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Old 10-09-2022, 06:46 AM   #21
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2017 30' Classic
2022 Interstate 24X
Carlisle , Pennsylvania
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Life is a Highway View Post
First get them Air Shocks aired up.

Call AM Solar they are your best bet on the Victron. Airstream IN JC will NOT! install or work on any add on equipment. If Airstream does not sell it they will not work on it.

AM Solar will walk you through this. Or get you to a installer who can .
Hi

Yup, JC ( and most dealers these days ) do not work on DIY or "third party" installs. Is AM Solar in the "don't work on" for all dealers? Probably not. They certainly do better work than a lot of dealers out there.

Each time I've been at JC, I've had a very careful discussion about what's mine and what's theirs. If they need this or that moved to get their job done, I want them to be ready to give me a call. So far, in the course of multiple visits, that has never been an issue.

There are gray areas. They put in this and that Victron device on this or that RV. If your trailer has the same device, they at least are familiar with what it is and how it functions. Their big concern seems to be DIY wiring rather than devices ...

Some of this has changed in the last decade or so. In 2017, our dealer was very willing to install stuff we had purchased. As long as it was new in the box, they would do the install. Today, that's not the case. If it's not bought through them, they will not install it. Just why they changed is unclear ....

Bob
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Old 10-11-2022, 03:33 PM   #22
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Your air ride system is 12v so I’d start with your batteries. Did they discharge enough to have the BMS shut them down by chance? Get an ohm meter and see what they voltage is on them. I’d suggest disconnecting them, plugging them separately into a wall charger and make sure they are charged up and start from there.

Maybe someone could chime in because there’s a situation where the batteries cannot be disconnected from solar without shutting down the solar system I think. We have a factory solar panel and so I don’t have that info readily available.

I had to check into our VB Air Ride system so if you need additional info, PM me and I’ll share what I know. Best of luck.
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Old 10-12-2022, 06:04 AM   #23
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Hi

I was told that the VB system is on the chassis battery rather than the house battery. Don't know if this is specific to certain vans or even if it's true of any vans. I've never traced it out. Probably a good idea to dig into your manual and work out which one it's on ....

Bob
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Old 10-12-2022, 09:13 AM   #24
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Originally Posted by Mansderm161 View Post
My interstate was in outdoor storage for 1 month with chassis battery disconnected and everything shut down.

Any advice greatly appreciated.
Usually the best method to attack a multisystem failure is to isolate and test the systems individually to determine what the cause(s) are.

Start at the power feed point(s) follow to the power converter and check all the outputs; then test every system on the other side of the power converter 1 at a time to see if you have multiple problems or a single failure causing all of them.

You might find something simple like a bad ground path is causing all the mess.
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Old 10-13-2022, 08:14 AM   #25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hairyclive View Post
Usually the best method to attack a multisystem failure is to isolate and test the systems individually to determine what the cause(s) are.

Start at the power feed point(s) follow to the power converter and check all the outputs; then test every system on the other side of the power converter 1 at a time to see if you have multiple problems or a single failure causing all of them.

You might find something simple like a bad ground path is causing all the mess.
Great advice. This is how I would approach it.
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Old 10-17-2022, 06:44 AM   #26
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Hi

I was told that the VB system is on the chassis battery rather than the house battery. Don't know if this is specific to certain vans or even if it's true of any vans. I've never traced it out. Probably a good idea to dig into your manual and work out which one it's on ....

Bob
I'm pretty sure it's on the chassis since it is triggered by starting the vehicle and the fuses are with the fuses under front seat. I did have the chassis battery disconnected. Mercedes said I would have to disconnect chassis to store for a month or batteries would definitely drain. So I hope it's a minor thing to fix. I'm still waiting for State Farm to look at it. I have body damage that will be a claim even if everything else is related to the disconnect. Hopefully this is last time I have to disconnect. I bought a property in Ohio with no HOA and electrician out today to install my plug. Then it's a trip to Airstream.
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Old 10-18-2022, 06:53 AM   #27
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Originally Posted by Mansderm161 View Post
I'm pretty sure it's on the chassis since it is triggered by starting the vehicle and the fuses are with the fuses under front seat. I did have the chassis battery disconnected. Mercedes said I would have to disconnect chassis to store for a month or batteries would definitely drain. So I hope it's a minor thing to fix. I'm still waiting for State Farm to look at it. I have body damage that will be a claim even if everything else is related to the disconnect. Hopefully this is last time I have to disconnect. I bought a property in Ohio with no HOA and electrician out today to install my plug. Then it's a trip to Airstream.
Hi

I just lost a bet about the document package that came with our van. Fortunately it didn't involve anything like a trip to New Zealand . Turns out there are a lot of manuals in there that I simply had forgotten about. One of them is the manual for the VB suspension stuff. No idea if it would be any help or if you got the same manuals I did ( this is Airstream after all ... never the same way twice ....).

Bob
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Old 11-05-2022, 08:43 AM   #28
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Update. I took the van to Jackson center yesterday to drop off. The reason no one will look at the air ride suspension ( Mercedes, tire dealer, truck service center) is that it is installed by Airstream. And, when they install it, they remove all the suspension that was standard and all you have is air ride. So with my failure, I was "driving on the axle". So someone mentioned "pumping the rig up manually" but I literally only had about a 3 inch clearance with no suspension so they will check everything underneath but the inside also took a beating with my 650 mile ride to Ohio. They did say there is a way to access and "pump" from the front of the vehicle and they will show me that when they get it up on the rack. As far as multiple system failure, they said the AC is AC and the solar and air ride should be DC, so the AC may be a compressor problem or the Easy Start may be a problem.

