the same problem.

jamesrxx951 · 05-19-2013, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ecalvi

Hello GaryKK,

Thank you for the input. It is sounding like the problem I am having has to do with an over sensitive brake pedal switch. I have not proved it yet but I am told that if you touch the brake pedal when the accelerator pedal is depressed it will cause the engine to go to idle. When my wide foot is on the accelerator pedal it is very close to the brake pedal. I could be touching it inadvertly and cousing this problem. The next time I drive it I will touch the brake pedal with my left foot while driving and see if it causes the same problem.

Just touching the brake pedal may not fully activate BOA (brake over accelerator). Depending on certain applications there may need to be a certain apply time or apply pressure. The Dealer can pull up the amount of BOA events to determine if the PCM went into a full BOA override. They can reference the SSM there is out there for it.

grtharris · 05-19-2013, 11:39 AM

Ford tech write up on Brake over accelerator.
"Operators that rest a foot on the brake pedal when also applying the accelerator pedal may activate the Brake Over Accelerator feature. The brake activation is detected by the PCM from the electrical brake switch."

http://qa2k3.fordtechservice.dealerc...sbrakeover.pdf

SuperGewl · 05-24-2013, 09:49 PM

If just touching the Brake Pedal is causing the problem then you need to adjust the Brake Pedal switch so it is not as sensitive. This is something that the Dealer should do at no cost on a new coach.