IDS levelling problem

[Dave Cunningham]

Well, I got under there today, and sure enough the first thing I see is the positive lead from the solenoid completely fried and grounded to the housing.  I separated it all and tried the pump again.  Blew another fuse, motor is completely shot. So I pulled the pump out.  Easy job literally took me about 20 minutes.  Headed down to my local automotive electrical supplier.  They got on the phone, and tomorrow morning I will have the exact replacement motor, ready to install.  My cost $225.00.  Not as bad as I thought it would be.  Hopefully I can just bolt everything back together and it will work properly. Thanks for your help Ed, you saved me some time by pointing me in the right direction.  Once this is figured out, I think I am downtown, just the ice maker to fix.

Dave

[Edward Buker]

Great news Dave. When you get the motor installed and it works, please post who the source was and the particulars about the motor that was ordered. Over time we might have to retrace your steps.

I have not had to do that job. Just out of curiosity, did you have to remove the whole assembly from under the coach, or could you pull the motor from the mounted assembly and leave the pump there?  Perhaps a photo of the assembly without the motor?

Later Ed

[Dave Cunningham]

Ed,

I was planning on taking some pictures tomorrow before I put everything back together, as I mentioned, pulling the entire pump/motor assembly is a piece of cake , the whole thing is held on by to 1/2" bolts through the bottom of the pump, then it's just the positive and ground leads with one 12volt wire for the solonoid. You would not want to take the motor off the pump under the coach, it's too easy to pull the whole thing out.
I"ll post some pictures tomorrow.

Dave

[Dave Cunningham]

Ed,

guess what I have done now, got the new motor, installed it this morning, but when I went to hook up the two hydraulic lines, I realized that being the genus that I am , I forgot to mark them, so I hooked them up the way that they looked like they should go and decided to give the controller a try, the new pump works awesome, it immediately jacked the drivers side of the coach straight to the moon,when I hit the retract button so I figured I must have them hooked up backwards, changed them around and now they won't come down. Called Ken at Beaver Coach, who by the way has been reading this thread, and he is going to send me a schematic of the system. on the manifold there is a T and a P marked beside each respective line, on the pump there is one fitting on the top, and one on the side, I would think that if I have it hooked up right now, that it should open up the proper valving and retract the jacks.

[Dave Cunningham]

while I am waiting for Ken to send through the schematics, I thought I would post the pictures of the new motor ect.

[Edward Buker]

Once you know that the hydraulic lines are correct you would be back to the controller again if all is not well. One added thought, is there a rotation noted on the old and new motor. They are series wound usually and are directional with current flow and build configuration. You should check and be sure that the rotation is the same.

Sometimes dropping all 12v power (battery switches) for 30 seconds can reset the circuits in the boards in case something is latched up in the wrong mode from the voltage drops from an overcurrent conditions. I suspect that the battery switches have been off enough where that is not an possibility as to the cause...

Later Ed

[Dave Cunningham]

Got the schematics from Ken, they show the electrical. Layout of the system, but I can't figure out why the jacks won't come down. Asked ken to get Steve to call me he knows these systems inside and out , but never heard from him, I need to get this figured out tomorrow,  as we are supposed to be heading out for a trip, all I can think of doing is finding the hydraulic lines to the retract side of the cylinders and disconnecting them from the manifold so they will release, and then dropping the air to get them in as far as they will go. Maybe I can get hold of Stone tomorrow and find out if I have the lines routed properly, can't believe I didn't mark the lines when I pulled them off, I am usually more careful than that.  *^+#£€>¥<€}^#^

[Edward Buker]

Dave,

In the heat of battle things get forgotten.... I know little about the hydraulics and the solenoid systems that drive the ram extend vs retract. Seems like BCS is the best help here. Certainly they understand you cannot move the coach as is. Perhaps an offer to Ken that you want to hire Steve for an hour or so at the shop rate to see if you can trouble shoot this over the phone with him. They are good folks there but pulling Steve from the shop for more than what could be a short period of time may need something worked out in advance. Just thinking fair options for you and BCS...

