Pulled the lanyards, the test failed, now what?

[CousinEddie]

Hey everyone,
First off: I absolutely love this forum. Thank you to everyone for the invaluable posts that have kept me up for hours! (Like the thread Dusty56 started, the "tell others about your modifications" thread that sucked me away for about 3 days straight!) There are so many great posts, hopefully this one will be able to help someone.

I know there are a bunch of threads on here about the lanyards, when to test, how to test, what the results should be, all that good stuff.

So recently I was checking the manual dump by pulling the lanyards, silver, green then red. From what I understand (after reading so many threads on this forum) is after pulling the silver lanyard and letting all of the air out of the tank (the wet tank), you should be able to go back into the coach (assuming you had full pressure in all the tanks to start with) and the primary (the primary tank reads "rear" on the gauge) and the secondary (reads "front") should still be showing full pressure. This check is to make sure that the one way check valves between the tanks are working, so that if you have a leak in one of the tanks, the others should be able to maintain pressure, thus allowing you to use the pressure in that respective tank to brake, etc.

So when I pulled the silver lanyard and let all the air out, then went back into the coach, all of the pressure in the PRIMARY tank went out too. (so that when I pulled the GREEN lanyard, nothing happened) When I called Spartan, and spoke to those guys over there, there was a check valve on top of the primary tank that needs to be replaced. I ordered it.

So my question is, (if you've made it this far into this novel and want to answer) Have any of you replaced this check valve? I have full extended warranty on my coach, but I don't want to take it in for service when it will be there for over a month for a 30 dollar part.

I couldn't find anywhere in the forums that it was addressed so i apologize in advance if this was posted somewhere and I missed it.

[Matt D]

If you’re in Las Vegas, I’d take it to NIRVC and have them repair and test the system.

It’s unlikely you’ll be there a month.

I haven’t replaced any of our components, but know that some of the tanks are buried and somewhat hard to access. If you do perform the repair, be sure the system is fully depleted before starting work, and that you soap the fittings under pressure when you’re done.

Leaks can be catastrophic for the engine driven pump in very short order.

-Matt

[twinboat]

Have you confirmed that the lanyards are connected to the correct tanks ?

Have someone monitor the gauges as you drain each tank down a bit, in a different order.

[brobox]

Originally Posted by Matt D

Leaks can be catastrophic for the engine driven pump in very short order.

-Matt

I found that one out the hard way too on the TS. $5,800 worth of damage when the compressor exploded taking out a few of the engine components. Over work the compressor, it will explode. The leak had been fixed, but the compressor damage was done.

[Grower15]

Originally Posted by Matt D

If you’re in Las Vegas, I’d take it to NIRVC and have them repair and test the system.



It’s unlikely you’ll be there a month.



I haven’t replaced any of our components, but know that some of the tanks are buried and somewhat hard to access. If you do perform the repair, be sure the system is fully depleted before starting work, and that you soap the fittings under pressure when you’re done.



Leaks can be catastrophic for the engine driven pump in very short order.



-Matt

Another option for Las Vegas is Specialty Vehicles in Henderson. They are a Spartan authorized service center and get great reviews. I’m having my expansion tank replaced at the end of the month. Since we full time, they will complete the work in one day (drop off in the morning and pick up in the afternoon). Brian Kolb is the service writer I’m working with, and he’s been very responsive so far.

[Gary.Jones]

Eddie

Here is some advise I always try to follow. Never drop off a coach for an open ended repair. I try to let any repair facility know that I am either going to be in the coach or sitting in my car outside the repair bay while the coach is being repaired, and thus need to get it back and done in the most reasonably short time as possible. I have rarely heard good stories from owners who drop their coach anywhere and then agree to pick it up a month later. Free storage is not a fair or reasonable trade for good service.....

Gary

[CousinEddie]

Originally Posted by Matt D

If you’re in Las Vegas, I’d take it to NIRVC and have them repair and test the system.

It’s unlikely you’ll be there a month.

I haven’t replaced any of our components, but know that some of the tanks are buried and somewhat hard to access. If you do perform the repair, be sure the system is fully depleted before starting work, and that you soap the fittings under pressure when you’re done.

Leaks can be catastrophic for the engine driven pump in very short order.

-Matt

Thanks Matt,

Yes, I did actually call them. I have heard nothing but great things about them, and when I call, I really like all of their staff. They just opened up here in Las Vegas, and their place is impressive, but they have to find quality techs and so there is a ramp up period to be fully staffed. (which I'm appreciative of that they want quality staff not quantity) They said there was 34 coaches ahead of mine and if I dropped it off, it would be 4 to 6 weeks before they could get to it.

