Dead Gauges

Thank you for coming back with the root cause. So many do not.

Well it's been a loooooong winter and spring, but the rv is out of the shed and back on the road!! The problem with the gauges not working was a broken wire somewhere between the VDC and the MC. I researched it all winter and even had the Freightliner tech support on the phone for over an hour while we (a friend) and I tried checking continuity and voltages on all terminals and in all locations. I finally broke down a couple of weeks ago when we got it out of the shed and took it to Freightliner. They looked for 5 hours and found the broken wire. Repaired it and we're back on the road.

I certainly know more about the electrical system in our Coachmen Cross Country than I did before. But I guess that's a good thing.

It wasn't as bad as it could have been, so we are grateful for that. Oh yea, total bill $600.00.

I am currently experiencing almost the same problems. Haven't found the problem yet. Ruled out the ECM (electronic control module). I personally think it is a ground wire issue. Will be having all the grounds wires R&R hopefully before next week. If u find your problem before I find mine please e-mail your fix to give me something to look at. Larry Baumgardner 614 264-8636 e-mail Bumster1@att.net.
Thanks

As a side note, do not start your coach unless you can drive at least 25 highway miles. This advice is from Cummins, Caterpillar, etc.

You will add moisture to the crankcase if you don't get the OIL (not just coolant) up to operating temperature. That can not be done on a diesel unless operated under a load.

We really appreciate all of the input on our dead gauges problem. However, we have been having our attention redirected lately to getting the roof trusses on the garage rebuilt and a 14' tall garage door installed in order to store the coach inside over the upcoming winter. We stored it outside last year, (bought it in September), with a full cover and the wind here ripped the cover to pieces. We paid a lot of money for that cover, got a replacement, and decided to bite the bullet and "raise the roof" on the garage, (40x60 pole building).

We are planning on moving the coach into the garage this weekend and delving into the gauge issue in the spring. Thanks again for all of your help. We will keep you posted.

Coachmen02 wrote:
Freightliner sent me the SB 54-12 and I have started checking out the possibilities. So far the fuse for the dash gauges is a 10 amp fuse and there is power through the fuse. I am continually checking the grounds. But the wires under the dash! Holy Cow!

I am going to check the connections at the VDC next. I have to find out if there is a fuse for the VDC and where it is located. (Any suggestions). So far it seems the the VDC may be the problem. At this point we are getting it ready to put it in the garage for the winter.

I understand the "Holy Cow" feeling about the wires under the dash.

Your chassis should be similar to mine, and I just checked the two freightliner black plastic boxes with fuses and relays and did not see anything that might affect the message center except that 10 amp fuse for instruments. I saw no relay labels that make me believe there is a dedicated relay for the message center.

If you don't mind reading a wiring diagram, you could ask the Freightliner Help Desk to send you the wiring diagram for your coach. They do maintain the diagrams for each chassis they make. It might be worth asking them where the message center obtains the power (fuse maybe).

I looked at my chassis wiring diagram trying to diagnose your problem, but not sure if I'm any help here. I think there is a connector "to guages" with positions a and b being the data connections, position c is not used, position e is the ground, and therefore I believe that position D is the power feed.

The position D feed to the "to guages" connector is fed from pin 9 on the "instrument Panel/Cab Harness Interface". I looked through all the other pages of wiring diagrams and could not find a match for Instrument panel/Cab Harness Interface.

Now where to find these connectors is another "holy cow" moment.

There's a thread on IRV 2 Freightliner forum has has some info on other owners that have lost guages. You might want to look at this one:

Thread on lost guages Freightliner System III wiring

Good luck and keep us posted.

Fred

Freightliner sent me the SB 54-12 and I have started checking out the possibilities. So far the fuse for the dash gauges is a 10 amp fuse and there is power through the fuse. I am continually checking the grounds. But the wires under the dash! Holy Cow!

I am going to check the connections at the VDC next. I have to find out if there is a fuse for the VDC and where it is located. (Any suggestions). So far it seems the the VDC may be the problem. At this point we are getting it ready to put it in the garage for the winter.

We bought the coach a year ago and it is super. We previously had a 32' Southwind with a 454 Chevy engine. It has been our dream to upgrade to a diesel pusher for years and we are loving it. This is just a hickup in the overall enjoyment of the coach. We are just glad that it did not happen while we were on the road this past summer.

I bet the ground wire for the dash cluster has failed. Run another ground wire to the dash cluster and I bet you are good to go.

The VDC sends data to the Message Center (the 24 light bar). From there, the Message Center drives all of the guages. If the Message Center has no power, then all of the guages will not work.

When Freightliner sent you the "trouble shooting guide for the Type XC chassis with Type III wiring", was it Service Bulletin 54-12? SB 54-12 has extensive troubleshooting steps, but some are complex. If you don't have it, here is a link to download SB 54-12.

Freightliner SB 54-12

I think you may have a simple loose connection, blown fuse, or bad relay somewhere.

When you called Freightliner, was it the Freightliner Help Desk (1 800 FTL HELP)? They are usually very good with diagnosing problems. If your call was not to the help desk, give them a call with your VIN number (last 6 digits). It's free.

At the very least, I would verify all fuses that could affect the VDC and Message Center are good, and all relays in that circuit are also good. Freightliner has a lot of relays in two boxes that are located by the builder when they build the coach. Mine is in the first bay driver side. All of those relays (at least on my coach) have the same part number. Don't be afraid to swap those relays with same part numbers to see if the problem moves.

I would also disconnect all connections to the VDC, check for corrosion, bent pins, or other obviously problems, and then reconnect. Also check for a connector on or near the Message Center. Sometimes an unlocked connector can work for years and then finally vibrate enough to cause a problem.

If you get any more symptoms or clues, post here and we'll try to help. You might also post in the Freightliner forum over on IRV2. This would give you some more exposure to Freightliner chassis owners.

When you or Freightliner solves the problem, please give us an update.

Fred

Might pull the cover off the dash and check for loose connections.