Later Ed

[Edward Buker]

Steve,

One more thing. I just noticed the arrow on the blue label of the old motor. That should be roatation. Is there a way to verify the new motor rotation is the same with a phone call to Warden or Stone?

Later Ed

[Dave Cunningham]

Thanks Ed, I actually did offer to pay for Steve's diagnostic time on the phone, but still haven't heard from him, that is a good point on the motor rotation, I will check that this morning, I found a diagram on the net last night that shows the P and the T that I spoke of earlier, they simply mean pump and tank, so I think I will pull the lines off and fire up the pump for a half sec, see which way it flows and put it together. I think I may have to locate the retraction lines from the two cylinders an disconnect them to drain the cylinders down. Then I can start fresh from the beginning.

[Dave Cunningham]

I've done it! Finally and end to the saga, called Stone , they schooled me on the flow of the pump , went and checked and I had it right the first time, so I reversed the hoses and crossed my fingers as I gave it one more try and sure enough the jacks retracted, so I turned the system on and hit the auto button went outside and gazed in awe as it levelled itself, then I did it twice more just for fun. not sure why it didn't work when I first hooked it up, don't care. not sure why the controllers seemed to malfunction, don't care, on to fixing the ice maker .

the important points to note , if anyone ever refers back to this are the part number for the motor, and the letter p stand for pump the letter t stands for tank.Also the fitting on the side of the pump body is the pressure port and the one on the top is the tank return I am going to try to attach the link to the IDS schematics that Ken sent me , they are not available on the internet , so they might be good to add to the coach assist section.

just tried that can't seem to attach it, I 'll email it to the appropriate person

[David T. Richelderfer]

I just imagine, David, when you get that ice maker fixed and cranking out ice, then you will make a nice, stiff drink.  After all this fun you have had, you may need one... or several.  Soon... people will be paying you for consulting time on the phone.  Do you do retainers?

Also, what do the weeping hole covers look like on your 2003 Marquis?  I have a few missing and ordered replacements from BCS in Bend.  Between the parts guy, Mike, and my errors in determining the correct replacements, I got none that would fit.  My weeping hole covers are square cornered - all four sides and ends.  They look like a "long, square sausage" as opposed to a long, round sausage.  All the weeping holes, left side and right side, on every window are the same dimensions... EXCEPT the ONE entry door weeping hole that is shorter in length.  Each weeping hole consists of two in-line slits which are covered by one weeping hole cover.

[Edward Buker]

David.

Congratuations, glad you reached the end of your journey on this one. I'm sure what you have learned here will help others including myself. I for one will be happy to see the schematics on coach assist. Enjoy your trip. There is a lot to learn in maintaing these coaches and for those of us far from Bend the forum is our best shot at collectively figuiring things out...

Later Ed

[Dave Cunningham]

Hey thanks for your replys , even without the ice maker working I have been celebrating all afternoon. These coaches are complicated sometimes and if you don't have unlimited funds , you need to work on them yourself sometimes, I have had eight of them now and I am no Ed Buker or Gerald  Ferris ,but I have learned alot over the last three years,
David , funny you ask about the window vents, when I was at bcs ,I bought all new ones for my coach and they are totally different from the ones that I know you are talking about, the old square ones suck, they fall off the minute you try to wash the coach, these new ones are rounded, and conformed to fit the window moulding , other than the short one you mentioned on the passenger side , I have been very impressed with them so far, almost no wind noise, and they are quite secure .
As for the ice maker , ranit through the tests I found online and the motor is done, ordered one from eBay for $115.00 plus shipping.
Thought I was done but remembered that I needed a control board for the onan, so I. Ordered that too, for the low, low price of $1000.00 , I've actually paid less than that for a complete generator before, oh well that's motor homing
If you want to play you have to pay.

Dave

[Dave Cunningham]

Ed,

Where are you located , ken from BCS, told me that you bought your 02 from them , he had been following our thread, and mentioned that you were a former engineer , and a great guy to have as a consultant.