neubie
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Posts posted by neubie
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Yup. pulling fuses tomorrow to check. Have a decent clamp meter as well but might rig up an LED test bulb too.
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25 minutes ago, Christeen said:
Hope my reply didnt seem smart *** . I appreicate your time to check the photos and give me advice, not to mention all the work you do as the forum moderator thanks,
sunraders tend to fare a bit better but check my repair thread -- it is STILL going and for the cost I see far better options including sunraders not to mention two lost years of using it. I console myself with excuses like learning experience, knowing your toyota well, having new appliances and so on. But the truth is a good starting point is important for everyone but the most dedicated professional.
By the time they get into this state of disrepair, a lot of mechanical nd electrical things go wrong too. At that point, it a time wasting exercise if you are not a pro.
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20 minutes ago, WME said:
Pull all the fuses. Put them in one at a time. If you have a milliamp function on your volt meter place it between the battery and ground, it will show instant current flow.
No meter just hook the battery and watch the LEDs as you plug in the fuses.
Thats a good idea Will try at next opportunity.
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I changed things over to LED in the truck portion too, in part to discover if there were any not-so-off switches in the truck that might drain the battery unexpectedly. From prior experience, LED replacements seem to show intermittent contacts or bad switches better by lighting one or two LEDs in the package where a conventional bulb doesnt light up enough to be detected.
The result was my rear stop lights are receiving some voltage, even when all switches are off, and key is out. Only lights up a couple LEDs but given the number of bulbs in that circuit it is probably a significant drain on the battery. Disconnecting just truck battery ground turns things off, so its not coming from the coach batteries.
My suspicions are against the light switch at the steering. Is that easy to replace/repair? Any other smart ideas for test points except at the bulbs?
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In the old shureflo designs, the pressure switch comes off relatively easily and can be cleaned. If I recall right there is even an adjustment screw somewhere that changes how often the pump cycles, but not in a terribly useful way. If its a shureflo, replacing the switch isnt terribly hard either. There should be youtube videos aplenty, its a relatively common problem.
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1 hour ago, stig said:
Awesome. Thank you so much! That all makes sense. I'll clean the pressure switch and inspect the pipes for clogging as well as empty the tanks and use the water bucket method you describe.
the water bucket method is only good for cleaning water lines using a low regulated pressure house water line. You collect the output of the faucets in the water bucket instead of filling up the tanks.
If you have water in the holding tanks you have to dump properly at a dump station. Do not try to empty them elsewhere.
Cleaning the lines may solve your pump issue too. Disassembly requires empty freshwater tank and lines, disconnecting the pump, disassembly, reassembly, proper reconnection to prevent leaks. Not rocket science but not trivial. At least watch a youtube video of the process first.
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The only real addition is the isolator wiring for charging the RV battery with the alternator. It is possible that folks have relocated some coach electronics to the truck. Chances are what you see is already too custom for wiring diagrams. A meter is your best friend. Combine with posting pictures and asking specific questions. good luck.
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The water pump has a pressure switch. If the lines are pressurized "enough" it should shut off. You are seeing normal behavior if no taps are on and pump turns itself off. The pressure switch gathers crud over time causing abnormal behavior where pump doesnt come back on. Recycling power cause it to reset. Pressure switches can be cleaned by pump disassembly.
Winterising can be taken too far to the point where lines can get clogged if not cleaned, they are only 3/8th. You should clean pipes any way.
Holding tanks are not large, can and will backflow. If they are white plastic you can look at empty/full by peeking underneath the truck. Shine a light. Black tank can be visually inspected by looking down the toilet hole too.
A dollar store bucket to collect water and controlled low pressure external water connection works best for cleaning lines. No point in needlessly filling the tanks with relatively clean water only to have to dump it. Water a garden with the full bucket.
Remember, old lines can and will leak. Best to control water supply carefully until water lines are well inspected/cleaned. It doesnt take much moisture to get mold going in old wood.
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28 minutes ago, WME said:
Be you RICH??? If not then try your local CC, years ago the course was called Powder puff Mechanics. I'm sure in todays world its some thing like Auto Mechanics 101.
As proud owner to an elderly Toy House you should be able to.. Check fluid levels in the rear end, transmission, brakes, cooling system and all the batteries. You need to know how to change the engine oil and filter. Adjust the valves, change the spark plugs and set the ignition timing. How to use a volt/ohm meter.
These are all 101 level skills, easily learned and having this knowledge/skill will pay for the college tuition the first time you have a problem on the road.
In the years I've been RVing Ive had to change water pumps, alternators, a fuel pump, replace radiator hoses, a toilet. Preventive maintenance goes a long way, but stuff happens
No, rich wasnt a great guy, never my friend.
Anyhow, the challenge is mobility and flexibility. Otherwise education would not be a problem. In this case, mechanical issues wise I plan on conserving my abilities towards diagnosis and emegencies. For everything else there has be AAA+. Not much of a choice there, doctors bills can buy you many a toyotahome.
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#8 x ¾ inch Stainless Steel screws? Should be commonly available at home depot/lowes if not ace.
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Things are quite noisy and massager-grade vibratory at the moment, so I will have to find a way to improve security of screws and nuts all the way around. Not comfortable adding water to drainage system yet.