One nice thing...even tho they did not install my boondocking package (solar and lithium) they will look at it since they now install systems. If they can't diagnose, I found a company in Delaware ohio that will look at it since getting back to AM solar would be a challenge. It looks like my solar is only storing up to 200 watts instead of 400 despite sunny days and being plugged in and it does not appear to be charging the battery when on the road.

As for the body work, their body shop is already a month behind. I just hope I can get back on the road by springtime.

I have 2 insurance plans, State Farm and Good Sam so I'm hoping I'm not facing a huge bill. This is a very expensive hobby! Good thing I gave up my wine habit!
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Old 11-05-2022, 08:53 AM   #29
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Update. I took the van to Jackson center yesterday to drop off. The reason no one will look at the air ride suspension ( Mercedes, tire dealer, truck service center) is that it is installed by Airstream. And, when they install it, they remove all the suspension that was standard and all you have is air ride. So with my failure, I was "driving on the axle". So someone mentioned "pumping the rig up manually" but I literally only had about a 3 inch clearance with no suspension so they will check everything underneath but the inside also took a beating with my 650 mile ride to Ohio. They did say there is a way to access and "pump" from the front of the vehicle and they will show me that when they get it up on the rack. As far as multiple system failure, they said the AC is AC and the solar and air ride should be DC, so the AC may be a compressor problem or the Easy Start may be a problem.

One nice thing...even tho they did not install my boondocking package (solar and lithium) they will look at it since they now install systems. If they can't diagnose, I found a company in Delaware ohio that will look at it since getting back to AM solar would be a challenge. It looks like my solar is only storing up to 200 watts instead of 400 despite sunny days and being plugged in and it does not appear to be charging the battery when on the road.

As for the body work, their body shop is already a month behind. I just hope I can get back on the road by springtime.

I have 2 insurance plans, State Farm and Good Sam so I'm hoping I'm not facing a huge bill. This is a very expensive hobby! Good thing I gave up my wine habit!
Oh, also...this is how state farm is approaching...of course....if failure due to hurricane.... 1st claim, deductible and repair. Body damage occurred later from the drive...therefore 2nd claim and deductible...bike damage falls under home policy...3rd claim and deductible ( not worth it, so I'm dropping the bike damage). The good Sam policy clearly states suspension is covered and you may take to repair shop of your choice, so once I know everything involved, I'll get that claim going too. It's just time and money!!!!
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Old 12-08-2022, 12:35 PM   #30
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Update. I lost my entire air suspension because a wire was disconnected! This happened once before but not to this degree. The first time MB replaced my chassis battery in warranty, I went directly to a rally and developed trouble with my gray valve motor. We could not engage the air ride to lift the house a little more, so we put it up on blocks. I then had an appointment in Georgia at a Mercedes/airstream dealer for the valve and they reconnected the "disconnected wire" to the emergency brake in warranty. I didn't think any further about it. This time, I got a new chassis battery at MB in Myrtle beach (don't go there!). And after, I had to leave the rig in storage little over a month ( first time I ever left it without checking it every 7-10 days) and when I got back to it, you could see it was practically sitting on the ground. I called MB... asked, any way is it related to battery change? They said NO. Would they look at the suspension? They said NO. So I drove 600 miles to Jackson center with no suspension and they have notified me the wire to the Emergency brake was disconnected AGAIN! I certainly did not disconnect the system. And this time it's not in warranty...I'm guessing the air must continue to leak out when not engaged till there is none left and you are sitting on the axles.

I'll have more info when I pick it up tomorrow. I was very happy they could get to it before my appointment in February. I do have to go back to MB, but I'm trying a new dealer in Ohio for the body damage from my bike . So, far, they sounded very accommodating. I see them next week to schedule the work in January or February. But at least I hope to be ready to begin hitting the road again as the snow melts.
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Old 12-08-2022, 02:19 PM   #31
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Following. Thanks for taking all the time to post about what happened, what you are doing, timelines, and so on.
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Old 12-08-2022, 03:05 PM   #32
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Also following. Thanks for the updates. This all must be very frustrating.
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Old 12-09-2022, 06:42 AM   #33
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Carlisle , Pennsylvania
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Hi

A multimeter is a sub $30 investment at your local big box store. Having one stashed somewhere in the RV is not going to take up a lot of space. (No, there's not a lot of extra space in these vans .... ).

Like it or not, dealers these days ( any dealers for any product .... ) have a hard time hanging on to techs. One could wonder about the "why?". That's how it works. The guy they have may well have a tough time working out which shoe goes on his left foot. As you pull up to a random location, you have absolutely zero chance of knowing if that's the tech you are going to get.

The only person you can trust to do it right is you. Sorry about that, but on an RV them's the facts. Get the tools and learn how do do some basic dive in on the vehicle. You don't need to *fix* everything. You do need to troubleshoot is. Even Mr shoe on the wrong foot can swap out this or that for you.

The costs ( as noted above ) of not being set up to do this can be staggering both in time and money. In this case it was only time and money, nobody got injured or killed. That's usually how it works ... most of the time.

Bob
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Old 12-10-2022, 08:56 PM   #34
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You are right! I did try to trouble shoot. I had absolutely no power to the air ride. I checked and replaced fuses. The manual mentioned checking "relay" next but with no diagram, I had to idea what to look for. I certainly wasn't considering disconnected wires. I would have considered a rodent gnawing on wires but with only about 3 inch ground clearance, I couldn't get underneath..I don't even have blocks tall enough.

But good news.. someone mentioned getting under to manually inflate the system which was impossible, but Airstream showed me where they now put the air valve for each side....right inside under the hood. That wasn't in the manual either. If I had known that, I could have easily inflated them and driven a much safer 600 miles and probably have avoided the body damage from the bike. Live and learn!
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