Workhorse UFO Brake Problem

[wazdafuz]

Apologies for a long post. I own a 2008 Winnebago Adventurer Limited GL 37 on a workhorse UFO R26 rear gas engine chassis. This chassis is equipped with the Wabco Meritor brake system. Like many others I have had the pump replace that was at approx. 8000 miles in 2011. I have had no further problems until June 4 this year. After being on the road for about an hour that day the dash lit up with warnings: abs light, ATC light, park brake indicator light, auto park indicator light, LCD screen messages hydraulic brake failure and check abs brakes. The brakes seem to work normally during this time. When the coach is stopped placed in park and engine turned off the auto park comes on and can not be released. After setting over night and then restarted the dash is free of all warnings and the park brake releases. The first time tis happened I took the coach to a Workhorse service center where they replaced a ground wire. All was good until August 26 when the same exact problem occurred again. I am looking for help with this problem anyone have similar experiences and if so what was the solution?

[mgscott4]

Maybe that ground wire that they replaced needs to be cleaned or tightened. I would start by cleaning my chassis battery connections. Remove and clean both ends of the battery ground cable.

[UFO Pilot]

This happened to my UFO one time only. I removed the ground cable from the chassis battery, waited about 2 minutes and then replaced the cable making sure it was secure. That was about 4 years and 30,000 miles ago and it hasn't happened since.

[wazdafuz]

The coach was in the Winnebago factory service center for two days of course they could not get it to throw any warnings or alarms. After hours of diagnosis and $$$$$ then a call to Meritor Wabco it was determined that the pump needed to be replaced AGAIN. Bad news is the part is $3000 the real bad news is that it will be the end of September or early October before it will be available.

[-Gramps-]

Brakes are working as normal? When my pump starting acting up the front brakes became noticeably softer and needed a longer push to stop the coach. After the HCU was replaced the brakes went back to being stiff and a very hard short push would stop the coach really fast.

[mgscott4]

Originally Posted by wazdafuz

The coach was in the Winnebago factory service center for two days of course they could not get it to throw any warnings or alarms. After hours of diagnosis and $$$$$ then a call to Meritor Wabco it was determined that the pump needed to be replaced AGAIN. Bad news is the part is $3000 the real bad news is that it will be the end of September or early October before it will be available.

Let me understand your situation. Your going to spend $3000 after The factory couldn't find a problem but a phone call to the brake manufacturer convinced you to buy their pump, for a one time glitch that is most likely an electrical problem that was already fixed once by replacing a ground wire.

You need to rethink this and do more troubleshooting before you spend $3000 on a part you most likely don't need..

[edgray]

Originally Posted by wazdafuz

The coach was in the Winnebago factory service center for two days of course they could not get it to throw any warnings or alarms. After hours of diagnosis and $$$$$ then a call to Meritor Wabco it was determined that the pump needed to be replaced AGAIN. Bad news is the part is $3000 the real bad news is that it will be the end of September or early October before it will be available.

IMO, the "Winnebago factory service center" is NOT the place to be having CHASSIS diagonostic work performed. Especially when the problem is related to the highly technical WABCO brake system used on the UFO. There are several threads here in this forum that discuss the system extensively, and I suggest you search for them and read up on the problems. Some of our members have developed a through understanding of these WABCO issues. Having WBGO replace a $3,000.00 chassis part is the LAST thing I would be doing.

You didn't say where you are located, but there are several Workhorse Authorized Service Centers (ASC) that are more likely to "fix" your problem if one even exists.

[-Gramps-]

I have to agree with Ed, most MH dealers have no idea how to work on a R-26 chassis. Take it to a WH service center for sure.

[Duner]

wazdadfuz, Any chance you could plan a vacation out to Centralia, Washington? The Brazel guys are the best in the business on Workhorse, and have seen just about every problem you can think of. At the very least, call Jon Brazel and get his opinion 360-736-9494.

Good luck,
Bill

[Lash]

I managed to dig up this thread and will relate a similar problem I am presently having with the Meritor system.

Last year I was out west with temps peaking in the 105 range. I was getting abs and hydralic brake warning lights when the afternoon temps peaked. Called Meritor and they said to replace the master cylinder vent cap which I did and the problem went away. Thought I was out of the woods.

I am now sitting in Bakerfield Ca with the same problem. With the weather peaking at 105 in the afternoon, I start getting the alarms. When the coach sits over night, the alarms go away and do not come back until the temps approach 100 degrees ambient. My scan gauge reads air inlet in the 116 degree range.

Am going to try to limp back to Houston and then start working on the issue. Hate to install a new HCU with ECU and it be a simple connection issue. The thermal aspect of this makes me suspect the ECU but now I have read this I am going to check out all connections and see what happens.

I love the coach but am really disappointed with Meritor and their support both in technical and parts availability.

Any other feedback from people experiencing the same problem would be appreciated.

Regards

[Bestia58]

I have an amazing rv on a wr26 chassis that I have now owned for 6 months. i think the chassis is great but reading all these issue with the auto park and the brake system is very concerning to me. is it possible to change the entire brake system? there are many other coaches that use Hydraulic brakes like ford and some of the international super c's without airbrakes. i am sure it will be expensive but wondering if anyone has tried this.

[-Gramps-]

All these brake problems you have read here took place nine years ago. Meritor had a problem with the UFO (as well as others) hydraulic brake pump back then. My coach had the same issue, low pressure to the front brakes, and when low enough the auto park would not release. The pump was replaced under warranty and I have not had a failure since. Have I had alarms? Yes, normal ones, like when the ABS kicks in during a very hard stop, as it is supposed to. I also had a low voltage alarm when the chassis battery, which powers the pump, needed to be replaced. You need not think about replacing the brakes even if that were possible.

If you would like to talk to other owners about this as well as learn tricks and hints to keep your UFO in good shape, I suggest you join the Gas Pushers (UFO owners) Facebook group. It is a small but very good group of folks. Here is the link:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/490524731339342/

[UFO Pilot]

The 2 times I thought I had UFO brake problems I simply disconnected the battery for 2 minutes and the "alarms" all went away. I have 80,000 plus on mine now without a brake problem.

[Bestia58]

thank you, guys, for getting back to me. I don't have any social media.

i read that they say not to disconnect the chassis battery because the HCU or something doesn't have a memory. this sounds stupid to me.

if the rv is in drive and there is an issue will the auto park lock? if so that is what I am worried about. i was wondering if there was any alternative to this auto park brake.

i have to say it does help to hear from you guys that you have not had any issue with it. I really like my Rexhall rv on this platform it is better than many diesel rvs. the 2 full wall slides are increasable.