ERATIC ALADDIN DASH DISPLAY--HELP

[LEAH DRAPER]

OK guys, I am the female owner of my 2008 Contessa (38') and I am experiencing a really WIERD problem.

I have  an Aladdin display on the dash (NOT THE MONITOR CAMERA, A VOYGER) behind the steering wheel and below the analog gauges.  It also contains the warning lights for "check engine, dpf, heist, air bag readings and various other readings as selected by the controller which is located on the driver side control panel area.  This small display and the whole panel on lower dash has been blanking out recently and then returning to visible for some reason.  Yesterday I was having a problem again, but IN ADDITION, suddenly all of the analog gauges began to go from top to bottom.  I was driving at the time and it really ALARMED ME.  

I am not totally mechanically challenged, but am certainly no mechanic.  I would think it may be a loose
connection or maybe a problem with ground, but I don't know where to begin to look.

I have searched all over our forum for possible answers related to the Aladdin but have found nothing that helps.  The user manual isn't much help either.  It talks of a "reset switch" but I get the impression that it is behind this module on the dash on the back of the unit itself.  

Many of you have talked about this reset switch being above the riverside overhead cabinet, BUT guys all there is there is the switching button for the TV antenna feed.

Can any body help with my issue and problem....... I am trying to get ready for a trip to CA and I don't think I want to start out with this problem....to scary!!!!

There is a small access panel on top of the dash, do I take it off and look there for loose wires, a reset switch???

Really need help guys.......

Leah

[Edward Buker]

Leah,

It sounds like it is a loose ground or a common 12V supply wire issue, most likely ground because it seems unlikely that all of those dash issues would be on one common 12V line but you never know. You can try and gently wiggle wires and harness feeds that travel to the gauges, with the ignition on, and see if you can induce the fail. That is your best bet to find this issue. If you find something that induces the fail follow it until you find the bad connection.

In the electrical bay under the driver seat, while someone watches the dash gauges, wiggle the wires that go to the strips with screws in a row. Those are the ground connections. See if you can induce the fail there. If not take a screw driver and a nut driver with a socket of the right size and check all of the visible connections by tightening them slightly, more if loose. You do not want to use excessive force here just a moderate amount of force on each screw and nut. This is a good practice once in awhile. I also spray all of those exposed nuts with terminals, copper busses, and ground bars with the screws with Corrosion X once a year.

Don't be surprised if you cannot find this issue and you may have to live with it until it declares itself to the point where you can get it in a shop while the fail is happening. In that case you have to put mind over matter, tell yourself that this is an electrical issue and trust that the mechanicals are good without the gauges. You cannot get too distracted while driving.  If for any reason the power is also being cut from the ignition and you get any signs of running issues then for sure stop and do not drive. In that case I would look to the large solenoid at the bottom of the copper busses or the ignition switch as the source of that issue. I am not sure I would reset the Alladin until I found what is causing the gauge issue and see if correcting that fixes the Alladin issue also. This is especially true if the Alladin and the gauges have the problem at the same time. Hope this helps.

Later Ed

[LEAH DRAPER]

Thanks ED for your reply, will check out those items you cited and see what I may be able to find.

Leah

[Mike Humble]

Leah,
I believe most of the discussions regarding resetting the Aladdin were referring to the Aladdin Jr. which is not I what I think you have.  I would suggest a call to BCS regarding your particular system which is unique to 2008 Contessa 425.
Mike Humble

[LEAH DRAPER]

Mike
I did talk briefly with Ken Carpenter, but didn't find it very helpful.  Is there someone else there at BCS who might be more into this issue....Ty maybe or Sean?
Leah

[Mike Humble]

Maybe Sean, or Monaco
Mike

[LEAH DRAPER]

I still have NOT been able to resolve this problem.  Sometimes it works just fine, other times the display goes blank but seems to return after turning the key off and back on.   The other day just parked at home without the engine running this display again went crazy flashing all the icons on the display face as well as all the analog gauges were moving top to bottom un-controllably.  BCS had no resolution nor has Monaco so far.  

Has anyone else with this vintage coach experienced this issue??

Since the ignition switch is a GM, is it possible this could also be a related problem to GM's ignition switch problem?
Leah

[Jerald Cate]

Leah,

This may be  a long shot but try rotating the dimmer switch for you dash lights back and forth a couple of times.  I had problems with some of my analog gages awhile back and by chance moved that dimmer knob and it fixed the problem.  Don't know if the dimmer switch is in the Aladdin circuit but it may be tied to the same supply circuit and an erratic dimmer switch could be loading down that supply circuit causing the display flashing.

