rear suspension air bag inflation

[tovedude]

I have a 79 excella mh. recently the new compressor does not come on when the engine is started to inflate the rear air bags so I can go on a trip. any ideas?
the last time I drove the mh it worked well. I was driving along and the engine cut off due to bad batteries and someone had turned off the univolt. after restarting the mh and starting the generator the mh drove fine. now the bags do not inflate. also there is now an intermitant click and when ever the click happens all the power goes away then comes back on. any ideas?

[87MH]

Originally Posted by tovedude

......also there is now an intermitant click and when ever the click happens all the power goes away then comes back on. any ideas?

Tovedude:

Welcome to the Forum -

Sounds as if you have multiple electrical issues.

First off, I would find out what is causing the main circuit breaker to open ("click and the power goes away") - the circuit breaker is just like one in your house - it takes the place of a fuse, except it sets itself to "on" again after it sufficiently cools. Sounds as if the circuit is overloaded. The overload may will be part of the compressor problem, possibly even the compressor itself.

You may want to start disconnecting circuits one by one (compressor, fridge, charging (both house and chassis batteries)) to determine which circuit is causing the overload. The batteries themselves may be at fault - if they are older you may want to have a shop load test them - anything over two or three years of age plan on replacing - especially if they have been fully discharged once or twice.

Do not check the compressor by simply connecting to a battery. Although the compressor will "run" if connected in this way, there are other circuits (at least on mine) controlling the "on" relay and the "preload dump" valve. Do a search on specific words - especially on the compressor problem. Air bag compressors have been much discussed in the past.

We would all appreciate some pics of your MoHo. Do you have any idea of it's history?

Check out the thread "Motorhome Production #'s".

[RichardT]

Welcome to the Forum! What size Excella do you have?

[87MH]

Originally Posted by tovedude

....recently the new compressor does not come on when the engine is started to inflate the rear air bags so I can go on a trip. any ideas?

Just remembered....you MIGHT have individual electrically operated solenoid valves on each air bag to control the height (both inlet and outlet).....the later model years are mechanically operated.....your electrical problems might be causing erratic operating of these solenoids.

Welcome to AS MoHo ownership! -- the learning curve is $teep.