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Old 01-08-2025, 07:20 PM   #1
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New to me 2018 Phaeton 40IH. A couple issues

I pickup up my 40IH today and drove her home and discovered 2 problems. The first is that regardless of switch potion the step retracts when you close the door. You can’t lock it out. Am I doing something wrong?
Second the fuel gauge was reading about 3/4 full when I picked it up, 60 miles later it read empty, I stopped fueled up and it took only 36 gallons. The gauge remained at empty. In that condition of course it won’t let you start the generator, problem! A few miles down the road it came back to about 5/8 full. Ideas?
How do I access the sender unit?
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Old 01-08-2025, 07:52 PM   #2
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The fuel gauges on class A's are notoriously unreliable. I'm guessing they're similar components to other fuel gauges, so the issue seems to be lack of use, sometimes they get better with more frequent use, sometimes they don't.
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Old 01-08-2025, 08:12 PM   #3
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Congratulations and welcome to the Tiffin family. We've had our 40IH for over seven years and 60k+ miles and still love it. It was one of the first 40IHs built in early 2017.

When the switch is in the Off position, the steps should stay out when the door is closed and ignition off. The steps will retract with the ignition on and the door closes regardless of the switch position. It's possible the switch has failed and not actually turning off.

I would pull the dash and check the connections on the wiring harness. A faulty ground wire could cause a condition like you describe.
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Old 01-08-2025, 08:30 PM   #4
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Even though the guel gauge is reading wrong, the generator will run till it can not pick up fuel out of the tank,
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Old 01-08-2025, 11:14 PM   #5
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Fuel Gauge.

Welcome to the new world of What Next!!!!!

For the Fuel gage I purchased the Blue Fire ODB reader it shares how much fuel your main engine has used while running. I screen share it with the LG TV over the driver seat. The meter readings it provided while driving are awesome.

on the Steps as LT Dan indicated it functions in that manner. I will say we have a ghost situation where the steps will retract without anyone touching anything or on occasion the Steps simply retract when you close the door. I'm about to break down and start trouble shooting the wiring and switches to find that gremlin.

Return often to search things you want to learn and Post your WoW's for advice.... Remember you bought a Hi-Tech Rig that has to withstand hurricane winds while driving thru an earthquake zone... things are bound to happen when you least expect.

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Old 01-09-2025, 12:06 AM   #6
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The Kwikee steps on my 2017 Phaeton 36GH suddenly started to operate in strange ways. They retracted normally but with the door closed, when you turned the ignition on they would extend. Turn it off, they would retract. I crawled under the coach when the steps were retracted and cut the yellow power wire to the motor so that we could drive it home. It turned out to be the step controller. New controller comes with a complete wiring harness. Easy install.
Coaches that have set are like airplanes, boats and cars that get little use. Mechanical things do not like sitting. Most coaches are not parked with a full tank of fuel. The resistor windings are exposed to humid air and corrode. On the 36GH, run the fuel down below 1/2 tank and replace the sender. I have a resistance table for the float sender that you can ohm out the sender and gauge. I will try to post it. The DEF head is another item that does not like to be left high and dry. Keep your DEF tank full. My brother that drove trucks for 50 years said that they never bought DEF from a pump. The DEF would dry and crystallize on the nozzle and then dump the crystals into the DEF tank. It costs a bit more to buy DEF in sealed containers but it is not even close to the cost of a DEF head replacement.
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Old 01-09-2025, 04:32 AM   #7
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On the base of your speedometer are two buttons. Go into those for settings. I’m told tiffin uses the same fuel gauge for different models and it’s possible your gauge was mistakenly configured for a different model by previous owner. Go and set the guage to your model and that might solve the issue. I had the same fuel reading problem you were having after taking it into for service. Did what I described and all works like it should. I’d try that first before tearing into sending units, etc.
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Old 01-09-2025, 04:55 AM   #8
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Originally Posted by Warhorse6 View Post
On the base of your speedometer are two buttons. Go into those for settings. I’m told tiffin uses the same fuel gauge for different models and it’s possible your gauge was mistakenly configured for a different model by previous owner. Go and set the guage to your model and that might solve the issue. I had the same fuel reading problem you were having after taking it into for service. Did what I described and all works like it should. I’d try that first before tearing into sending units, etc.
Exactly the same issue we had on our 2019 40IH. It had been configured to the wrong Tiffin model and the dash gauge was completely inaccurate. Once I reprogrammed to the Phaeton, our problem was solved. Definitely start with this check as it's simple and just maybe the problem.
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Old 01-09-2025, 05:50 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 737Captain View Post
I pickup up my 40IH today and drove her home and discovered 2 problems. The first is that regardless of switch potion the step retracts when you close the door. You can’t lock it out. Am I doing something wrong?
Second the fuel gauge was reading about 3/4 full when I picked it up, 60 miles later it read empty, I stopped fueled up and it took only 36 gallons. The gauge remained at empty. In that condition of course it won’t let you start the generator, problem! A few miles down the road it came back to about 5/8 full. Ideas?
How do I access the sender unit?
I believe if you have the engine running the steps will retract. Once you turn off the unit then you should be able to keep them out (if they don’y stay automatically) using the button.
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Old 01-09-2025, 06:33 AM   #10
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Originally Posted by weighit View Post
Even though the guel gauge is reading wrong, the generator will run till it can not pick up fuel out of the tank,
I tried to start it and got a message “Generator, Insufficient Fuel” and it would not start.
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Old 01-09-2025, 06:36 AM   #11
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Welcome to the new world of What Next!!!!!

