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crazyearl · 06-29-2020, 05:59 PM

Recently I purchased a 2000 Dutchstar DP with an 8.3 cummins. It was sold from an insurance auction for having been a victim of a power surge on the house side and blew up a few appliances. It has 74,000 miles and an allison automatic. Air ride suspension.

It drove trouble free 4000 miles to my home in southern Ontario Canada. It will not start. It has no illumination of the transmission selector, no start on the ignition switch. No start of the generator. (ive never had it running)If I jump the starter it will start but not give the the transmission selections. Slides are in. I have checked everything that is obvious from fuses to breakers and replaced the ignition switch. Has good batteries with good clean and tight connections. Starter has been replaced but not while I have owned it. No manuals present. That is the next adventure find diagrams and manuals. Someone cleaned it for the auction and the manuals went in the garbage (I assume)

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Earl Robinson
Peterborough Canada

jimmy braden · 06-30-2020, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crazyearl

Recently I purchased a 2000 Dutchstar DP with an 8.3 cummins. It was sold from an insurance auction for having been a victim of a power surge on the house side and blew up a few appliances. It has 74,000 miles and an allison automatic. Air ride suspension.

It drove trouble free 4000 miles to my home in southern Ontario Canada. It will not start. It has no illumination of the transmission selector, no start on the ignition switch. No start of the generator. (ive never had it running)If I jump the starter it will start but not give the the transmission selections. Slides are in. I have checked everything that is obvious from fuses to breakers and replaced the ignition switch. Has good batteries with good clean and tight connections. Starter has been replaced but not while I have owned it. No manuals present. That is the next adventure find diagrams and manuals. Someone cleaned it for the auction and the manuals went in the garbage (I assume)

Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Earl Robinson
Peterborough Canada

So it started several times fine (during refueling) on your trip home?

Sounds like a wire to the ecm. Start with checking for power to the main harness under the drivers seat bay.

crazyearl · 07-01-2020, 06:21 AM

I didn't drive it home. A couple who move RV's across the USA did and reported zero issues. I called Spartan chassis. (great company so far BTW) and the sent me 83 pages of wiring diagrams and all the fuse locations etc. Saturday with diagrams in hand I am heading to the coach to work on it. Spartan says it is in the TCM or in the fuse area of transmission. If it doesn't sense neutral it is a no start. I will update as I go in case anyone else encounters same issue.

twinboat · 07-01-2020, 06:51 AM

You do need the trans display to light up for it to start.

Some stick a fuse right near the batteries.

Ray,IN · 07-01-2020, 08:26 PM

Speaking only of my MH(see below), I had a very similar problem -no power to transmission pad.
Cutting to the chase, the problem was a loose connection on the firewall(outside). There is terminal block where power comes from the chassis batteries and from the terminal block is disseminated to the shift-pad, dash instruments, etc.
It took a mobile mechanic and me 1.5 hrs to find the loose connection, he tightened the retaining nut and everything worked normally, has ever since.