MartyAndPeg
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Re: Breakdown Information
You can see what were driving below. We left north FL this morning, made it about 38 miles north of the GA border on I95 and the brake failure warning chime came on. Pulled off at the next exit (exit 58) and checked the emergency break switch...OK. Brake fluid OK. Wheels normal temperature. Called Workhorse, they said it could not be driven. They dispatched a tow truck, and here were are, sitting in the parking lot of a dealership called Sonnys Camp and Travel in Summerville, GA. They have been very nice so far; said they will look at our coach in the morning. They closed at 5pm, but two fellows stayed until we pulled in. They put us in front, hooked us up to electric, and said they would see us at 8am. I'll follow up tomorrow. Well, tomorrow came and is almost gone. They never did get to us today. So, they put us back in "our spot" and said tomorrow looks much better. They are very polite. It is now Thursday night. After pulling apart the emergency brake assembly, it has been diagnosed as a bad switch. It is acting very erractically now. The tech took it out for a 10 mile test drive after he pulled apart the emergency brake assembly, and for the first 8 miles it was fine. As we slowed to a stop, it went off again. This time playing with the emergency brake handle made it go away. Next we drove with the wire off the switch...no problem. Once we re-connected it, the problem came back. All other brake systems check out fine, and Workhorse is overnighting a new switch. I have to say these folks are extremely polite. Each night they make sure we have electric and plenty of water. They have also offered their dump station when we finally do get on the road. Maybe tomorrow. OK...it is now Sunday, June 20th. Happy fathers day. We left the fine folks at Sonnys on Friday afternoon. We drove about 120 miles with no issues. Stayed two nights at South of the Border on I95, then headed out this morning. Got about 140 miles and the brake light/alarm went off again. Touched the emergency brake pedal...stopped. 10 minutes later, back on. Touched pedal, stopped. Eventually even moving the pedal did not help. Drove to a park in Skippers, VA and called Workhorse. They will see where we can get in tomorrow. So, here we sit...and we thought we had it fixed. Ok, it is now Tuesday night. Workhorse sent us to a truck repair facility (a Workhorse sponsored repair facility) in Rocky Mount, NC. It was 60 miles the wrong direction, and instead of being towed (Workhorse really wanted to tow us) we drove....with the chime going off all the time. I did not know I could have silenced it by pressing the trip button. Anyway, two days at the repair facility and it could not be diagnosed. We did find out that if it was truly a brake failure, we would not only get the light, but also a buzzer (not a chime) and a dash message. This is telling us that the parking brake is still applied...it is not. We also know the emergency brake swith works because when it is disengaged, the slides/jacks will not operate. We simply have an errant alarm. It has been determined it is safe to drive, we can silence the alarm, and now have an appointment at a Workhorse repair facility in Central Square, NY on Monday, June 28th. Hopefully I can post a solution then. Oh, and the kicker....we stopped for fuel just past the NC/VA line, applied the brake, shut off engine, filled up, started engine, released brake...light is now off. Don't you hate intermittent problems? Well, it is now 7/1/2004. We had the problem come back as we hit WV, and had it all the way to Clay, NY. Well, the light was on but we now know how to silence the chime. We had an appointment in Central Square, NY for Monday, June 28th. As luck would have it, when we went to leave for our appointment, we released the brake, and all is fine. We even drove it an extra 20 miles (took the long way to the repair shop) only it would not fail. They looked at it for about two hours, but could not find a thing. They are going to order pressure switches, but unless it happens again (I'm sure it will, only not whiles we are in this area...with my luck anyway) there is not much they can do. There are no codes from the computer. So, unless it happens while we take the coach to the dump station every two weeks (until we leave July 19th), we will just have to wait and see. Workhorse is still aware of it, and has been VERY cooperative. Marty and Peg455Views0likes0CommentsRe: Breakdown Information
RV particulars: Driveline (8.1L Vortec, Allison Transmission): Miles: 3600 Year: 2003 Break Down Description: Leaving a dealership after some warranty work; 1 mile away from delaership, two miles from the RV park where we were staying. Symptoms: Loud noise between pilot and co-pilot seats, no other indication of a problem. Effect: Serpentine belt is frayed, and has (2) 7" gouges (belt is onlt about 1/4 wide in areas) Cause: We believe something was left on the engine at the dealership and it fell into the belt, causing damage. Outcome: Need to have the belt replaced (May 5th). It will be towed (as per Workhorse) to another repair facility which is approximately 35 miles away. Yes, this can be annoying. Especially when you are a fulltimer. We had unrelated warranty work performed at a dealership close to the RV park where we are staying until June. One of the repairs was verifying a recall with hydraulic hoses too close to the engine. About a mile from the dealership, we heard a loud bang right between the seats. No loss of power, and everything else seemed OK. Drove back to the park (about two miles), and the next day, while crawling under the coach, I saw the damage to the serpentine belt. We called Workhorse, and they recommended not driving it. The belt is still intact. 2003 Southwind 36B 2003 Ford Focus (the little red toad) A darling wife and two cats! Quando omni flunkus moritati (when all else fails, play dead)485Views0likes0Comments
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