Forum Discussion

weschaney's avatar
weschaney
Explorer
Oct 06, 2016

General Winnebago mechanical questions

Hi guys, new to the forum here. I purchased a 37ft 1997 Winnebago with a Ford 460 power plant recently and have been restoring it. Was curious if you guys wouldn't mind laying some knowledge on me, I have a few general questions. The generator is a gas oanan 6500. I got it running yesterday and let it run for about 45 min. Is the generator supposed to charge the house batterys? Just installed two new 6 volt batterys and they are drained down to about 10 volts now.

With the generator running the A/C came on, but it does not blow cold, do these units use freon?

I noticed after I park some gear oil leaks onto the inside of the right rear tire, I'm guessing is a bad axle seal. Anyone know what type of gear oil this rear takes? 80/90?

The check engine light is on, but I can't for the life of me find the OBDII port, anyone know its location?

Thank you, Wes
Class A

24 Replies

Show More
  • gbopp's avatar
    gbopp
    Explorer
    Oct 06, 2016
    Dutch_12078 wrote:
    A '97 Ford F53 chassis like yours does not have an OBDII port. The OBDI port is usually located inside the engine cover opposite the accelerator pedal.

    And, your 97 Winnebago is possibly built on a 96 chassis.
  • Dutch_12078's avatar
    Dutch_12078
    Explorer III
    Oct 06, 2016
    A '97 Ford F53 chassis like yours does not have an OBDII port. The OBDI port is usually located inside the engine cover opposite the accelerator pedal.
  • gbopp's avatar
    gbopp
    Explorer
    Oct 06, 2016
    Welcome to the forum.
    The generator should charge the house batteries. Is the generator supplying power to the outlets and 120 volt appliances?
    If not, Check the breakers on the generator. Turn them off and back on, don't just look to see if they kicked.

    Do the batteries charge when plugged into shore power?
    If not, check the for breakers/fuses on the power converter.
    Maybe you have a bad converter.

    Use a multimeter to see if you're getting power from the generator and to the batteries.

    First, I would remove and clean the battery terminals and connections. A little corrosion, even if you can't see it, can cause problems.

    I don't know where your converter is located. In our 96 Southwind it's under the refrigerator.

    Let us know if you find the problem.

About Motorhome Group

38,749 PostsLatest Activity: Sep 03, 2025