Ritabago's Dad

Linda, I left the furnace on high overnight and it drained the battery - I didn't think it would do that. The camping where I'm at now is primitive; no option for shore power. Jdemeris, thanks for the info. I'm hoping that a solid night of shore power will do the trick. If not, looks like maybe it's time for a new battery.

I started up the engine and got enough of a charge to turn the Gennie over. Come to think of it, I haven't been plugged into shore power for a while (been boondocking a lot) so maybe that's what I need? Plug in when I get home?

Usually, driving for a couple of hours charges the coach battery, but not in the last couple of trips. My coach power was fine on a trip in February but, then again, I did have shore power then. Crap. I'll check the connections.

Ran the generator for about two hours tonight, charging up my coach battery and portable 12v power supply. After I shut it off, I get faded, flickering lights on the panel. Nothing wants to run. I pull in a lantern and start cooking by that. Check the panel again and I've got full lights, so I fire up the water pump and coach lights. Panel says 3/4 charge on coach battery. Look at it again a minute later and it's at full charge. What do I have, a short of some kind? Thanks for any help. The coach battery was run down to empty two weeks ago and I had to jump it. Since then, I've noticed that it has shown more of a tendency towards 3/4 or so, but it does occasionally show full.

Would an adjustable main jet be indicated by the "main fuel adjustment screw" on the bottom of the carburetor bowl? If so, it appears that I can adjust it. It runs fairly good, considering the air leak, but at 2500 watts of output, it seems pretty overworked in trying to power even the roof air without the compressor running. According to the manual, "minor adjustments may have to be made with the engine running at full load to achieve maximum power." My only concern is doing some kind of damage to the roof air because of low voltage while I make the adjustments (kicking on the roof air alone drops the voltage from 120-126 vac to 92-96 vac.) After adjusting the main fuel adjustment screw and then working with the fuel adjustment and idle screws, I still can't get more than 96 vac and, when I shut everything off, it's cranking 144 vac with no load. How big a role does the air leak play in this drama? And, since the only thing receiving juice is the coach battery when I start the gen, is 144 vac going to do any damage? When I turn on the roof air (no compressor), the meter reading drops to 122-126 vac.

I took it back to the tech and he noticed that the control arm for the choke had moved, probably from me pulling too hard on the choke lever. I had also overfilled with oil, which was causing the smoking. Told him about increasing the rpms and he said if it still fired up, there was no problem there. Ultimately, after an oil change and a bit of cleaning, it fired up nicely, though some oil was blowing out of the carburetor intake manifold gasket. He quickly identified that as the reason that it wasn't holding steady, because of the air escaping (so maybe overfilling was a good thing?), so I'm going to go hunt down a set of gaskets and have him install those. Thankfully, this guy lets me watch him work so I can understand how to do it myself. As usual, thanks for all the help on this forum as well. UPDATE: Found this great parts site for the Tecumseh TVM140 - http://tinyurl.com/a68dhop

Well, I got the awning installed and it's fantastic! I'm very happy with the price, the look, the service and quality of the awning, which is definitely thicker and more durable than the original material. RV Awnings Mart rocks! Installation-wise, the tech wasn't used to Dometic products and had a bit of trouble getting it set up (I really regret not bringing the instructions along.) The only snag seems to be that the Safe-T-Lock Lever on the right end-cap is in the wrong general position. Instead of you pulling it towards you in the roll down position and then pushing it away from you in the roll up position, it's reversed. I've opened and closed it several times and everything works as it should. Do I have a reason for concern at all?

I'm waiting on a voltage meter so I can check the output. As it turns out, the choke cable was getting stuck; I started having difficulty getting the choke lever to push back in. Finally, I adjusted it from the carburetor and that seemed to iron out the idle, but it seems awfully intense and noisy. I did, by mistake, get the throttle lever pushed all the way to the left and it really sounded like it was about to take off, all the lights got brighter than I'd ever seen and the engine temp soared. I quickly shut it down and returned the lever to where it would be if the choke lever was all the way in. By the way, what do you recommend to use for cleaning the exterior of the generator? It's caked with dirt and grime, which has been burning off and it creates additional fumes/odor/smoke. I will be ordering a new air filter - wondering if I should do the same with the fuel filter? Thanks, guys!

