Community Forums

Dutch Star Don · 08-06-2009, 10:05 PM

We left Wednesday for a trip from Los Angeles to the Grand Canyon. Fuel is cheap and we wanted to make it here quickly. We drove 65 towing my truck. After about 300 miles I had only used a 1/4 tank of fuel. The coach was running great, didn't even labor on the grades. I'm thinking.....WOW!

I finally realized my

that my fuel gauge was not reading correctly. It made me mad because I had it set perfectly. I shut the coach off in a rest area for a moment and the gauge jumped down to where it should have been and than back up to 3/4 full. We fueled up in Williams Az, and the gauge went to about a half inch past the full mark.

I disconnected all the wires to the Centroid unit, cleaned and reinstalled them. They were a little loose. I turned on the coach and the gauge was still way off. I adjusted the "Full" screw and set it where I think it should be accurate again.

Has anyone had theirs change several years into ownership? I just know on the way home next week it's going to change back, but it made me crazy(ier) that it didn't work

.

H. Miller · 08-07-2009, 06:14 AM

Our '04 Beaver has approx. the same problem. For an hour or so it indicates "correctly", then the next hour or two it goes 1/4 inch beyond full. Probably a loose wire or bad ground but not really a problem as the only "gas" guage we use is the elapsed miles indicator. At 600 miles (max) we are sitting in a truck stop.

bborc · 08-07-2009, 02:52 PM

I have the same problem. I cleaned all the conections and reset the gauge twice in the two years I have owned it and the gauge still moves around .I just go by the alladin jr. readout that seems to be pertty accurate, you only have to remember to take in to account if you are running the gen and with that I figure about .5 gal an hour. This is my second Monaco MH and the last one had the same problems with the fuel gauge.

Okrver · 08-07-2009, 03:28 PM

I had the same issue, and messed with it for month. I called Centroid, they had me test it. The unit was bad, so I had them ship me a new one. It cost about $70.00. It has worked great since I replaced it a couple of years ago.

Mutt · 08-12-2009, 12:05 PM

Ditto for OKrver. Had the same problem. Called Centroid in Florida. They shipped me another. Of course it was $70.00 w/shipping. One thing you might try is to soak the two drop tubes on the sending unit in gasoline or mineral spirits to see if it will clean the corrosion that has built up. The Centroid sending unit works using "Conductance." Apparently, when the tubes become corroded, the electrical conductance between them changes and causes the erratic readings. Good luck with your repair.
David

Flagelpater · 08-12-2009, 01:51 PM

If the system works using "Conductance" moisture in the fuel will drive it crazy! A high reading is normally a short not an open. A loose connection should cause a low reading.

Dutch Star Don · 08-12-2009, 02:23 PM

I contacted Centroid and got some quick responses from Joel on the weekend. He said when the gauge acts like mine it's algae. I'm having trouble with this because we run between 30 -100 gallons a month of diesel through our coach and it's always parked with a full tank. I've never had filter issues and it ran like a striped ape to and from the Grand canyon. We filled up at a local staton and ended the trip at the same station. We averaged 9.1 mpg doing 65 mph towing my 4500 pound truck. This is the best mileage we've seen since purchase, even when we don't tow.

The coach hit 30000 on the trip. I use OptiLube XPD additive and threw a bottle of Diesel Kleen in before we left because I've had an occasional rough idle for about a year (I think the idle needs to be bumped up via the computer by about 50 -100 rpm, because it idles smoothly then).

I adjusted the gauge at the Grand Canyon and then drove home. The gauge worked fine on the way home, just needs to be adjusted about an 1/8" higher to put me at 50 gallons at half tank.

The only thing I can think of is that when I adjusted the sending unit years ago, I had to remove a resin that was placed over the adjustment screw and I never replaced it. It might be that diesel fuel and crud may have worked it's way into the adjustment.

We leave for Yellowstone in a few days and will check it's operation again.

The fuel mileage increase is still a mystery. Something that I never really checked and din't necessarilly believe was that some of the Monaco's with the ISL did not shift into 6th gear until about 63 mph. We usually don't run that fast, but this time we did......I will check shift points more closely this coming trip.

Spider · 08-20-2009, 08:12 AM

I am curious to find out how your gage acts from now on. I am having a problem with the gage in my 2005 Dynasty.After doing the troubleshooting sequence from centroid I am being told by Joel that I have an algae problem too.

Logthumper · 08-22-2009, 10:02 AM

Right now my tank is “Full”, but the fuel gauge reads a little less than ¾. It has never stayed in adjustment.
Our Knight is an 07. Last year (08) the dealer replaced the “Centroid Sending Unit” and made the “Full” adjustment. Within several months the unit was again “funny”. I made the “Full” adjustment again and once again it appeared to be working pretty good. But - I found that the Aladdin screen gave me very accurate fuel info so I use it for most of info I wanted.
This morning I decided to make the “Full” adjustment to the Centroid Sending Unit again?????? I removed the two screws holding the door closed so that the work would be easier. Once there I decided to clean all connections once again, but instead of using a terminal sealer when finished I would use Dielectric Tune Up Grease (which I have started to use on all electrical connections this year). I cleaned all connections and coated them with Dielectric Grease before reassembly. Then top coated all connections with a good dab on the grease once again.
Before doing the “Full” adjustment , I turned the ignition switch on and to my amazement the Fuel Gauge went to “Full” and stared there. Tried this several times and each time the gauge went to full.
It appears that the wacky readings are not caused by the “Full” adjustment not holding, but are caused by electrical connections which over time must become very touchy (weather gremlins).