Trapper noticed right off; we had a voltage issue when he’d turn the headlights on. Now, we don’t drive much at night but it was still an issue. So, he mentioned it to Trey… our mechanic (who we’re parked in his side yard!)
They start with opening the engine compartment and Trey notices wires that are melted in half and some arcing on the alternator. Hmmm…. not good. They removed the alternator immediately and left it to get rebuilt. Trapper and Trey repaired/replaced the faulty wiring. Major fire hazard!!!!! And we didn’t want to end up like this!
If you’re an RVer or thinking about it – watch this video… you don’t want your home to end up here.
Our mechanic and Trapper also noticed the Serpentine belt was damaged and a pulley. So parts were ordered.
Then the wrong pulley part showed up and we have a Cummins ISL 400 so we called the local Cummins dealer here in Spartanburg, SC and explained the issue. They requested the serial number off the engine.
Hmmm…. let’s do ring-a-round-the-rosey to find that info! A few Google searches on where that “should be” later…. we finally find it behind this whole wiring complex.
Thank goodness for Google and Forums. We’ve since learned, yes, there is a voltage problem/grounding problem with the 2005 Monaco’s and others models. All of our dash gauges go weird when we turn the headlights on. (What’s weird? Ok, in my brief knowledge…. the Aladdin on board is reading more true than the gauges…. all the gauges go down as soon as we turn on the headlights. The forums all suggest a grounding issue as does our mechanic. Finding a wiring schematic from Monaco from 2005 is a bit difficult).
If it hadn’t been for the voltage problem which Trapper saw right away (and the previous owner touched on during our walk through) – we’d never figured out our rig could have ended up in the graveyard along with us! The alternator needed to get corrected and the wiring issue in the rear is no longer an issue. This issue up front (the dash gauges) will get fixed hopefully tomorrow.
Stay tuned… it’s always something… we were suppose to be at Melton Hill Dam Campground last night…. had to cancel those reservations. This is a large part why we don’t make reservations!