Also have been hoping to get past an oil change first -- which should give you an indea of my skill level and ability. Luck so far - two dealer negatives, and two independent shop bays that wont accomodate the height. I am driving distracted even in the other car hoping to find a bay that might look tall enough. Wonder why most places have capped their bay doors at 8ft or under. One place it almost went in until the fridge went scuppered the plan. Searching radially outward from parking space, and nothing yet within a few miles. Almost out to the shop Linda recommended now. May be tomorrow I get out that far.
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If a pit has white glueish thing applied to it then its an attempt to fill a hole or crack.
Clean well with a good roof cleaner, pretty much to get a shiny surface, you do this once in an eternity, dont skimp on cleaning. Add a couple layers of a good elastomeric roof coating, as instructed by package, on a warm afternoon.
Members swear by different brands of elastomeric roof coating, everyone from rustoleum to koolseal,snowseal and what not makes a version. Pick the one you like most recommended here by doing a roof coating search and checking on what and why they say about it and whether it applies to you.
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Never easy to take pictures of a roof to show folks the level of detail for informed feedback. In general, any 30 year old bare roof is begging for a good coating.
Here, the question is - what are those dimples and spots that decorate the surface? Shallow pits or through holes?
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Here is the "after" state for this year.
Outside:
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Today I learned something new.
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56 minutes ago, Riverwild said:
I can't help with the leak, but I just bought an 86 Escaper and I also have the "floam" stuff all over the underside of my rig. It's in great shape and does NOT appear to be something applied aftermarket, it's too smooth and appears to be original to the coach.
The foam is aftermarket. They were not applying greatstuff at the factory thirty years ago.
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inside pictures? The mileage is low enough. If age is the only issue with components it sounds like a reasonable deal.
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I am sort of at a fork in the road. The house part is stuck back together, sealed, and except for drainage minimally tested. I am not any good at making things look pretty so things like wallpaper to improve roof appearance will happen after some use. There is another ziptie here and a cabinet there that could be adjusted but doesnt prevent use anymore. Just the normal thorough cleaning to go.
The truck part is now up and being illitrate in engines/transmission/brakes I lean towards an oil change and inspection for this year. Unless the head gasket doesnt like me, in which case its doubtful any real use this year.
I think the oil change would be a good stop to this thread.
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6 hours ago, Squirrel said:
Respectfully, I'm not disputing that it is possible to fry an MPPT controller. I'm just saying that a 12/24V controller is not rated because it is limited to taking in 12/24V. Controllers are rated by their output and by the amount of amps that they can take.
As an example, that controller that you mention above: https://www.amazon.com/Renogy-Rover-Input-Charge-Controller/dp/B01MRWTAB5/Can output 12/24V, can handle 20 amps, but has an input max of 100V.
It will happily take 48V and charge your 12/24V battery bank.
If the renogy has a 100v input max, then I was careless and wrong in listing that as an example of the limitation. The basic recommendation remains to not use one with max. voltage below max. panel voltage.
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My tanks are the same material as the freshwater tank or "plastic" as linda puts it. I snuck in as much epoxy mix as I could into the crack, then wrapped around with fiberglass mesh soaked well in epoxy mix. Everything has hardened to form a cover that should hold but it hasnt been tested. My problems are twofold:
1. The tanks are not very heavy when they are empty. The neck is almost heavier with ABS and the valves. Yes the neck isnt very long, but the ABS/valve sections are at least 3 feet long. They are unsupported.
2. The tank straps, there is one underneath and two side straps, dont grab the tanks tightly. The straps easily slide under the tanks.
Road vibrations will surely cause problems. Are the tanks/tank exits like this for everybody? When empty can you slide your finger between the tank and a holding strap?
I also have a ramp off the street that is causing the back to scrape the rear going on/off the curb. Scares me every time the truck drives in/out of its parking space. The air bags should hold here but they are useless until they start holding some air or I get them replaced.
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20 minutes ago, Squirrel said:
I'm no expert on the matter, but wouldn't that MPPT controller take in the 40+V (from the panels) and output either 12/24V? So long as you don't exceed their amp rating, of course.
Just an excerpt from that article you have linked: The Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) charge controller takes the PWM to the next level, by allowing the array voltage to vary from the battery voltage.Yes, but only within design voltages of the controller. Solar panels dont produce a constant 12/24/48 volts, the output varies all the time depending upon the sun/time of day. MPPT compensates for this variation better than PWM.
MPPT controllers have design max. input voltages, just the same as any other electronics component. I hope that is included in that article, otherwise its a serious omission. Google's top result notes -- "Keep in mind that MPPT charge controllers have a maximum system voltage limit that they can handle from the solar module array. It's important that you make sure there is no condition that the solar module array voltage will go above this limit or you could potentially harm the controller."
https://www.civicsolar.com/support/installer/articles/choosing-correct-charge-controller
There is no potentially about it, you will likely fry anything designed for 12/24V with 48V.
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Yes, the ladders come with a platform too. You just need to buy one that will get you to the roof, just so you dont end up with my conundrum of endless ladder purchases.
Tracking down current leakage
in Electrical
Posted
They all work. The problem is stopping them from working. The stop signal has a pair of LEDs on both rear bulbs turned on when both sets of batteries are disconnected at ground terminals on the batteries. Just the solar still connected. Something is leaking just a bit of voltage/current when there shouldnt be any possibility.