My fridge isn't currently working (that's next to fix) - the a/c makes sense, thanks! Right now, I've got it on low cool and it ran at a nice, constant speed for about ten minutes, then began slowly surging. It's not dropping into low-low rpms right now, but it is rising and falling. The tech said that the oil was still good after putting in the the new carb and spark plug. Is there some sort of gas reserve inside the gennie? I've got a fresh tank of gas and have run the generator for about three hours since it got up and running yesterday. Is it just a matter of running out the bad stuff? BTW - if anyone wants the old carburetor, I'll ship it out for $5. Maybe there's something on it you can use? UPDATE/EDIT - I backed off the idle screw about a quarter turn to the right and it's been merrily humming along at a nice, consistent clip. Do you ordinarily need to adjust the rich/lean mixture that much in order to keep it happy? After about 40 minutes of smoothness, it began to surge occasionally, slowing down almost enough to "break", and then powers back up. I turned off the roof air and left on the lights - now it's doing fine. Does that sound like compressor activity? Any thoughts on Sea Foam?

It's alive! Bought the above listed carburetor and had it installed at my new favorite RV shop. The generator has never run since I've had my Toy (going on 2 years) and the guy who owned it before me doesn't remember the last time that he ran it. (There are only 29 hours on the unit!) In any case, it's running my roof air and charging up my battery charger right now. Thing is, it's doing some alternating from high to low revs. Not quickly, just every now and again, it'll act like it's straining, and then rev back up and hang out there like a champ. I've been adjusting and fine tuning between more air and more gas, trying to find a place where it will handle a load steadily. Any suggestions? Small moves or large ones? Any primer on which direction to go based on how the motor is acting? Is it just shaking off a lot of crud? When it gets bogged down, there is some black smoke, but exhaust is clean when it's really revving. This is my first generator, period, so I appreciate your advice. At this point, I'm just stoked that it's powering the coach and not shutting down!

The bumper sticker I'm looking to add will read: "I'm not in your hurry."

Vibration's gone, thanks to Agner's Auto Parts in Orlando, though it was most definitely a team effort between this forum and a few shops around town. After taking it to one place, the mechanic swore up and down that it was just tire noise. They did notice that my new left front Hankook RA08 had a bump in it and they figured that was causing the vibration - but a test drive using my spare tire proved (to me, at least) that the "roar" was still there. I decided to head up the road to Boulevard Tire and they quickly ruled out the tires, but decided to pass on a bearing job to Agner's. The tech there jacked up the front end and immediately came back with "bad bearings", spinning the tires for me and letting me hear the results. A few hours later, I rolled out of there as smooth as you please. Thanks to EVERYONE here who weighed in and helped me to reach this successful point.

In the scenario where I'm looking at wheel bearings, what would I be looking for when I jack up the wheel and give it a spin? How much should a re-pack and lube on all four wheels cost? I think that's going to be my next direction, based on what's been suggested here.

Update: Tech swapped out the center support bearing, which he said was loose, but functional. Still have a vibration, though it seems to be occurring at a different speed range. Maybe this is foolish reasoning, but no-one who has worked under the vehicle has said that the driveshaft is loose or coming apart. So, I'm going to deal with the vibration for now. One thing that is clear, the vibration is stronger and more consistent as I'm driving on curved portions of road. I believe I'm also hearing more pronounced vibration when coming down highway inclines. The vibration sounds like rumble strips. Thanks for your continued assistance. Believe me, if I could slide under there and pull it myself, I would!

Thanks guys - I actually do see that in the service manual (page 1-1 in mine) but still no part number for that carburetor. Searching for Techumseh vs. Kohler is yielding better results though. So, technically speaking, I should be able to run a roof air unit (13,500 btu) that requires 115 VAC, 60 hz 1 phase power since the Kohler puts out 120 V., 1⦱, 2W? Thanks again - this stuff is getting easier. : )

I'm looking for a replacement carburetor for the Kohler 800 2.5 CMZ. There's no part number listed in the service manual; can anyone lead me in a good direction to search online? I'd appreciate it!

John, I ordered the UIB-L from American RV and my tech swapped out the boards today. Worked like a charm; she fires up and it's toasty warm in the coach. Thanks to everyone for their help in diagnosing the issue! Ritabago's Dad

UPDATE: Gonna have the center support bearing replaced on Tuesday. The test-driving tech said it was either that or the differential, so I'm going for the one he was more sure of. If this doesn't fix it, I'm gonna have to hustle a bit in order to even afford work on the differential. Will have them look at the wheel bearings too. I'm looking at around $400 for the work at this point - which, if I'd taken it to Toyota, would've probably ended up being over a grand. Keeping my fingers crossed!

I've been running the RA08's and they are fabulous tires. Cheapest price I've found on them are with Online Tires: http://www.onlinetires.com/products/vehicle/tires/hankook/195%252F00-14+hankook+ra08++bw.html I have them mounted at a local Discount Tire, tend to fill them to 50 PSI all around, and my rig tops out at 6200 if I'm carrying absolutely all of my gear. I've driven uphill on big layers of jaggedy state park rocks and all's been well. Nice to have that kind of piece of mind.

