Community Forums

Lenc · 03-23-2014, 03:27 PM

I just acquired a 2001 Winnebago Journey DL. I have several questions that I can't solve via the manuals. First, I have the Cat diesel and with the key turned on prior to start I get the WAIT TO START annunciator. The light remains on and stay on even after start for a minute or two. Is this normal? Second, what accessories are powered by the inverter via the batteries with out shore power or generator? What I mean is what 110 volt items?

KIX · 03-23-2014, 03:34 PM

I can't help with the WAIT TO START issue.
Disco shore power and leave gen off......turn inverter on and start checking all receptacles and 120v appliances to see what works. Inverter output varies widely as to what they power.

wb7auk · 03-23-2014, 03:37 PM

The wait to start light is a light that tells you the intake heater is on and will stay on
a few minutes after starting until the intake air is up to temp.
A great help when the outside temp is low.

Dupdyke · 03-23-2014, 03:38 PM

What part of wait for glow plugs to be ready to start did you not believe? When you turn key to on position the cat starts a process to pre heat glow plugs so it starts easy You should not turn to start position until the light goes out it might take what seems like a long time if its cold. In my monaco my inverter is large enough to run all the 110 outlets in the rig. Go to winnebago.com pull up the online manual for your rig and look up inverter options. good luck enjoy

wb7auk · 03-23-2014, 03:41 PM

Cat's do not have glow plugs but a heating element only.

Pusherman · 03-23-2014, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lenc

I just acquired a 2001 Winnebago Journey DL. I have several questions that I can't solve via the manuals. First, I have the Cat diesel and with the key turned on prior to start I get the WAIT TO START annunciator. The light remains on and stay on even after start for a minute or two. Is this normal?

First, it's important to follow the proper procedure to start your coach with the CAT diesel. The 'Wait to Start' light is programmed to a grid heater in the air intake system of the engine. The grid heater comes on with the ignition key, and heats the air in the intake system. It is thermostatically controlled.

Therefore if you go ahead and start the engine before allowing the grid heater to do it's work, the 'Wait to Start' light will not go out until the air intake sensor heats up.

You didn't say what process you followed, so I'm guessing you didn't wait for the light to go out before starting the coach.

adonh · 03-23-2014, 03:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pusherman

First, it's important to follow the proper procedure to start your coach with the CAT diesel. The 'Wait to Start' light is programmed to a grid heater in the air intake system of the engine. The grid heater comes on with the ignition key, and heats the air in the intake system. It is thermostatically controlled.

Therefore if you go ahead and start the engine before allowing the grid heater to do it's work, the 'Wait to Start' light will not go out until the air intake sensor heats up.

You didn't say what process you followed, so I'm guessing you didn't wait for the light to go out before starting the coach.

First 2 things that I leaned with the Diesel Class A coach. Wait until the Do Not Start light goes out before starting engine and Don't drive off until the air is up for brakes and drive height.

Dutch Star Don · 03-23-2014, 04:04 PM

Lenc......Are you saying the "Wait to Start" light is coming back on after you start the coach?

Either way, the "Wait to Start" light is there to basically tell you that your engine fuel heater is heating the fuel before starting. On cold days the light may stay on two or three times longer than a warm day. You shouldn't be starting the coach until the light is off. On cold days, it could come back on a couple of times after you start if the fuel heater comes back on. On my previous coach, you could look at the volt gauge and see it drop when the fuel rail heater came on briefly during the first minute of warm up.

About the only large item your inverter should be powering is the microwave. Your A/C units won't be connected to the inverter. Your TV's and several outlets should be powered.

Take a Sharpie and disconnect from shore power. Turn your inverter on and check all of your outlets with some type of electric motor like a small handheld blender or a light bulb on a cord. (If you use a meter, the inverted outlet my not read if it's in sleep mode).

When you find an outlet that is powered by the inverter, put a small black dot on it with the Sharpie. Turn on your TV equipment and make sure it works. Don't forget to check your outside outlets. You don't want to have something like awning lights plugged into an inverted outlet while you're boon docking and conserving power.

Your coach most likely has a Modified Sine Wave (MSW) inverter and is standard in most coaches. The more expensive inverter is a Pure Sine Wave (PSW) inverter. The difference between the two is the MSW is a "dirty" power compared to "clean" power from a PSW unit. The "dirty" power can be hard on small appliances and damage their electronics. Because of the amount of power a microwave draws and the fact that it has internal electronics that could be damaged, I NEVER powered my microwave with the inverter. I always fired up the generator. Just a personal preference.

1ciderdog · 03-23-2014, 04:34 PM

On my 04 Journey all the outlets are powered through the inverter with one exception. The refrigerator outlet is not powered by the inverter.

Cat320 · 03-23-2014, 05:38 PM

Re the wait to start light. My manual says if it's below 40 degrees to use the engine preheater. When using the preheat, the WTS light does not even come on.

stink · 03-23-2014, 05:44 PM

Yup perfectly normal for your wait to start light to come back on after start. This is preheating the air in intake to help on cold running. My 3126 does this also.

wb7auk · 03-23-2014, 05:50 PM

When you turn the key on the ECM looks to see what the coolant and intake air
temps are.
If the temp is below 50 degrees the ECM turns the intake manifold heater on and off
heating the air except if the starter is engaged where as it keeps the heater on.
The heater will heat until the temp reaches 75 to 80 degrees then shut off.

BillJinOR · 03-23-2014, 06:09 PM

On my 03 all the plugs including the tv microwave coffee maker and even the refrigerator power plug is powered The easy way is to find your power panels , mine are at the foot of the bed. There are two power panels the main one and a sub panel that has a 30 amp breaker from the main that provides power to that sub when plugged in , the inverter handles it when not AND the inverter is turned on ... and the circuits are marked that are run from that panel A/C heat pump, engine heater ,hot water heater etc big ticket items are all not powered ,
Wait to start has been explained and mine works just the same way .. It may come back on after running if very cold out

Hooligan · 03-23-2014, 06:37 PM

Lenc: Here's a quote from the CAT Service Manual, probably in more detail than necessary, on the "wait to start". However all his temperature figures are missing a decimal point. It should be 77deg F or 25 deg C. etc-- (at 770 deg at the intake, the smoke would be much more noticeable than the light)
CAT 3126B "Wait to Start" Light