Monacoers Daily News

1 hour ago, Tom Cherry said:

I’m a bit confused.  Where exactly is the light mounted?  Where does the power to ir come from.  If the light is a REAL porch light above or near the door, then it is powered by the Keyless entry system.  On SOME Coach Steps, there is a round cheap and not waterproof “clearance style” light under the step.

What Coachstep/Lippert is refering to is a STAND ALONE porch light…. I think.  Been a while since I crawled under mine, but I was referring to the “not well designed nor placed” round light under the step.

We may have a communication issue….  Running the purple wire to the OEM Exterior Porch light would be a hassle and require a dual diode Roadmaster taillight to prevent backfeed.

NOW, if this is a clearance style light on the lower side or near the step…that is a horse of a different color.

Pictures and narrative would be nice.  Bottom line…on the drawing, Monaco NEVER showed it.  BUT if you dig into the prints, as I did….out of curiosity, you need to find the circuit for the “LIGHT” and determine WHERE and HOW it is powered…. I’m assuming that your Purple wire is NOT Terminated… And just “hanging out”.

Thanks in advance for clarification…

The light was wired with power coming from the black wire exiting the control module  The purple wire is not connected, just stripped back a 1/2” and hanging loose(I’m going to address that) 

The light was mounted in the hole to the left of the white magnetic switch.

These are the step on my rig 

1 hour ago, 96 EVO said:

This is how mine works as well.

I have not tried that combination.  Thanks to you two for this information! 

21 hours ago, Tom Cherry said:

 

@Frank McElroy

Please look at the one in the files marked 2009 Neptune Wiring Diagrams.  You might, when you have time, be able with your NEWER copy of the Adobe Acrobat to unscramble them....so they are all oriented correctly.  My older copy lets me do that....but when I save the new file....they are STILL scrambled or disoriented. 

All pages are now in landscape format.

How big of a tank is that, what is the capacity. 

Mine is 4 gallons, with 3 stacked filter.  Attached is a parts page showing the tank and the fittings, which is similar to yours.  From memory the suction line for the pump pulls oil from the inside of the filters, all the return oil comes in on the outside so it is all filtered.  The bottom filter rests on a platform.  When I drained all the oil I could see the suction line inlet at the bottom.

1 Steering Reservoir.pdf

1 hour ago, LakeBob said:

 

The light was wired with power coming from the black wire exiting the control module  The purple wire is not connected, just stripped back a 1/2” and hanging loose(I’m going to address that) 

The light was mounted in the hole to the left of the white magnetic switch.

These are the step on my rig 

I have not tried that combination.  Thanks to you two for this information! 

OK….if there is NO POWER going to the positive on the light….blame Monaco.  Lots of STRANGE things happened to the 2009’s….as they cut back on assemblers and folks were rarely well trained.  Mine is a mid 2008 MH.

Next UP.  Frank McElroy says he believes his lower light works.  BUT there must be a timer in the Lippert controller…as it does not come one and stay on.

SO….test and let us know.  It the old light has NO Positive power…and you not commented, I think, on that….then Mr. Purple is probably the right wire.

BUT the term “Porch” is not the same as the one that Monaco has over or near the door.

I’ve been doing some step troubleshooting the last few weeks.  I feel like I’m becoming somewhat of an expert on how they are “supposed” to work.  The black wire is power from the controller to the light.  The light should illuminate when the door is opened.  I keep my switch in the lockout position (steps stay extended) and the light comes on whenever the door is opened.  It has a timer, but I never actually timed it.  I’d say it comes on for 2 minutes or so.  As far as the purple wire, you can connect that to any 12 volt source and the step light will illuminate.  I think most people wire it to the porch light or grab bar light.  

Yours is definitely different than my 2012 Diplomat.  On mine, there is a small part of the dash above the steering wheel that lifts off, then you can see the screws for the main dash cover.  It looks like you could remove the radio panel or HVAC control panel and see if you can look in those cavities and figure out how it’s secured.

I was just dealing with the Kwikee steps on my rig when I had to replace the motor a couple of months ago.

The round orange light that is mounted under the bottom step is powered directly from the Kwikee step controller module. On my rig, it lights anytime the magnetic door switch detects that the door has been opened, and stays lit for a minute or 5 after each door opening event. Whether or not the steps are configured to open/close with the door opening via the inside switch does not impact this operation. Door opened? Light is on for a few minutes.

There is also a purple wire coming from the Kwikee step controller that you can optionally connect to your "porch/outside light" switch/circuit in the coach if you wanted the step light to stay on anytime your porch light was on, but this was not wired from the factory, at least on my '97 Dynasty.