[Edward Buker]

Leah,

The ignition switch actually turns on a large solenoid switch that is at the bottom of the two copper buss bars in the electrical bay. So the ignition switch is a switch powering the main switch. That main switch has at times been an issue as the contacts age and pit. Usually it is either open or closed, so the symptom that is prevalent is a loss of electrical power with an engine shut down if this unit was going bad.

I would consider changing that main solenoid switch given it is not overly expensive and it could be involved. If the contacts were made but poor enough you could have enough erratic voltage drop to make things act strange due to low voltage at each of the items powered by the ignition switch. This is not the common symptom but it is reasonably possible.

If you can get this to happen again take a meter set on DC volts and measure from ground to the left copper buss and then from ground to the right copper buss in the electrical bay and see what the readings are. They should be within about a tenth or two of the same reading in volts and steady, at approximately 13.8v with the engine running. The fact that the Alladin was acting erratically along with the analog gauges at the same time would point to something like the main solenoid switch or a poor ground that feeds the dash panel. Also when you turn it off and restart it sometimes it fixes the problem would fit a contacting issue like what the solenoid would present. You renew the contact surfaces a bit each time they make and break but it is very temporary.

You could have a bad Alladin unit failing that was dragging down the dash voltages and affecting the analog gauges but that seems less likely then something else affecting both of these systems. Hope this helps....intermittents are tough problems.

Later Ed

[Steven Link]

Leah,
This same thing has happened to me in my Marquis. I was never able to find a ground problem but was able to resolve the problem by doing what I call "rebooting" the whole coach. To do this start by turning off the battery disconnect switch in your battery bay then turn off the chassis battery disconnect switch in the engine bay wait 3-5 minutes then turn the engine switch on followed by the battery bay switch. This essentially reboots the multiplex computers on the chassis and the house along with the alladin system. Even though your gauges appear to be analog I think they are like mine and they are analog but with digital controls through the Alladin system.  I hope this helps it can be quite disturbing when all of your gauges peg and go crazy and the whole thing seems to go dead. Mine has done this twice in 6 years. I still don't know the exact cause but it has been so sporadic that I decided not to worry about it...just reboot!

Steven Link

[Edward Buker]

Leah,

Steven has had success with this procedure and if he is right about the gauges being fed by the multiplex system and not separate analog sensors then this is certainly possible and worked for him. The only thing that I would add is to cut off an AC being fed to the coach using the main breaker or outside breaker on the post before you go through this routine. The charger/inverter can be a separate 12V source depending on how it is wired.

Later Ed

[Les Brandt]

I had a similar problem with my Silverleaf driving back from Missouri a month ago. It would blank out and come back on. It did this constantly. I thought it was a bad connection of sorts and possibly a typical ground issue.
Last week the screen just went black. I got under the dash today and found the connector dangling amidst all the wiring.

I surmised that the connection was loose which caused the periodic blackouts while hitting bumps in the road and it finally fell out while driving it.

I plugged it in and all is well.

Can't say that this is your problem but definitely one to look at.

[LEAH DRAPER]

THANK YOU responders.....
Will try your suggestions and see if I can get results for this"bug".  One of the most frustrating is being able to know the exact psi of the system to determine bringing the slides in/out.  Even tho the gauges indicate psi they don't show as exact as the digital numbers.  

If this digital multiplex "brain" is confused wouldn't other oddities be showing up besides this problem?  

The only area I have not checked for loose connections is the control panel left of the driver side under the window.  This where the control panel is located.  
The other day when this "pegging" occurred I was resetting the trip meters when this crazy action started happening.

Leah

[Bill Sprague]

.......  One of the most frustrating is being able to know the exact psi of the system to determine bringing the slides in/out.  Even tho the gauges indicate psi they don't show as exact as the digital numbers.  .....

Leah,
I don't think you need to be concerned with the slide operation.  If there is enough air in the system for the low air warning buzzer to be off, the coach is being supported by the air suspension system.  So, if the buzzer is off, air leveling is off and hydraulic jacks retracted, I think you can operate the slides without issue.  

[Edward Buker]

Leah,

It is unlikely that something like this happens just as a random event exactly at the same time when you are pressing the reset on the trip meters. I can't tell you why the analog gauges went and pegged but it may be a clue as to what is happening for the manufacturer of the gauges to possibly answer.

Later Ed