Model:'93 Winnebago Adventurer(32RQ)
Chassis:P30
Engine:454(trottle body fuel injection)
Transmission:4L80E
Location of failure: 4 miles N of Tampa, FL, SB on I-75
Failure: Engine quit running, cranks, but won't start.
Cause: Worn ECM harnesss at shroud(bent sheetmetal) covering air conditioning compressor pulley.
It was a dark and stormy night...
Cruising along at 55mph, decided to push on to St. Pete Bch...instead of stopping at our usual 5pm.
Engine quit.
Slipped into neutral and tried to start...just cranked.
Pulled over to shoulder and tried to start again.
Called FHP and gave them lat/lon of our location.
FHP unable to locate anything without Highway Number and Mile Marker.
1/2 hour later very kind Officer pulled up and offered to contact towing service.
1/2 hour later towing service showed up and offered to tow to either "unknown" RV shop or LazyDays RV shop.
Paid towing service $180 for towing to LazyDays facility.
NOTE: Make sure wrecker driver knows about perils of AutoPark and unsprung driveshafts.
NOTE: Make sure the the wrecker either replaces the universal bearing caps on their respective ends and tapes them in place, or count on having the universal replaced before you head on the road again.
Five days waiting for LazyDays to get an open bay to look at it.
Four hours once it was in the bay.
Two hour while the tech dropped the fuel tank because he was unable to hear the fuel pump running. He claimed that the fuel pump would need to be replaced. Pump and gauge sending unit would be replaced together. I asked what blown fuseshe'd found. He went back to check fueses and found the ECM BAT fues has blown. We also found that the fuse should've been a 10A and someone(previous owners) has replaced it with a 20A...(I hate when people lie...Nope, never had a problem with it...*sigh*).
LazyDays tech says the problem was a pinched wire near the fuel tank. Problem was fixed, tech said the 20A fuse was ok in place of the 10A that the mfgr spec'd.
Paid LazyDays +$300. and $50 tip to tech for being so good at 'finding the problem so quickly'.
Back on the road...
Transmission would occasionally feel like it was placed into Neutral wile driving down the road. Problem would occur when hitting a pothole/bump on the road.
Continued driving...
1000-2000 miles later...
Engine stalls somewhere in N. Texas. Coast to side of road. Open hood, check ECM BAT fuse, replace fuse, back on the road.
30' later...
Engine stalls, still somewhere in N. Texas. Vector to side of road, open hood, replace ECM BAT fuse that promptly burns out...
replace fuse...
replace 3rd fuse...
replace with 25A fuse...
replace with 30A fuse...
I'm either gonna clear the short, or somethin's gonna send up a smoke signal to show me where the short is...
Engine starts!
Replace 30A fuse with 10A fuse and head back on the road...cool, pale and diaphoretic...no heart attack, yet.
back in Colorado.
Scattered rock from passing truck blows out larger driver-side fixed-window.
Pull into home depot in ColoSprings to replace blown window with lexan. (easy to cut and tape in place).
Wife vacumms up glass frags and feeds infant...
Did I mention the amount of stress that driving with a 4 month old infant can bring? on top of the problems the coach was having?
Wait for second MI(heart attack).
Back on the road. Home at last.
Out to california and back, no blown fuses, but the tranny would occasionally do the neutral-shift thing.
Back home. Strange vibration at 45 mph. Went to tire dealer and they agreed that the tires may be the cause. They replaced the tires. Handkooks with Michelins. Ride is improved 100%.
Heading home and ECM BAT fuse blows.
15 fuses later(10A-30A) and having to drive the coach in reverse the last +mile home(did I mention that this is a 32')...without a backup guide.
Sitting in driveway and waiting(the MI thing again, stress level as an all time high).
Engine still running, I removed the engine cover and gave the thickest bundle of wires a 'wiggle'...THE LAST BLOW ECM BAT FUSE!!!
Hope all your miles are as enjoyable as ours have been.
I had my first MI on April 1, 2003.
I had my first child on May 22, 2003.
I bought my first class A on June 1, 2003.
I only regret not having had my child or buying a motorhome, sooner...
I could've waited until my deathbed to have the MI and the coach problems...heh.
--joe