Instrument panel DIED TODAY

[Saltydog44]

Originally Posted by TerryO

The brake reset is interesting. Is there anymore they said about this?

As he always was, Mike was very vocal about pressing the brake hard (A variant of "Drive it like you stole it"). We definitely hear and feel a difference when the brake is pressed hard. I don't recall any other points about exactly what happens except that the brakes were "reset"

Someone else can weigh in here, but I think we are also supposed to press the brake in after air up until the systems are drained. We don't do this every time, but the pedal feeling is more solid after we do it.

[CoreyinWP]

Emerson,

I believe you are talking about the slack adjusters. You push the brake down to the floor 5 or more times and the brakes automatically adjust so there is less play in the brake. There is a self adjusting spring that adjusts in small increments each time you depress the brake to the floor.

That is a different process then when you press the brake pedal down when turning the key and hearing the poofs...that is checking to make sure the ejectors are working properly and exercising them.

[Saltydog44]

Originally Posted by CoreyinWP

Emerson,

I believe you are talking about the slack adjusters. You push the brake down to the floor 5 or more times and the brakes automatically adjust so there is less play in the brake. There is a self adjusting spring that adjusts in small increments each time you depress the brake to the floor.

That is a different process then when you press the brake pedal down when turning the key and hearing the poofs...that is checking to make sure the ejectors are working properly and exercising them.

As usual you are correct. The good news is that we do both before leaving even if we don't understand fully why!!

[brobox]

Hold the brake peddle down while turning on the key, it will do the same thing. I have been doing that for years and didn't know why until I read a post that it adjusted the slack adjusters. I do the same thing out of habit when starting a car and it carried over the the MH.

[Mike D]

Just a suggestion. The air brake manufacturers were always warning about applying a lot of brake pedal pressure without first releasing the spring brake (a.k.a. parking brakes).
When you do, you are adding the spring pressure of the parking brake onto the air pressure being applied to the brakes. Brake chambers have come apart and parts have been bent by this compounding of the of the spring and air brake. This excessive pressure is limited to the axles which have the spring brake chambers. (Usually the drive axle on a coach.)
No harm is done when you release the parking brake with moderate pressure on the brake pedal, but a "to the floor" application can damage stuff.

[wmpbauer]

Don't know just how the original post went down this path...startup procedures and activating slack adjusters had absolutely nothing to do with the complete loss of dash lights, gauges, and light bar.

It appears there is a problem with the power supply to the light bar, which in turn powers the rest of the dash. The problem was/is in the circuit board itself, and no fuse was blown. My question really has to do with why this would happen after 575 hours of successful operation?

We brought the coach to the storage facility and parked it.....the dash worked! Two weeks later, I turned the key, and nothing worked.

Asking why is just the first question. I'll let you know what I find out.


Wmpbauer

[brobox]

Sorry I helped get off subject Pat. I would be very interest in the fix as I have learned from this post, it is not the first time that it has happened. With the history of my coach, I know I need to be prepared.

[Saltydog44]

Agree Pat - I think there was speculation about maybe the starting procedure contributing to the issue and it sort of took on a life of it's own.

[757driver]

Originally Posted by Mike D

Just a suggestion. The air brake manufacturers were always warning about applying a lot of brake pedal pressure without first releasing the spring brake (a.k.a. parking brakes).
When you do, you are adding the spring pressure of the parking brake onto the air pressure being applied to the brakes. Brake chambers have come apart and parts have been bent by this compounding of the of the spring and air brake. This excessive pressure is limited to the axles which have the spring brake chambers. (Usually the drive axle on a coach.)
No harm is done when you release the parking brake with moderate pressure on the brake pedal, but a "to the floor" application can damage stuff.

Spartan has their version of an anti-compounding valve so that this will not happen.

Also to adjust the slack adjusters (brake pedal to the floor) the park brake has to be released.

[bevandtomH]

Pat, Mike or anyone who might know;
Was there anything said by Spartan about a catastrophic failure of the instrument panel while driving?
Are system failures discussed in the training classes they do?
Would you be able to control the coach enough to safely slow down?
Are the brakes, air, hydraulics separate systems only tied their controllers or to the dash functions?
I am sure my lack of knowledge is showing about these things....
Hopefully, no one has had to experience that at highway speeds to find out.
Tom

[wmpbauer]

After speaking with both Spartan and Entegra, I'm convinced the circuit board used for the fuse panel may, over time, may lose the ability to carry 12 volts at 3 amps. The Light Bar on the dash distributes power to all of the gauges, and if there is insufficient power available at that source, the whole dash will crash. Spartan was willing to replace the entire circuit board, but said they have done that in the past and the new board would also fail. They said installing a new dedicated wire to power the dash is their best and recommended solution.

They prefer the wires be soldered and the joint enclosed in a self-sealing, waterproof heat shrink tubing insulator. The field splice that was performed on my coach was installed with crimped butt splice, so they will pay Lazy Days to bring the repair up to code.

They haven't had enough problems to identify exactly what conditions fry that circuit, but there wasn't a burned fuse, so it shouldn't have been a surge. Sounds to me like the board failure will even occur when there is less than 3 amps applied to the circuit. I wonder if it could be some kind of corrosion to the actual metal on the board? Everything else worked, and as soon as the light bar power supply was installed, the whole dash came on, and everything worked.

So, in the end, Spartan could not tell me WHY this occurred.


Wmpbauer

[dusty56]

What Pat stated. If you replace the circuit board it may happen again. Hence you are in the same situation everyone else is in driving a Spartan chassis. The best fix is what Pat and I did. Since mine only had 1500 Miles when it decided not to work I would rule out long term corrosion etc... Faulty board or insufficient ability to supply 12v at 3 amps. If it goes out it is usually at start up when you first turn the key.

I would not worry about it. On the Entegra forum it only happened to two of us. Odds are not a problem. If you look at spartan site or other OEM manufacturers using Spartan there doesn't really seem to be a major problem. Pat and I are the lucky ones!

I guess to answer Tom's question if it happens while you are driving you can safely pull over at the next rest stop and take care of the issue. Your GPS will give you your speed but the dash does not effect any of the operating ability of the coach. You will need 18 to 22 gauge wire, butt connectors and a in line 3 amp fuse. You will need you cell phone and speed dial to spartan CS. Oh yeah, wire cutters. Should be standard equipment on your coach because you can use the same wire etc... on almost any other item that gives you trouble.

[brobox]

Thanks for the heads up Pat and Mike. The repair items are always on board. Spartan has been on speed dial for a long time We are even on first name basis.

Two is a very small number of forum members to have the problem..... glad to hear that.