BAC Forum
General Boards => Technical Support => Topic started by: Harold and Gloria Skipworth on April 25, 2013, 06:02:20 PM
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I am going to replace my dead leveling compressor soon with a Viair 380C unit. My 2005 Monterey only has air for leveling, no hydraullics, I am concerened about what will happen when I disconnect the air line from the compressor. Are there check valves, will both tanks empty, will the air bags deflate and drop the chassis. I need to know what to expect so I can take precautions. Advice appreciated.
Harold
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Dump your air first, before you do anything. If your air tanks are empty you won't have a problem.
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Thanks Marc, good to know.
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FYI, I added the 380 last year to our 06 Thunder so far it's been great,
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Did the old one die or are you upgrading?
What are you going to do with the old one?
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My old pump was so packed with dirt and road grim that it would no longer mover even after I removed it. (I did try to clean it but)
The replacement pump the 380 is a sealed unit this will prevent the problem again. On the 06 unit the pump is outside just in front of the passage rear tire, how stupid was that on Monaco!
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My Contessa has a check valve, and I suspect yours does too.
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The old unit has been silent since I bought the coach 20 months ago. I think I'll try to see why it quit after the 380 is in place. Right now just waiting for favorable weather to make the switch.
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Is the leveling compressor the one that comes on periodically to "re-level" your coach? Or the one that's supposed to, anyway.
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Stan,
The air leveling compressor is the 12V electric compressor that turns on when the leveling system is trying to raise the coach at any point.
If your coach has been automatically air leveled, you will hear the compressor come on occasionally to raise the coach back to a level condition if one corner leaks down a little.
Gerald
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I have a question about this air compressor as mine has never operated since we got the coach 4 years ago. I have removed the compressor and tested it on the work bench and it works fine. I had an assistant help me yesterday and I can hear and feel the solenoid pick up when you operate a raise button on the key pad but the compressor does not operate. Checked the positive terminal on the solenoid and I do not have 12 volts. The fuse is good next to the compressor. Checked for voltage at the supply side of the fuse and still no voltage. Does someone know where this compressor gets its 12 volt power supply from?
My electrical drawings do not show the auto leveling system.
04 Monterey Newport.
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The manual that came with my 2005 Monterey has a rough diagram of the HWH leveling system. It shows 12V coming from the leveling controller going through the pressure switch then to the compressor. At least that's as it appears to me.
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From what I can make out from looking at info on the HWH web site the 12 volt from the controller to the pressure switch is the 12 volts that picks up the solenoid. The main 12 volt supply should be from the battery but I do not see it in the from electrical cabinet. They would not a wire the length of the coach from the battery with out fusing it until the compressor end would they.
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Just an update on were the 12 supply is fed from for the leveling comp[ressor. I undid a large number of tye raps to look for wire numbers on the wires in the electrical bay. Noticed that there were 7 wires down on terminal TB1-7 and 2 of these wires were red in color like the wire that supplies 12 volts to the compressor.
Tried operating the compressor from the key pad and put my foot on the brake pedal. Lo and behold the compressor ran as long as I had my foot on the brake pedal. If this is how this coach was wired from the factory then this compressor has never operated. I quess I have a 10 year old compressor that has never ran.
Rewired the compressor 12 volt supply wire to one of the circuit breakers for the HWH in the electrical bay. Thanks for your assistance Harold.
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I got a break in the weather and crawled under the front end with tools and removed the compressor assembly. I took it to my bench to find out why it failed. To my surprise the compressor still runs but my solenoid was DOA. I already received the 380C so that's what is going in. I located one at a Graingers nearby and will pick up a new solenoid tomorrow. Just in case it helps someone I diagramed the wiring at the compressor and copied the manufactures name and part numbers. See attachment
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Harold,
I would like to caution you on one issue in installing a Viair 380 in place of the original compressor. Since the Viair compressor produces about twice the volume of air that the original compressor does, it requires more amps in its supply feed circuit. I would wire the original relay as a trigger circuit to a second 30 amp relay with a 10 gauge 12V supply circuit for the Viair compressor. This wiring method will prevent overloading the original circuit, and insure an adequate power source for the Viair compressor.
Gerald
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On my 2005 Monterey, I was told by HWH when the coach has been auto-leveled, a leak down at a corner will be followed by leak downs in the other corners as appropriate. My pump won't come on unless the coach loses all air or if I raise it manually.
Dennis
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Dennis,
When the HWH system is auto-leveling the coach, the priority in leveling the coach is to deflate the high point first. If deflating the high point first does not level the coach (bottoms out), the system will inflate the low point (turn on the compressor) to level the coach. The HWH system uses the same procedure when the coach is initially leveled as well as when it is re-leveled. The system is programed to level the coach in this manner to prevent raising the coach higher than is necessary and making entering and exiting the coach more difficult.
Gerald
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HWH advised you correctly, Dennis. When auto-leveled, we regularly hear valves release air as the sensors activate the HWH control module while camping.
But if an end or side opposite a leaked down point is already at its lowest, the compressor will come on to raise the lowest point. It will also activate if tank pressure, while in Auto-level Mode, is below 90 psi. Both of these conditions can occur over extended periods of camping.
Joel
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I got the compressor assy working on my bench as needed, it runs the compressor till I have 125 lbs shuts off, and then the separator drain opens. It will stay off til the pressure drops to 100 lbs. I mounted it the coach and the first time I energized the unit it pumped rapidly triped the pressure relief and shut off. It hasn't come back on since. I tried bleeding down the tanks to below restart pressures but still no response. I know there is a check valve in the head of the separator but is there another between the tank and the compressor. It seems to me that there is and it is stuck shut
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Gerald
BTW I bought all the pieces parts needed to add the 40 amp relay and 10 ga. wire. During the process of discovering what did and didn't work it occurred to me , why use a 40 amp relay to feed a 100 amp solenoid. As the pressure switch is only rated for 5 amps I used the original "trigger" to feed the coil in the solenoid in series with the pressure switch. I ran a new 10 ga. pair to the 12 volt distribution panel and connected to a open circuit breaker with a 30 amp inline fuse. The drain valve is connected to the switched side of the solenoid and ground.
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Harold,
Some coaches have a check valve at the tank. All air leveling compressors are not wired the same. The air compressor on my coach was powered by a 10 amp circuit. If your compressor is powered by a 100 amp solenoid with 10 gauge or larger wire, you do not need to make any wiring changes when installing a larger compressor.
Gerald
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Just a curious question here... If one had a pump failure and needed to, could an air compressor connect to the system by the quick connects?
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I think so, Sean. Tow truck operators connect there to keep pressure in an out-of-commission coach so the brakes stay released.
But obviously the engine's compressor, if operational, is optimal.
Joel
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Sean,
You can air up your air system with a hose from an air compressor that is hooked to the quick connector in the service bay on most coaches.