I purchased a 2000 Holiday Rambler Imperial 40WDS two months ago. It is in great shape. I thought I had a good understanding that with a great deal and I was also assuming a lot of responsibility maintaining a 17 year old motor coach. However, I am running into a number of electrical issues that I can not find a way to solve. To be clear, I want to find a reputable technician that can fix these problems and I am willing to pay for the work. I am not looking for technical support on how I can fix the problem. Frankly, I do not have the time or the patients to engage in any more fixing and I am not looking for technical advice. I am willing to travel a reasonable distance from my home in South Central Pennsylvania to have a qualified person fix these issues. The issues range from what seems to be a simple issue with the headlight (they mysteriously stopped working last weekend) to issue with the signal in the backup camera (also a mystery from last weekend). Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

It is likely a ground issue, to fix is going to cost a bunch of dollars in labor. Good luck finding someone who is willing to take the time, or in fact has the knowledge to trace it oit.

Problem is finding someone. Your typical electrician would be lost working on a RV.I would look for a good mobile RV tech. Make sure he gets good ratings and reviews on-line.

do a google search for "mobile rv tech near me" see what you can find near you.

donn0128 wrote:It is likely a ground issue, to fix is going to cost a bunch of dollars in labor. Good luck finding someone who is willing to take the time, or in fact has the knowledge to trace it oit.Don, thank for your response. Actually, you have hit to the heart of the issue. After repeated calls to numerous rv dealers, many rv mechanics and other reputable experts, I am facing a very daunting situation. No one that I have talked with so far has given me one possible solution to this problem and any satisfaction that I will ever find a fix for the problems. The sad thing about all of this is...this coach is in great mechanical shape. I know enough about Cummins diesel mechanics to tell you this is the engine everyone would want to own.So, if I play this thing the whole way through, am I left with a decision to sell it to a salvage yard and get what I can out of it and call it a life lesson on what I should do next time? Not trying to be a Negative Nelly here but I am looking at this from a very realistic perspective.

Here is the perspective of things the honest of us mobile techs.The ones that do know what they are doing are to busy to bother with a older rv and electrical. Then theres the ones might touch it in their off season . As far as a dealer good luck easier money to be made

Holiday Rambler Electric Issues | Good Sam Community

MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Nov 08, 2017
Again the largest local auto shop will have the most students. The teacher would have a good appraisal of whom has the best aptitude to tackle the job and would have the patience to see it out. Reward the Auto Shop with a gift, say an OBD 2 scanner or whatever the auto shop teacher suggests and reward the student with either cash or preferably basic test gear from say, Harbor Freight. Some schools teach electronics and radio theory - another place where an advanced student could be found. Harbor freight also has wire and connectors. This does not have to be a single weekend enterprise. You never know. With an agreement, the entire class and teacher make take on the job right in class.
newman_fulltime
Explorer II
Nov 08, 2017
as they age wiring can get brittle so when you open the cookie box all the cookies can fall out like opening a can of worms just a chain reaction of constant repairs. Nobody wants the liability of it
DrewE
Explorer II
Nov 08, 2017
It sounds as though your problems are all chassis 12V things, at least the ones you've listed. That at least narrows down the scope of the systems to debug. These are basically the same as for any truck. A competent vehicle shop (not just RV shop) should be able to troubleshoot them. If you are also having trouble with the house electrical system, then that's a somewhat different story and I'd be more selective in looking for professionals.

As others have said, debugging electrical problems can be a long, laborious process. You might be able to do a quick visual inspection of the wiring and find some sorts of problems. Certain wire types used in some vehicles, for instance, has organic (soy-based) insulation that can be attractive to some critters, and a chewed wiring harness can cause all sorts of weird and unpleasant oddities.
Shademan
Explorer
Nov 08, 2017
newman fulltimer wrote:
Here is the perspective of things the honest of us mobile techs.
The ones that do know what they are doing are to busy to bother with a older rv and electrical.
Then theres the ones might touch it in their off season . As far as a dealer good luck easier money to be made

Good advice, Newman.

But let me ask you a question...what does it matter if it is old or new unit to an RV Tech? If the RV Tech has the knowledge and there is a customer that is willing to pay for the service to fix the problem, wouldn't it just be another business transaction? Simply stated, my cash is the same with my 17 year old coach as the other customer that has a 5 year old coach. Truth be told, I may have more to spend on the service because I spent less on the purchase of the motor home in the first place.
j-d
Explorer II
Nov 08, 2017
Shademan wrote:
...am I left with a decision to sell it to a salvage yard and get what I can out of it...

You joined today. Way too early to think about a decision like that! Give it time. Somebody'll have the tip you need.
MrWizard
Moderator
Nov 08, 2017
start looking at the grounds AKA negative wires for the circuits that don't work
like headlights

unbolt/unscrew them, clean them put them back
newman_fulltime
Explorer II
Nov 08, 2017
Here is the perspective of things the honest of us mobile techs.
The ones that do know what they are doing are to busy to bother with a older rv and electrical.
Then theres the ones might touch it in their off season . As far as a dealer good luck easier money to be made
Shademan
Explorer
Nov 08, 2017
donn0128 wrote:
It is likely a ground issue, to fix is going to cost a bunch of dollars in labor. Good luck finding someone who is willing to take the time, or in fact has the knowledge to trace it oit.

Don, thank for your response. Actually, you have hit to the heart of the issue. After repeated calls to numerous rv dealers, many rv mechanics and other reputable experts, I am facing a very daunting situation. No one that I have talked with so far has given me one possible solution to this problem and any satisfaction that I will ever find a fix for the problems. The sad thing about all of this is...this coach is in great mechanical shape. I know enough about Cummins diesel mechanics to tell you this is the engine everyone would want to own.

So, if I play this thing the whole way through, am I left with a decision to sell it to a salvage yard and get what I can out of it and call it a life lesson on what I should do next time? Not trying to be a Negative Nelly here but I am looking at this from a very realistic perspective.
shastagary
Explorer
Nov 08, 2017
do a google search for "mobile rv tech near me" see what you can find near you.
ScottG
Nomad
Nov 08, 2017
Problem is finding someone. Your typical electrician would be lost working on a RV.
I would look for a good mobile RV tech. Make sure he gets good ratings and reviews on-line.

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