To be clear on my post, I don't have a "leak" from any tank. In other words, when my coach has reached full pressure, there is no leak, it will hold air. The problem is when you do you "lanyard check" the silver lanyard depletes the air in 2 tanks, which shouldn't happen. What is even more confusing is I've talked to several techs over at Spartan and some tell you it's ok, some say it isn't, some say that the check valve only works at 60psi. I found an official Spartan paper that states that all of the tanks should be "isolated" from each other in case of a leak, which means the one way check valve is bad.

So that's where I was hoping someone had already done it!

[CousinEddie]

Originally Posted by Gary.Jones

Eddie

Here is some advise I always try to follow. Never drop off a coach for an open ended repair. I try to let any repair facility know that I am either going to be in the coach or sitting in my car outside the repair bay while the coach is being repaired, and thus need to get it back and done in the most reasonably short time as possible. I have rarely heard good stories from owners who drop their coach anywhere and then agree to pick it up a month later. Free storage is not a fair or reasonable trade for good service.....

Gary

Thanks Gary,

That seems like great advice!

[757driver]

I have not done it myself but did have one replaced at Spartan a few years ago and I think the tech took less than an hour to change it out so if you wanted to tackle it yourself it should not be more than 2 hours. Good luck.

[MoHoGo]

You may want to repeat the test following the actual Spartan procedure. Not saying you don't have a problem, but there are some differences in what you are doing and this write up.

Originally Posted by CousinEddie

Hey everyone,
First off: I absolutely love this forum. Thank you to everyone for the invaluable posts that have kept me up for hours! (Like the thread Dusty56 started, the "tell others about your modifications" thread that sucked me away for about 3 days straight!) There are so many great posts, hopefully this one will be able to help someone.

I know there are a bunch of threads on here about the lanyards, when to test, how to test, what the results should be, all that good stuff.

So recently I was checking the manual dump by pulling the lanyards, silver, green then red. From what I understand (after reading so many threads on this forum) is after pulling the silver lanyard and letting all of the air out of the tank (the wet tank), you should be able to go back into the coach (assuming you had full pressure in all the tanks to start with) and the primary (the primary tank reads "rear" on the gauge) and the secondary (reads "front") should still be showing full pressure. This check is to make sure that the one way check valves between the tanks are working, so that if you have a leak in one of the tanks, the others should be able to maintain pressure, thus allowing you to use the pressure in that respective tank to brake, etc.

So when I pulled the silver lanyard and let all the air out, then went back into the coach, all of the pressure in the PRIMARY tank went out too. (so that when I pulled the GREEN lanyard, nothing happened) When I called Spartan, and spoke to those guys over there, there was a check valve on top of the primary tank that needs to be replaced. I ordered it.

So my question is, (if you've made it this far into this novel and want to answer) Have any of you replaced this check valve? I have full extended warranty on my coach, but I don't want to take it in for service when it will be there for over a month for a 30 dollar part.

I couldn't find anywhere in the forums that it was addressed so i apologize in advance if this was posted somewhere and I missed it.

[Matt D]

Jim, excellent advice! Thanks for posting that.

-Matt

[CousinEddie]

Originally Posted by MoHoGo

You may want to repeat the test following the actual Spartan procedure. Not saying you don't have a problem, but there are some differences in what you are doing and this write up.

Thank you Jim,

I have seen these instructions from Spartan too. On numbers 8 and 10 the operative words you're speaking about "should not read zero" is where I guess I must be reading or overthinking this too much. Where I struggle is that I have different answers from different Spartan techs depending on who I speak to.
So I guess my question to those of you that know way more than I do on this subject then is: If there is a check valve between all the tanks to isolate them in case of a failure, why when I pull the silver lanyard the primary (rear gauge) will read ALMOST zero. Does that mean the check valve is working? Because essentially there is SOME air in the primary tank, which would give credence to what Jim is pointing out. OR does it mean that the check valve isn't working because there is almost NO air left in the PRIMARY tank after the WET tank pressure was released. I say that because when I pull the GREEN lanyard, and fully let the air out, and then go and check the gauges the SECONDARY (front gauge) reads a full 125 psi.

My wife is sitting here telling me that I'm way over thinking this, so what are your thoughts? And if I am, please just tell me to go drink a beer and be done with this. I'll buy the first round. (Besides, I probably need one after watching the Vegas Golden Knights get destroyed tonight )

[DeeGee]

I'm curious about step 3. "Make sure the chassis is safely supported before you turn the unit off. Jack stands are preferred."

OK, where does one PUT these jack stands? I'd like to know recommended locations for supporting the chassis.

[EVsCoach]

Eddie, just forwarded an article by Mark Quasius on air system checks. Our 14 Anthem air system performs exactly per the article. Hopefully his article can clear things up. Jack