Itasca electrical issue

[Schanker72]

I need help or advice. 2007 ittasca sunova 29’. My coach has an electrical issue. I turn my headlights on, the light green ilumination background comes on and so does the guage arms which turn red{ford chassis}. All looks fine, then while i’m driving, the red guage arm go out, but the green bacground stays on. This happens sometimes i restarrt and go, or every time. I have also had tthe back-uo camera come on, on its oown while this happens, and the turn signal cameras as well, and back and forth between the side and rear camera. Yet it doesnt do it all the time. I have had it at a very respectfull and large rv dealer/repair shop, and they cant get it to do it. I even picked it up to take it home, made it two blocks and turned around and went back because it did it right away, service manager came out, got a picture and visually saw it, so they kept it. And went to work on it again when they could and it hasnt done it at all. I’m not on drugs or drinking, and i never believed in gremlins, but starting to wonder. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated. Schanker72@aol.com
Thanks,,, Ryan

[garry1p]

My 2 cents problem is in the area of the steering column.

1. Pinched wiring bundle at the steering colum.
2. Loose connector.
3. Loose common ground.

You really need the wiring diagram to help on this.
You might try to move things around under the dash and on steering column while someone watch the gauges.

Good luck intermittent electrical problems are a real challenge let us know what you find.

[MrWizard]

its possible you need a replacement 'dash' unit
complete all gauges, one package

[rgatijnet1]

AT the base of your steering column you have an electrical connector. Carefully unplug the two parts and put them back together a few times. This will probably solve your issue and will cost you nothing.

[hoosiermark]

It sounds like the backup camera could be a real clue. For the smart people, I assume it probably is always on but no picture displayed until the shifter is put in reverse. If so that would indicate the issue is somewhere around the steering column. If you can get it to do it again, try moving the gear shift slightly or if you can stop and just move the gear shift a little and then from drive to park and back. You mention you stop and restart the rv and it often goes away, which would require putting it in park to start. That tells me that is the first place I would look. If you had a wiring diagram you could isolate how the gauge arms and B/U camera are connected. Their common point is possibly your problem. I bet they share a common ground.

[D_E_Bishop]

You have two really good points to work from, a loose, corroded or disconnected ground is one and the multi use switch is another, I would expand the switch to include the entire electrical part of the steering column.

I understand that you're not real good at electrical work and there is an art to trouble shooting electrical systems. There is something that both you and any tech you might get to work on it will need, the drawings or schematics for the systems. If you go to the Winnebago Industries website you can download the electrical schematics for your year Itasca. The schematics are nice to have and not all independent techs and not all RV repair shops have them. I would download them to a CD or DVD just to have available.

The schematics are to a certain extant, generic, but, they do have specific locations for some system components. The schematics cover the entire house and part of the chassis systems.

I would also download the parts manual for your specific rig from same part of Winnebago's website.

Good luck on finding your problem and by the way, there are gremlins. Ask a NASA engineer or project manager. Space probes sometimes just stop working and when they do, the B.O(bad order) system is disconnected from the probe and the power is totally isolated from the system, the system is allowed to rest for up to and maybe longer than six months and when brought back on line will begin working normally. GREMLINS!

Oh, and there was an American Motors vehicle called a Gremlin too.

[Schanker72]

Anyone in western wa north of seattle with recomendations of agood repair shop that works on rv electrical gremlins? Any help appreciated, thanks!

[TNGW1500SE]

These problems are hard to find. You need to gather all the information you can. Make notes of when it happens, what you had on and what items are affected and how. You're going to have to play detective.

I'd agree the combo switch may be the cause, except for the backup camera poping on. The backup camera should not be wired to the headlight wiring other than to adjust the brightness of the display. If it's acting like it's been put in reverse, that's a great clue.

This problem may be above your average RV dealers ability. It sounds more like a "truck" problem than an "RV" problem.

I might change the combo switch just to rule it out. Sometimes you have to "throw" some parts at the problem. You can spend hours trying to find the problem but it may be more cost-effective to throw some new parts on it.

I'd also go over the grounds, clean them and add some new ones.

We see a lot of problems with instrument clusters.

[Dale_Traveling]

My guess is the multi function switch, aka turn signal level, is the problem. It's a common point for controlling both the head lights and turn signals. Could also be a frayed wire coming off the steering column or a loose pin in a connector associated with the same.

Rather than taking it to an RV service center take it to someone who specializes with the chassis such as either a Ford or Workhorse commercial truck service center. A mobile mechanic could also perform the service. A replacement switch is a bit north of $75. Being an intermittent problem it may take a few attempts to repair to pin it down and fix it.

[Schanker72]

Thank you for your input. I was thinking ground as well, but my problem is we all are good at some thing, and electrical stuff i am not. I will start looking i guess to the best of my abillity which isnt saying much, and see what i can find. Thank you again, Ryan

[msturtz]

What you are describing is very likely a bad ground. Electricity is like water it will find a way. In many cases the path to ground is through another circuit causing very strange behavior. The problem in motorhomes is how they are built and bad grounds are highly likely to occur. All it takes is a little corrosion and you have a bad ground connection. The good news is the fix is easy. Your problems seem to be at the dash. Look around for a wire going from the dashboard frame to the vehicle frame. Alternatively you can just add another ground connection. A clean metal to metal connection is critical. Don’t ground to any of the fuel or exhaust system or any moving parts.