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Abrum81 · 06-20-2018, 07:44 AM

Hello,
I am a teacher in Florida, wanted to use my time off as a time to travel with my kiddos. Twenty days ago we purchased an older RV and embraced tiny house living. Teachers don't make a lot in the way of income so I had to purchase older and remodel.

I went with a 1989 Coachmen Catalina. A 27ft Class C. The kids and I repainted the interior, learned to replace a few plumbing leaks and took her to the mechanics three times until the power steering issues was finally resolved. Everything seemed fine or at least fine enough. We went ahead and left Central Florida to travel to Northern Florida and this is what we experienced:

Generator stopped working, it has been glitchy in the few times we used it anyhow, just randomly stopping and sometimes a clinging noise. Now it wont even attempt anything. The breaker is in the one position and it has gas.

So as a result we traveled four hours with no AC. Broke the awning upon the first time using it so that's a waste.

Once we arrived at our destination, thankful we arrived, the rig would not start in order to level out.

I am feeling defeated. I have had to learn all about generators, plumbing, and everyday use and that is wonderful but I can't tackle every issue at once and I am running out of money for the summer. My guess is the alternator went out on it and didn't charge the batteries the entire trip. We have been hooked up to shore power all night so in a bit here I plan to try and see if she'll start. No matter what though, its more money I have to shell out. I was told it was a great RV. It is in good condition for it's age but it's been so much work with no help outside of my awesome kids.

There are not many mobile mechanics in this area which is surprising. Hopefully I can find someone as I may be able to tackle plumbing but replacing an alternator is not within my abilities.

High Plains · 06-20-2018, 08:30 AM

Sorry to hear about your troubles, the one thing about RVing is there are a lot of headaches but as you go on with it you learn more and more and it get's very enjoyable. We are on our third coach and there are always problems. We had our current coach a little more than a week and had an issue. Good luck and keep learning. Hope you can get everything fixed in time to enjoy your rig.

Abrum81 · 06-20-2018, 09:02 AM

Vehicle didn't start. What would this imply? My batteries are new, the died in one trip, when hooked up to power still didn't start. Would it be the starter? Batteries still read as good according to the dashboard.

Thanks, High Plains...hoping to work out the major stuff soon.

High Plains · 06-20-2018, 09:28 AM

Could be anything, starter , alternator, the vehicle could even be in gear and won't turn over unless it's in Drive or Neutral. When I got our new one home I heard a beep when I shut down the engine I heard a constant alarm sound, it took me a moment to realize I had left the headlight on.

bdpreece · 06-20-2018, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abrum81

Vehicle didn't start. What would this imply? My batteries are new, the died in one trip, when hooked up to power still didn't start. Would it be the starter? Batteries still read as good according to the dashboard.

Thanks, High Plains...hoping to work out the major stuff soon.

Since we can't be there to see; you have to be very specific. When you say didn't start, does the motor turn over at all? If no turn do you hear any noise such as a click like the starter is trying to engage? Is this a Ford or Chev engine.

Abrum81 · 06-20-2018, 10:30 AM

A friend of a friend came out and he ruled out starter and alternator. He messed with the starter solenoid but didn't replace anything. He ended up jumping the engine and then told me to let it run for about twenty minutes, which I did but after a while the engine started struggling to run and again I don't know if any of it is related but the following occurred:

The sound of a fan...like a hair dryer...which I wouldn't mention unless I hadn't heard it prior to the issues.

The oil gauge was reading fine but the more the issue persisted the lower the gauge would move, it never went outside the normal section but still...kind of unsure as to why. Is that an oil pressure gauge or oil level and would either prevent the rig from supplying power...I don't really think so, however...would they not operate correctly if the rig is low on power? Also, there are no leaks. Once the engine cools I could always go out there and check oil level.

Seat belt light wont go off and the electronic rear view mirror flickers on and off, which started happening prior to the first incident. That mirror does not seem to run constantly but I unplugged it anyways.

When the rig was running, the batteries had a good reading as did the oil gauge. I hope I have not damaged the batteries as they are brand new and apparently really good 200 dollar batteries.