Thanks for the link, John - I do have the manual for mine (thanks to the folks who owned my 'Bago before I did. They kept *everything* that was paper.) I found what seems to be a good price here: http://www.americanrvcompany.com/Dinosaur-Electronics-UIB-L-Universal-Ignitor-Board-Large-wSpade-Connection-Camper-Trailer-RV_p_1798.html?gclid=CNz9is_gqbUCFQWCnQod1DwARg Maineah - that's comforting news. I'll give it a go! $77 is a fair piece better than the $192 I saw elsewhere. Especially given that I'd only really use the furnace about two or three months out of the year when I travel north out of Florida. I've posted a picture of my board below. If it looks close to any of you guys, I'll go ahead and take the leap for $77. Any more than that and I'll just invest in some flannel. Actually, just saw this: "The UIB L works with the following manufacturer's part numbers: Mark 10-12-2-7-7-E312, Mark 10-12-15-7-7-E002, Mark 14-12-20-7-7-E002, 05-159000-003, 05-159000-053, 05-159000-103, 05-159007-103, 05-259000-153, 1721, 3521, 230481, 230483, 230587, 315526 and 318816." Sweet! Here's hoping it gets the job done. I'll also have them check the gap on the electrode.

Well, it turns out that a new sail switch didn't do the trick. The techs said that power wasn't flowing from the circuit board and suggested that may be the issue. My furnace is a Suburban model DD-17DSI and the part number for the "solid state control module" is 230587. If I did my searches correctly, I've wound up looking at the Dinosaur Electronics UIB-L (Large.) http://www.dinosaurelectronics.com/UIB_L.htm From what you all know out there - does this seem to ring true? If so, I'll order it up and see if it flies. Thanks a bunch - gotta love the internet.

Just took my Toy to a place and the mechanic suspects that it's the center bearing. He doesn't think it's the U-joints because he got underneath and gave them all a good shake; no clunking. Unfortunately, they didn't have a lift that could manage my Winnie, so I'm looking at a couple of other places that can handle the task. I also noticed yesterday that the vibration was more constant when going around corners, which you mentioned could be a sign of wheel bearings. At least everything is starting to narrow a bit. Two questions: one, how much am I looking at for a center bearing and wheel bearings (if that is what the problem is.) Two, is this an issue that could lead to some kind of catastrophic failure of the driveshaft and/or wheels, or am I cool driving around town trying to find someone who can help me fix it? Thanks for your help!

Yep - I have a 3V-ZE. So, picked up my Toy Sunday and the vibration is still there. I'm glad Toyota caught the idler arm pulley (and why didn't they catch it when I had the timing chain serviced?) but they completely missed the vibration, which leaves me wanting to skip Toyota as I suss out this issue. Some reading online and comparing of symptoms has me still leaning towards wheel bearings and U-joints. So my next question is, do I have time to look around or am I in danger of having my driveshaft drop off? I know that's a tad dramatic, but I don't know how this stuff works. Wherever I go, I'm going to insist on a mechanic ride-along. Tundrawolf, where abouts are you located?

I appreciate all of the input - decided against driving my Toy to this gig and left it at Toyota. I had two new tires placed on yesterday (got 'em at Online Tires, Hankook RA08's - had them put on at Discount Tire) and the noise remained. It was definitely getting progressively worse. I know the Toyota folks are overcharging, but the mechanic is a good hardworking guy and I trust his opinion. He came to find me before I left and said, "I wouldn't risk driving it." If it was something I could get away with over time, I'd certainly have continued on and sought a second/third opinion. Bottom line is: if that vibration is still there when I pick it up on Sunday, I'll have some words with those folks. Oh, and it's the timing belt idler pulley, if that makes a difference. I had the timing belt changed not too long ago and I'm wondering if there was any indication of stiffness, wear, etc., back then. On the power steering fluid situation - I think I overreacted. The loss of fluid was MUCH worse before the "repair", so perhaps it was leaking from the hose as well as the gear box. I'm definitely on the hunt for a gear box now, but will refill as needed. It's not gushing, but definitely puddling. Thanks again - I will post results on Sunday as we are heading out to camp for a couple of days. Your collective wisdom is much appreciated.

UPDATE: Okay, I'm kinda miffed here. First of all, Toyota is saying that the vibration is coming from the idler pulley. It's a $120 part - which they don't have - and I've got to get to a gig tomorrow, so I'm going to deal with the vibration for the six-hour round trip and handle this next week. Good idea? Bad idea? Second, I paid $1700 for them to fix a leak in my power-steering fluid system and now they're telling me that the leak is actually coming from a gearbox, a part that's not manufactured any more. Since this post is actually about the vibration, I won't elaborate here, but - seriously? I'll refill the fluid as needed. Do what ya gotta do, right?