Wanderlodge Gurus - The Member Funded Wanderlodge Forum

Randy, a few years ago, I test drove a 91 that was on the lot at Pat Poors in Dallas. After driving for 5 miles and turning around to go back to the dealer, the coach did the same thing as you described. They never would relate to me the answer. I suspect the coach had to be towed as the owner came out to take us back in his personal vehicle. Was very scary for me.

Ernie Ekberg
83PT40 Wanderlodge
Weatherford, Texas

Hi Everyone,

I have an ongoing problem with the inverter on my 2003 LX. This
scenario has happened twice: While driving down the highway with the
inverter running the radio volume goes off. Then, the coach loses
all power and stalls. It happened once in Washington, DC traffic
last summer and again today coming home from Fort Valley. I
recognized what was happening today when the radio volume cut out
and the coach started losing power. I reached up and shut the
inverter off and the coach "came back to life" and I continued home.
This is a very dangerous situation to say the least. It seems to me
that the inverter is pulling from the coach batteries and running
them down and causing the coach to stall. I had the coach at the
factory all last week having the electrical system checked out and
they say that there isn't any problem that they could find. They
said all batteries are in good condition and the inverter is fine
and the changeover switches are working fine. I told them about the
inverter problem and they said there isn't any way for the inverter
to be causing the coach to stall. I spent $600.00 at the factory
having everything checked out and am not satisfied that there "isn't
anything wrong." I wondered if anyone else has had anything like
this happen? I really want to get this straightened out before I
head out on my next trip.

Randy Merrill
2003 LX
Ocala, FL

Randy this would qualify as a major. You need to



--
Rob, Sue & Merlin Robinson

94 WLWB

What is wrong is really simple, finding and fixing it might turn out
to be really challenging.

The ONLY thing that could cause an inverter to stall a bird is a near
or actual dead short across the 12 volt input to the inverter. If
there is a fuse or breaker in the input side of the inverter, the
short has to be before the fuse / breaker.

Since your short is intermittent, it could be very hard to find, but
I highly recommend the following;

Either you or a qualified technician remove the inverter, open the
case and physically trace the 12 volt input looking for possible
intermittent grounds. Look for evidence of arcing or excessive heat.

If you can't see anything, you could put an ohmmeter on the 12 volt
line and shake the inverter vigorously. While safe, this is
really "hit or miss".

Happy hunting,
GPSGary

What you describe is an interesting problem. What it sounds like is
that the electrical system is causing a voltage drop at the engine
computer. (There should be a code in there...) I note that when my
engine computer codes were dumped (at CCW in Riverside), the
technician commented, oh, there's nothing unusual, just a few "low
voltage" warnings... I was concerned because I'll get the "check
engine" light to flash on for a few seconds every once in a while
(very infrequently) but by the time I have a chance to react to it,
the light goes out and there's no indication that anything is wrong.

A diesel engine will run so long as it has fuel. The modern diesel,
with computer control, will run so long as it has fuel and the
computer allows it to. The only thing that will bring the computer
down (in normal circumstances) is a voltage drop or a bad ground.

Whether it's the inverter ... or something else ... it sounds like a
transient short or ground interruption, causing the battery power to
be diverted, dropping voltage to the engine computer and the radio.

I don't doubt that Fort Valley wasn't able to find the problem,
because this is the type of thing that would only be detectable when
it is in the process of occurring and circuits will otherwise test "OK."

No real suggestion as what the problem might be ... but if it ONLY
happens while the inverter is working, then I'd suspect SOMETHING
with the inverter or the circuits that go to the inverter. (The
inverter itself may be alright, but there may be a short or bad
ground in the wires leading to the inverter.)

Since a mantra on this list is, "It's usually a bad ground" what I'd
check first is to ensure that all ground straps are not corroded and
are tight.

Pete Masterson
'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
aeonix1@...
On the road at Lockhart, TX



On Nov 15, 2008, at 2:23 PM, Randy Merrill wrote:

> Hi Everyone,
>
> I have an ongoing problem with the inverter on my 2003 LX. This
> scenario has happened twice: While driving down the highway with the
> inverter running the radio volume goes off. Then, the coach loses
> all power and stalls. It happened once in Washington, DC traffic
> last summer and again today coming home from Fort Valley. I
> recognized what was happening today when the radio volume cut out
> and the coach started losing power. I reached up and shut the
> inverter off and the coach "came back to life" and I continued home.
> This is a very dangerous situation to say the least. It seems to me
> that the inverter is pulling from the coach batteries and running
> them down and causing the coach to stall. I had the coach at the
> factory all last week having the electrical system checked out and
> they say that there isn't any problem that they could find. They
> said all batteries are in good condition and the inverter is fine
> and the changeover switches are working fine. I told them about the
> inverter problem and they said there isn't any way for the inverter
> to be causing the coach to stall. I spent $600.00 at the factory
> having everything checked out and am not satisfied that there "isn't
> anything wrong." I wondered if anyone else has had anything like
> this happen? I really want to get this straightened out before I
> head out on my next trip.
>
> Randy Merrill
> 2003 LX
> Ocala, FL
>
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>

Randy, Pete gave you some great info. As he and others said you have one of the the hardest types of problems to diagnose, an intermittent one. I would have yourINVERTER and related WIRING looked at CLOSELY. Do you actually know if the inverter pulled your batteries down, or are you just thinking that because you lost power? You may be losing intermittent power to all coach functions; engine, radio, lights, etc.: when this problem rears its ugly head. It took me quite a few dollars and a yrs. time to find out why my wifes Volvo would just cut off. Very scary, and a real pain. Good Luck, and in the mean time, leave your radio on to give you warning before it shuts down. At least now you know what to do! Regards, George Burke 1977FC31 Charlotte

There seems to be a consensus that there is an intermittent problem
with the inverter so I'll tell you how it would be diagnosed in
industry.