For the Fuel gage I purchased the Blue Fire ODB reader it shares how much fuel your main engine has used while running. I screen share it with the LG TV over the driver seat. The meter readings it provided while driving are awesome.

on the Steps as LT Dan indicated it functions in that manner. I will say we have a ghost situation where the steps will retract without anyone touching anything or on occasion the Steps simply retract when you close the door. I'm about to break down and start trouble shooting the wiring and switches to find that gremlin.

Return often to search things you want to learn and Post your WoW's for advice.... Remember you bought a Hi-Tech Rig that has to withstand hurricane winds while driving thru an earthquake zone... things are bound to happen when you least expect.

Devoir
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. Thanks for your response.
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Old 01-09-2025, 10:28 AM   #12
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My gauge was way off when we got the 40IH. Replaced sender in tank and now it is the most accurate fuel gauge we have had in a motorhome. Sender I removed was bent when it was installed. New sender was cheap at close to $70 dollars. Not hard to install, fuel level must be down below sender location. Sender is on the PS of tank and access is not bad.
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Old 01-13-2025, 11:25 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by DAJO View Post
My gauge was way off when we got the 40IH. Replaced sender in tank and now it is the most accurate fuel gauge we have had in a motorhome. Sender I removed was bent when it was installed. New sender was cheap at close to $70 dollars. Not hard to install, fuel level must be down below sender location. Sender is on the PS of tank and access is not bad.
A 2017 Phaeton 40 IH has 100 gallons fuel capacity. After a day of travel the fuel gauge will be at the red colored generator warning mark, is that 1/4 tank remaining, I think? (not going out to look)
At that fuel level I put about 60+ gallons in to top it off, when it should be about 75+ gallons to fill.
My wife gets nervous to see the needle in the red toward empty from her view of the gauges and insists that we stop to fuel up.
Have you ever put close to 100 gallons in at a fuel stop? Where was the needle indicating then?
I watch the miles traveled/fuel mpg to estimate available fuel so not a big issue for me, just pacify the wife.
My friend's 2017 Newmar Ventana has a fuel gauge that indicates the same erroneous way. About the same as the water, grey and black tank gauges on motorhomes of any manufacturer.
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Old 01-13-2025, 06:50 PM   #14
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The most I've ever put in was 80 gallons because I was pushing to get to home base. The generator shut down about 20 miles from home. I know with mine when the gauge shows 1/2 tank it will hold about 60 gallons.
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