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Terry46's avatar
Terry46
Explorer
Apr 11, 2014

P30 Chassis electrical problem

I have a 1995 Pace arrow Coronado on a Chevy P30 chassis. The problem that I have is with phantom current. When the ignition is switched off the speedo creeps up to about 5MPH, the oil pressure creeps up above zero. The battery guage reads a steady 12 volts whether the ignition is on or off, the fuel guage and the engine temp guage don't appear to move. When the ingnition is turned on (before starting engine) both the speedo and oil guage drop to zero (the battery guage and the fuel guage don't move)until the engine starts and them everything seems normal. If I don't keep the MH plugged in to shore power both chassis and house batteries drain. I am at a complete loss as to where to even start looking for the problem so any help or suggestions would be appreciated.
Class A
  • gbopp's avatar
    gbopp
    Explorer
    Apr 11, 2014
    Check the basics first. Make sure your battery is charged and in good shape.

    Then check all the connections, they should be clean and corrosion free. Including where the ground wire attaches to the frame.

    I once had a bad battery in a car that did strange things like you are describing.

    If everything is good, you probably need to start looking for a short, worn or chewed wire..

    Hopefully someone with a better answer responds to your post.

    When you do find the problem, please let us know the cause.
  • donn0128's avatar
    donn0128
    Explorer II
    Apr 11, 2014
    Sounds normal to me. GM gage clusters have for years show a certain point when in the off position. If this is a new thing then I would say that you have one of the infamous bad gage clusters.
  • BrianinMichigan's avatar
    BrianinMichigan
    Explorer
    Apr 11, 2014
    It seems to me that GM had problems with ground connections on the instrument clusters back then. What happens if you rap on the cluster does it change?
  • Cuffs054's avatar
    Cuffs054
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2014
    X2 what Donn said. All my GM vehicles show "above zero" reading when key is off. Upon start up then usually swing through full range and then settle.
  • Terry46's avatar
    Terry46
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2014
    Thanks folks, I will try those ideas tomorrow, but keep the solutions comming.
  • indyzmike's avatar
    indyzmike
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2014
    You could try to note where the gauges are pointing after you turn off the ignition switch. Then dis connect the batteries, coach and chassis, then see if the gauge positions changed. This will tell you if the batteries are powering the gauges with the key off.
  • Born_To_Travel's avatar
    Born_To_Travel
    Explorer
    Apr 12, 2014
    My 96 P-30 does it too.. I think that is where the needles normally point when they are at rest.. As one person said, disconnect all your batteries and see if it changes things.. There is a lot of parasitic drain on a RV battery.. The vehicle computer, radio, tv, and anything else may add to the drain... I know on mine if I don't start or charge it at least once a month, The chassis battery is stone dead..
  • Terry46's avatar
    Terry46
    Explorer
    Apr 13, 2014
    I disconnected the batteries and sure enough the guages didn't drop to zero, so I my problem must be elsewhere. I did find one ground strap on the house batteries that was disconnected but sisnce there are four of them I dont think that one made much difference. One thing I did notice is that with the chassis battery disconnected the ignition was still live but not the starter. I do wish there were schematics available for the complete unit. Thanks for your help everyone.
  • Dachristianman's avatar
    Dachristianman
    Explorer
    Apr 14, 2014
    You can disconnect your battery and hook a 12V light between the battery and the positive (if I remember right) battery cable. Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong on which cable it is or if it even matters. If your 12V light illuminates, it means there is drain someplace in the coach. You can disconnect the fuses one-by-one until the light goes out and you'll know at least what system is pulling the current. Good luck. Electrical problems can be frustrating.

    Tom

    Tom

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