Oh and when we jumped it, we checked to see if it was the alternator but apparently it kept running even off jumper cable...and it was running fine until the guy left and then after an additional 5 minutes it started having issues.

Abrum81 · 06-20-2018, 10:40 AM

It is a Ford 1989 E350 460 motor. The guy that took a look said it runs great. That's what everyone keeps telling me but still I have an issue,

To answer your earlier question it would only click when trying to turn over and the guy said my starter sounded strong.

Podivin · 06-20-2018, 10:45 AM

Trying cleaning all the cable connections, from the battery to the starter and from the battery to the frame.
It could be something as simple as just a bad ground.
It would be prudent to disconnect the cables from the battery first, to prevent shorting them while cleaning.
TAKE PICTURES of all the connections on the battery, so that you can put the cables back where they came from.

YC1 · 06-20-2018, 10:54 AM

These things can be very intimidating. You are a brave person and smart enough to sort this out.

This is just a Van with a house on its back.

Since you have new batteries it appears you are having a charging problem.
Your engine batteries or battery is separate from the batteries that run your inside lights. You may not have replaced that battery.

The engine battery probably does not get charged when plugged into shoreline. (power cord).
The engine battery may supply the generator. Since you appear to have problems with both it may be an engine battery issue or lack of charging.

When you got a jump start it paralleled the engine battery. Once it is running it would have been nice to have a voltmeter across that battery. Without a voltage measurement it is just speculation.

Your symptoms are of a battery going dead which causes all kinds of strange issues.

Abrum81 · 06-20-2018, 11:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YC1

These things can be very intimidating. You are a brave person and smart enough to sort this out.

This is just a Van with a house on its back.

Since you have new batteries it appears you are having a charging problem.
Your engine batteries or battery is separate from the batteries that run your inside lights. You may not have replaced that battery.

The engine battery probably does not get charged when plugged into shoreline. (power cord).
The engine battery may supply the generator. Since you appear to have problems with both it may be an engine battery issue or lack of charging.

When you got a jump start it paralleled the engine battery. Once it is running it would have been nice to have a voltmeter across that battery. Without a voltage measurement it is just speculation.

Your symptoms are of a battery going dead which causes all kinds of strange issues.

Thank you for the words of encouragement. I keep telling myself I can learn this, just wish I had a break in between in thing going wrong lol. Both batteries are new. The guy that came out also said that the battery does not get charged while plugged in, I am certain it did not. The guy was not coming from his shop and did not have the proper tools. The previous owner also stated check the external alternator regulator which is thankfully outside the alternator. However, I do not have the means to do this.

RickNC · 06-20-2018, 11:10 AM

29 year old motorhome, I first would be looking closely at the battery cables and terminals both to the starter solenoid and to the starter. Battery cables do corrode/deteriorate internally over time and build up resistance, especially if the cables have long runs. Get yourself a $5 voltmeter to check voltage output to the batteries instead of guessing that the alternator works.
High school dropouts sometimes become plumbers, you can handle that problem too.

MotorPro · 06-20-2018, 11:48 AM

Does it have a volt gauge in the dash? If so what did it read when running?

Mike and Cha · 06-20-2018, 12:02 PM

If the shore power does not charge the chassis battery, you may want to buy a small battery tender and hook it up to the chassis battery while you are camping. You can get them at any auto parts store, Walmart, Harbor Freight ect. They are relatively inexpensive and if you can get to the store, it may be worth it to buy/use one.

raccoonman · 06-20-2018, 12:53 PM

Don't feel that you're alone with these issues; I recently picked up a similar rig and, once I got it home, managed to cross the battery terminals. Diagnosing and isolating THAT ONE problem took a month. Thankfully I wasn't using the rig at the time! (It had a lot more problems than that, and still has plenty to go). First of all, don't let the issue beat you down. Do you need to move the rig often? If not, keeping a trickle charger on the battery might be enough to keep you in starting condition until you've gotten the problem kicked. Drop by the local library and read up on the vehicle the rig is based on; they probably have plenty of repair manuals that cover the E350 chassis. Youtube is also your friend; check out troubleshooting videos and see if they give you any insight. Also, don't limit your inquiries about mechanics to RV folks. These are indeed just a travel trailer on the back of a VAN.