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winniman · 05-07-2017, 05:01 PM

I recently acquired a new to me 2000 Coachmen Santara , 50000 miles, with the frieghtliner xc chassis. When I got it the air gauges were fluctuating up and down and the low air light kept coming on and going off. No audible buzzer. By searching previous threads, (thanks all), I found the information on the vdc unit problems that we common on these coaches between 1999 and 2001. The thread was very specific, and even showed pictures of the unit. It showed where it was, and exactly the problem to fix. On these units the problem was the soldering on the air sensors. We followed the instructions and the fix went perfect. The gauges now read correctly and the low air light goes off when the air pressure reaches the correct amount. That was the hard part to diagnose and repair. We figured the previous owner just disconnected the alarm due to the incorrect reading being sent by the vdc. We located the alarm buzzer on the firewall behind the foot pedal. We though it would have just been disconnected, but it appears that the wire has been cut. There is a red wire about 18 inches long hanging from buzzer. It has been cut at a diode and appears that it changed to an orange wire at the diode. We cant find any orange wire or any wire that appears that this was previously connected to. There are so many wires and harness' in the area, it hard to tell if it was cut out of one of the harness'. We ran out of time looking today. Just wondering if anyone knows off hand where this wire would have ran to, or narrow down our search area. I need to fix this safety feature for the certification required here in Ontario. The manual states there is also an audible warning for low oil, high engine temp and a couple other things. If they also use the same buzzer, it would be wise to have these working as well, but Im sure not having an audible low air warning would not pass safety even though the dash warning light is functioning. Any help would be appreciated.

bsamole · 05-08-2017, 09:28 AM

I tried to locate the wire coming out of the buzzer on my 2000 XC chassis. I located a buzzer that is green in color and has two white wires attached that buzzes when the ignition is on but the engine not running. I'm afraid to dump the air in my bags to determine if this is the right buzzer since I have a bad Jack that will not retract.

Skip426 · 05-08-2017, 09:48 AM

Working on my XC chassis wiring , I've found that they have very good labels on the wires and sections of the harness.
If you don't have wiring diagrams for your chassis , call the Freightliner help line and get diagrams and schematics . Have your serial number handy.
1-800-285-4357

I have not found a buzzer specific to low oil, high temp , there may be a small speaker in the light bar for that . I'll look at my schematics to see if there is one labeled on the page.

Skip426 · 05-08-2017, 10:30 AM

My wiring diagrams and schematics show , only three buzzers/chimes , in the dash .
1 Park brake chime
2 Low air buzzer
3 Seat belt chime , stand alone wiring, may not be hooked up by coach manufacturer.

The Park brake chime and low air buzzer , are controlled by out put from the " Message Center " ( light bar ), and in the document that I have on gauge testing , there is no mention of an internal buzzer in the message center , OR , if either the chime or buzzer , have multiple functions .

Perhaps a question best asked to the F/L help line.

Skip426 · 05-08-2017, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsamole

I tried to locate the wire coming out of the buzzer on my 2000 XC chassis. I located a buzzer that is green in color and has two white wires attached that buzzes when the ignition is on but the engine not running. I'm afraid to dump the air in my bags to determine if this is the right buzzer since I have a bad Jack that will not retract.

Bill, if your leveling system is HWH, there are many posts on repair and dealing with jack retracting issues. Including weak return springs, that can be overcome by prying the jack pad up with a shovel when the system is in retract mode.

bsamole · 05-09-2017, 05:37 AM

Skip, nice photo and the green buzzer is the buzzer that I was describing. HWH confirmed that I have a faulty jack. It requires an hydraulic jack under the leveling jack in order to raise the leveling jack

Skip426 · 05-09-2017, 09:20 AM

winniman; I've looked over the dash wiring schematics that I have for my chassis. I found 3 diodes , but all are in white wires and in the brake light circuits.
Low air buzzer ; as shown in picture; has white wires , one power and the message center supplies the ground to activate the buzzer.
Your chassis being a year newer may have some different wiring , so best to get schematics that match your serial number.

winniman · 05-10-2017, 06:55 PM

Thank you for the replies. We had a chance to work on it today. The wires are indeed all labelled well. We found a wire coming from the message centre marked air warning. When we tested it for power it turns out it is a negative wire, which indicated to my mechanic friend that the wire runs to a relay. We cannot find any relays in the fuse boxes marked for the low air warning. After spending a few hours trying to locate the wire, we have decided to just install another relay and refeed it from a power wire close by. We can then just run a new wire back to the message center and link in the alarm. This will solve the problem and we will be able to move on to checking the brakes and the rest of the requirements for safety. Too bad who ever decided to disable the alarm didnt just leave the wire ends handy to be able to reconnect them after fixing the control box. Thanks again all.