Community Forums

mljackson413 · 11-15-2020, 10:00 AM

I have a Newmar 2020 Kountry Star 3709 with only 3,000 miles on it and the power steering has become very noisy when the wheel is turned. Had it in for a few small issues, the shop checked it and said everything was ok.
Just recently took it out of storage for a trip and it was almost like the power steering was not working, turning very hard. After a few minutes it seemed to free up and operated more normally. Any ideas on what could be happening or what I should do,,,,,thanks.

tom chelbana · 11-15-2020, 12:43 PM

Start by checking fluid level. It is more a chassis issue then a coach issue.
Newmar Man

Dutch Star Don · 11-15-2020, 03:30 PM

You should also check for a slipping belt.

ptw · 11-15-2020, 04:00 PM

I think you have comfort drive. If so, you may want to follow Ken's link explaining how it works. It may need to be reset if the power was off in storage.

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f103/com...le-369558.html

If you did disconnect the battery, attached is the wakeup procedure.

Dav L · 11-16-2020, 08:00 AM

Hard turning / noise on turning is more the base hydraulic system and not the Comfort Drive addon. You can drive the RV with normal results with Comfort Drive fuses removed (inoperable).
So, check fluid, check belt tension (is it squealing?) as first diagnosis.

ptw · 11-16-2020, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dav L

Hard turning / noise on turning is more the base hydraulic system and not the Comfort Drive addon. You can drive the RV with normal results with Comfort Drive fuses removed (inoperable).
So, check fluid, check belt tension (is it squealing?) as first diagnosis.

If the comfort drive went to sleep because the power was disconnected it would be harder than normal to turn the steering wheel (depending on the CD setting) because the CD assists the hydraulics. I agree with checking fluid and belt tension first, especially if it is making noises.

Dav L · 11-17-2020, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ptw

If the comfort drive went to sleep because the power was disconnected it would be harder than normal to turn the steering wheel (depending on the CD setting) because the CD assists the hydraulics. I agree with checking fluid and belt tension first, especially if it is making noises.

while that may be true, there is a very big difference in boost pressure of the standard hydraulic power steering and the added assist of CD.

The user said lots of noise and VERY difficult to turn. It should drive like a normal non CD equipped RV if the hydraulics were working as they should.
So, a little more difficult than "normal" with CD on but not to the users "turning very hard" description.

ptw · 11-17-2020, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dav L

while that may be true, there is a very big difference in boost pressure of the standard hydraulic power steering and the added assist of CD.

The user said lots of noise and VERY difficult to turn. It should drive like a normal non CD equipped RV if the hydraulics were working as they should.
So, a little more difficult than "normal" with CD on but not to the users "turning very hard" description.

I guess what pointed me to comfort drive was that he said he had it in the shop and they said nothing was wrong with it. Assuming he went to a decent shop they would have checked fluid and belts. Then he took it out of storage and the steering was difficult. The steering will be more difficult if the CD is not working or it was very cold.

You are ASE certified, not me, but its hard to know where people are coming from here and how much experience they have with RVs when trying to answer their questions. Sometimes we try to go with the highly technical response when many times there is a very basic solution.