Community Forums

Dave Killey · 03-09-2014, 02:51 PM

Hello. I have had this problem before, but it just fixed itself until now. The steering control for the wipers and the cruise control are going funky. Sometime one button works, then sometime another button works. Then they all might work for a few minutes. I have taken the cover off the steering column and check for loose wires but nothing seems to trigger it. My steering wheel has two sets of controls, right side has wipers and left side has cruise controls. I have also noticed the 4 way flashers are going on once I start engine but shut off after about 15 seconds.
Should I buy a new coach or is this fixable....LOL. Any help would be appreciated and welcomed.

palehorse89 · 03-09-2014, 02:58 PM

Hi Dave, here is some threads https://www.google.com/search?q=func...+site:irv2.com with smart wheel problems for you to look at till others chime in......

Cat320 · 03-09-2014, 04:21 PM

Some 'smart' engineer assembled part of my Smart Wheel backwards. On the cruise control side, to "accel" I push "decel" and to "decel" I push "accel."

Krazy grandpa · 03-09-2014, 04:41 PM

I had something similar, called smart wheel they diagnosed the problem and sent new button assembly's. Reasonable price and easy to replace.

Catch14me · 03-10-2014, 06:07 AM

l had a problem with my smart wheel a few years back and it was the motherboard.

DA_BUS · 03-16-2014, 08:03 PM

I had a similar problem and eventually the wipers wouldn't work. I called and ordered a new "ring" that fits in the steering wheel....easy to replace - fixed everything.

shaman52 · 04-04-2014, 07:32 AM

If your control box gets exposed to any moisture, say from the Newmar extendable windshield squeegee in the electrical compartment, the wheel controls can get iffy. If this has occurred get some electrical contact cleaner and clean the box connection points and dry the compartment.

My sewer slinky was dirty so I hosed it off and stored it in the electrical compartment and went down the road. Guess what happened to my wiper mounted controls?

Poberman · 04-24-2014, 02:37 PM

The same thing happened to us today. We went to Shortys Bear Safety Service in Amarillo, TX and they discovered that some of the connections on the board in the steering wheel were broken. They soldered them back. All systems are now a go. Thanks to Shortys!

Skip426 · 04-24-2014, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poberman

The same thing happened to us today. We went to Shortys Bear Safety Service in Amarillo, TX and they discovered that some of the connections on the board in the steering wheel were broken. They soldered them back. All systems are now a go. Thanks to Shortys!

Poberman;

First post I see.
Great to have you with us.

garmat · 04-13-2017, 12:12 PM

My cruise control will not work and all other controls on the steering will not work either. This is on a 2014 tiffin bus. Any ideas

Skip426 · 04-13-2017, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by garmat

My cruise control will not work and all other controls on the steering will not work either. This is on a 2014 tiffin bus. Any ideas

Garmat; Welcome to iRV2.

The signals from the switches on the steering wheel to the smart wheel control box are carried through a " Clock Spring " assembly under the steering wheel , the clock spring is a spiral wire that coils and uncoils as you turn the wheel and can develop cracks and broken wires that COULD be your problem. First you should check for proper power and ground at the control box .
What chassis is your coach built on, is it Spartan ? Same as the original poster?

garmat · 04-13-2017, 03:47 PM

Yes it is a 2014 tiffin bus on the spartan Chassis. Is the clock spring easy to replace by myself.

Skip426 · 04-14-2017, 08:14 PM

Steering wheel has to be removed to access the clock spring assembly then wiring has to be pulled up the steering column , but there would be testing to be done before you dive in .
A call to Spartan with your serial number , would provide info on checking fuses and grounds on the control module , that the clock spring supplies info to.

Spartan motor home support.

1-800-543-4277

Mainuh · 04-17-2017, 06:43 AM

Hi Guys and gals,

Dave, I'm not sure this is your issue but it may well be worth checking for you and garmat.

When I was in the process of purchasing my 08 MADP, the smartwheel controls weren't working at all. The dealer investigated and said they ended up replacing to control modules for them after taking it all apart. I was told those modules were $600/ea (CDN). So after we picked it up and it all worked, life was good. But, within a couple months I was going down the road and noticed my cruise wasn't working. Tried my wipers and they didn't work either. On my MA, I have electric controls for wheel elevation and tilt on tabs beside the cruise and wipers and they didn't work either. I was very upset that the new controls stopped working so quickly.

But after some investigation and forum searches, I went down into the basement compartment under the driver where the 12vdc controls are for the truck and in the lower right in there is a small black "wheel decoder" box with a few plugs going into it. I made sure all those plugs were properly seated, went back up top and tried my wheel controls and low and behold they worked. Subsequent times as it has had issues I've narrowed my issue down to the 4 pin plug on lower right of that box. The plug after 10 years just isn't seating quite as tight. All it ever takes is barely touching it with my fingers and the controls work fine again.

Just want to throw this out there for those of you with a total loss of function. Electrical connections are the bane of these units and 75+% of my issues have been electrical connection related. Get some good de-oxidizing spray and pull apart any connections that are suspect and give them a shot.

Here's a shot of the compartment with decoder box at lower right. You can't see the 4 pin plug at lower right of the box as it's obscured by wires, but you can see the 4 wires that go into it. All I do is wiggle that bad boy and the whole smart wheel works again. I guess I should see if I could get a new plug assembly that may fit tighter.