Remove the inverter. Remove the inverter case so you can see inside.
Visually inspect for a possible short.

If the visual inspection doesn't reveal anything, hook the inverter
up to a dummy load like an extension cord and light bulb. Hook the
inverter up to a 12 volt source like a surplus battery (not one you
care about) with some sort of quick disconnect or fuse or breaker. If
you're using a 12v battery use spring operated battery jumper cables.
If you have a spare fuse holder or reasonable size circuit breaker,
this would be a little safer but diligence and a quick hand on the
battery jumpers will suffice.

Shake the inverter. Violently if necessary. Poke around. Use
something insulating. Even a dry towel, manually manipulate all
components, connectors and cables.

I think its HIGHLY unlikely you won't find something that causes a
short.

Regards,
GPSGary

Intermittent stuff can be really tricky. A previous Toyota Camry I
had would just shut down from time to time. Couldn't start it back up
(Had to call AAA several times). Three trips to the shop-- nothing
found that was wrong except the battery was a little low due to the
attempts to restart. Finally, someone suggested, "get a new
battery" (The battery was 6 years old.) Got a new battery and the
problems all went away. Seems the old battery was intermittently not
delivering enough volts, shutting down the engine computer (which
shut off the engine). Of course, it would test "low" but charge right
up with the big charger used at the shop. Then it would test OK --
but what didn't show up was that the battery was dropping down very
quickly and was not recharging adequately with the alternator due to
age and normal degradation.

So, take heart that you will eventually find the real reason for the
shut downs. Something some where is causing a major voltage loss. The
inverter may be part of the problem or it may simply be a victim of
the problem. At least, it seems involved and is clearly the place to
start tracing circuits and testing continuity to find what's really
happening.

As a service manager I once did business with said, "Don't worry,
these things have a way of getting worse." (What he meant was, that
an intermittent problem tends to eventually degrade into a non-
intermittent problem that can then be found and solved.) Of course,
the problem I had (that couldn't be found) "got worse" in the toll
plaza of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge at the height of
morning rush hours... (But the problem was found!)

Pete Masterson
'95 Blue Bird Wanderlodge WBDA 42
aeonix1@...
On the road at Lockhart, TX



On Nov 16, 2008, at 12:41 AM, George Burke wrote:

> Randy, Pete gave you some great info. As he and others said you
> have one of the the hardest types of problems to diagnose, an
> intermittent one. I would have your INVERTER and related WIRING
> looked at CLOSELY. Do you actually know if the inverter pulled your
> batteries down, or are you just thinking that because you lost
> power? You may be losing intermittent power to all coach functions;
> engine, radio, lights, etc.: when this problem rears its ugly head.
> It took me quite a few dollars and a yrs. time to find out why my
> wifes Volvo would just cut off. Very scary, and a real pain. Good
> Luck, and in the mean time, leave your radio on to give you warning
> before it shuts down. At least now you know what to do! Regards,
> George Burke 1977FC31 Charlotte
> On Sat, Nov 15, 2008 at 3:23 PM, Randy Merrill
> wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
>
> I have an ongoing problem with the inverter on my 2003 LX. This
> scenario has happened twice: While driving down the highway with the
> inverter running the radio volume goes off. Then, the coach loses
> all power and stalls. It happened once in Washington, DC traffic
> last summer and again today coming home from Fort Valley. I
> recognized what was happening today when the radio volume cut out
> and the coach started losing power. I reached up and shut the
> inverter off and the coach "came back to life" and I continued home.
> This is a very dangerous situation to say the least. It seems to me
> that the inverter is pulling from the coach batteries and running
> them down and causing the coach to stall. I had the coach at the
> factory all last week having the electrical system checked out and
> they say that there isn't any problem that they could find. They
> said all batteries are in good condition and the inverter is fine
> and the changeover switches are working fine. I told them about the
> inverter problem and they said there isn't any way for the inverter
> to be causing the coach to stall. I spent $600.00 at the factory
> having everything checked out and am not satisfied that there "isn't
> anything wrong." I wondered if anyone else has had anything like
> this happen? I really want to get this straightened out before I
> head out on my next trip.
>
> Randy Merrill
> 2003 LX
> Ocala, FL
>
>
>
>

Thanks everyone for the ideas and advice about the inverter problem. I now have a list of things to look at and troubleshoot and I'll get back to the group and let you know what I find.



Thanks again,



Randy Merrill

2003 LX

Ocala, FL