Community Forums

ninjalobo · 11-10-2011, 10:19 AM

We are having intermitting problems with our 2006 Country Coach Allure with Cummins 400 engine. Sometimes when we try to start it, it will not start and the transmission keypad will not come on. The last time it would not start we started the generator and the keypad lit up and the coach started right away. Another time we tried to start the coach and when it failed we turned the key off and tried it again a little later and it started like normal.

The coach has also quit while we are driving and the keypad goes blank. If we stop the coach when the key pad goes out it will not start again for a period of time. We have checked as many sources of power, grounds etc as we know how. Has anyone had this problem? HELP!

TQ60 · 11-10-2011, 12:49 PM

Since you already checked the obvoius grounds and power, you need to get sneaky.

The issue is intermittent, and such, these are the most difficult to repair as determining what is wrong is not easy, the actual repair is probibly the easiest.

Our older 1989 coach is full of connectors manufactured by "amp", likely Amphenal, they are modular plastic houshings that can have sections added to create custom applications.

Over time these get some oxidation, and possibly the metal relaxes a little allowing the connection to not be as good as it once was.

Add current flow and any resistance in a poor connection makes things interesting.

So what you need to do is while everything is working locate "test points".

Places to measure voltage, a good chassis ground, the ground buss bar, common power buss, switched power, power at the shifter and so on.

Try NOT to disturb any connections as you may alter the condition.

Some folks "shotgun" it, twisting and wiggling everything, this should be a last resort, you may have multiple problems and you fix one and break another.

Take some measurements, and for those that are hard to get too, you can add a wire, locate a different place to measure, record everything.

When it "breaks" repeat you measurements, but be very careful, if you bump something it may fix itself.

From these measurements you should see a general direction to go next.

Once you determine which direction to go, check for a voltage drop ACROSS any connector you find, place one lead on the wire on each side of the connector, be very careful as small movement may cause a temporary repair.

Once you find the problem you can then open the connector, inspect with a magnafying glass, clean and burnish and connect it back to see if it is fixed.

It could be a bad connection, broken wire that looks good on the outside, but is broken inside the insulation, bad relay or a loose screw on a buss bar.

If you get it working then place it on probation until you are comfortable with it.

Keep your notes as you may need them later.

Ours had an intermittent fuel guage, after a couple days of looking and tracing we discovered the fuel guage is powered by the battery in front of the coach that powers the jacks and generator, controlled by the key switch, and the wire that is routed into the loom for the power was lost in some connector we still have not been able to locate, we ran a new wire and all is well, someday we will discover where that wire goes...

deandec · 11-10-2011, 01:19 PM

Good advice in the above post.

Since it initially appears to be a power to transmission shift pad issue only, I would suspect either a poor ground connection or a loose connector on the back of the pad.

If other components loose power at the same time then the problem is not likely at the Pad.

Then perhaps you can use your electrical schematic diagrams in the Manual to trace the Power wire back to the ignition switch. Running a cheater wire in that connection might solve the intermittent problem and give focus on what to repair.

If there is a component (fuse, relay, etc) installed between the Pad and the Ignition, then perhaps those connections need to be cleaned or the component tested.

ninjalobo · 01-08-2012, 03:27 PM

Not sure if this is where you post an answer to your own problem but everyone needs to know this. The keypad problem was resolved by mysel and my wife. we had spent $3,000.00 and still had the problem.
One company was up to $1,800.00 and was getting nowhere we had to tell him to stop wasting our money. The second company cost was $1,000.00 and they only traded parts that did not work.
So with that said today we started looking in the electrical compartment under the drivers
Side and discovered a loose wire in the automatic transmission connection near the VIM.
There is a red plug with AT written on it. There was a white wire numbered #75 that was not seated properly in the red connection. By moving the wire we were able to recreate the event when the keypad went out and the coach slowed. Hope this information helps someone.

deandec · 01-09-2012, 11:59 AM

We;; done in solving your problem.

Electrical problems are expensive to trace and fix unless doing it yourself.

I spent $250 having my transmission analyzed when the engine would shut down on hard right turns like a clover leaf highway entrance. They could find nothing wrong.

Later I discovered it was the low coolant sensor shutting the engine down on those turns.

Smitty77 · 01-09-2012, 08:51 PM

THANK YOU! For posting back your findings. This does help others down the road...
Best,
Smitty

num1dgh · 01-10-2012, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deandec

We;; done in solving your problem.

Electrical problems are expensive to trace and fix unless doing it yourself.

I spent $250 having my transmission analyzed when the engine would shut down on hard right turns like a clover leaf highway entrance. They could find nothing wrong.

Later I discovered it was the low coolant sensor shutting the engine down on those turns.

We took our coach to two Allison shops because the transmission would lock up and we had no jake breaks on grades. BOTH shops suggested a lot of money to "explore" the problem. After seeing a post here on IRV2, we followed the suggestion and had our speed sensors replaced for a few hundred dollars. OMC, while looking under the coach, also noticed our U joint was RUSTED . . . the pictures of it are scarey. I'm still confused about how TWO Allison shops couldn't diagnose something that fellow RVers could!

ninjalobo · 04-26-2012, 08:14 PM

After numerous attempts by three repair shops we decided to give it our best effort. We followed the wires from the key pad to the transmission control unit under the driver’s seat then to the area where the wires went into the chassis for their journey to the transmission. We located a large red connecting block that connected different transmission components. We then located a wire that was not seated well within the block. The loose wire appeared to have been installed that way by the factory.
I guess what I am trying to say is do everything you can to check your coach before taking it to a dealer or repair shop. What we learned is $120.00 an hour to guess is expensive. If you are not stuck stop and think most of the problems are common sense.
For us ‘Transmission keypad losing power” ? Answer where does it get power. A little thought and a little work well worth it. Thanks for all the help

dons2346 · 04-26-2012, 11:19 PM

I had a problem where the trans would sometimes not shift into gear. I found a pin that had backed out of the connector from the shift pad to the chassis connector. reseated the pin and all is well.

Looks like the connectors are a major problem.

jeepersrus · 05-01-2012, 08:43 AM

I had the exact same problem with my 1998 Intrigue. After locating cleaning every plug that the wiring diagram showed it turned out to be a loose wingnut on the ground connection on the battery. Every time I hit a pothole in the road the keypad would go blank. After retrieving the error code and confirming with Allison I started my search and it ended at the negative battery terminal. Haven't had an issue since.