19 minutes ago, dandick66 said:

I’ve been doing some step troubleshooting the last few weeks.  I feel like I’m becoming somewhat of an expert on how they are “supposed” to work.  The black wire is power from the controller to the light.  The light should illuminate when the door is opened.  I keep my switch in the lockout position (steps stay extended) and the light comes on whenever the door is opened.  It has a timer, but I never actually timed it.  I’d say it comes on for 2 minutes or so.  As far as the purple wire, you can connect that to any 12 volt source and the step light will illuminate.  I think most people wire it to the porch light or grab bar light.  

Fascinating.  What you posted doesnt “jibe” with the page from the manual.  BUT…if I understand…

The UNUSED black wire is on a timed 12 VDC line from the Controller.  But, the print plainly shows the Purple Wire as a DIRECT connect to the “porch” light.  That’s what Lippert says.  It is dangerous to backfeed a 12 VDC output line….as that can damage the board.  Now…it if powers the lower light….fine….an UNINTENDED consequence….but not what Lippert says to do.

Again…if the black works and is a times positive 12 VDC line….great.

But we caution members, sometimes daily, about doing experiments or making circuit mods that are in conflict with the Manufacturer’s instructions….so….understand why the comment has to be made.

Thanks for the info on the “unused” black line.  Monaco, to the best of all the searching and I and others have done….never documented that…but hey…you have a 2012…so who knows.

You can pop the screw head covers off your dash (the round button vinyl things) carefully with a screwdriver.  It is a good idea to put something between the screwdriver and the dash vinyl so you don't poke a hole in the vinyl.  Then you can remove the screws holding the dash top on.  Note that there are also 2 screws (one on each end) of the defrost vents that will need to be removed. To access these you must first remove the screws holding each defrost vent cover on.

Also note that there may be other screws holding your dash on that you won't be able to access easily and may have to simply force the dash off, stripping out the wood around those screws, but there is no way to know until you remove the screws you can see, which are under those round covers and the defrost vents.

Okay, the job is done.  What a frustrating experience that was, the only saving grace was that I could do it while snug inside the coach while the rail fell.

So things I've learned:

1. On the root cause of my original fan failure...

On 9/8/2024 at 11:32 AM, Benjamin said:

Also check the ground from the connector. My ground is a flimsy clip on one of the mounting screws. Supply ground and hot, or check connector for hot and ground with fan "ON" "high". 

Bingo! The reason the fan stopped working in the first place was the ground wire through the connector was crispy.

So I cut back the burned wire and directly connected the two ground wires with a solid crimped fitting.

2. The fan ground wire seems to have the resistor pack in its circuit, so connecting the fan directly to chassis ground makes it run full speed, continuously. Thus, the original ground wire must be used.

3. The replacement motor I purchased at Napa (Canada) for $132 Cdn turned out to be identical to the original fan that came with the rig (or at least the one that I took out, but it seemed original). Built in Canada, identical sticker, etc. on the outside. Only difference was the wheel plastic is black on the new one and white on the old one. So I decided to keep it / use it because it is a solid unit and to support my local manufacturers and retailer.
 

4. If I ever have to open my dash again I'd be very tempted to install a hinging system and some clips to secure the dash so it can be quickly / less destructively.

Here's a picture of the hole where the fan assembly connects to the metal heat exchanger unit, and the plastic box on the other side of the firewall that houses the A/C coils. You can see where I left the bottom right nut on with the melted plastic around it.  Not my finest work but got the job done. If my fan every falls off due to lack of securing nuts I'll be sure to let everyone know... 😉

43 minutes ago, Tom Cherry said:

Fascinating.  What you posted doesnt “jibe” with the page from the manual.  BUT…if I understand…

The UNUSED black wire is on a timed 12 VDC line from the Controller.  But, the print plainly shows the Purple Wire as a DIRECT connect to the “porch” light.  That’s what Lippert says.  It is dangerous to backfeed a 12 VDC output line….as that can damage the board.  Now…it if powers the lower light….fine….an UNINTENDED consequence….but not what Lippert says to do.

Again…if the black works and is a times positive 12 VDC line….great.

But we caution members, sometimes daily, about doing experiments or making circuit mods that are in conflict with the Manufacturer’s instructions….so….understand why the comment has to be made.

Thanks for the info on the “unused” black line.  Monaco, to the best of all the searching and I and others have done….never documented that…but hey…you have a 2012…so who knows.

I just went out to my coach and verified that the black wire is 12 volts out to the light.  It is on a 5 minute timer.  As far as the purple wire, yes, it should be connected to the porch light (if desired).  I should not have said that it could be connected to “any” 12 volt source.  In theory, you could connect the way I originally described, but the porch light connection makes the most sense.  Lippert/Kwikee says the purple wire is for an “optional step light switch”.  

Kwikee Step O&M.pdf

Get rid of all that #$%^&* and use what the trucking Industry has been using for a long time.  I did.

Once and done!!!  Proper coolant recovery tank cap?
Malewis11 12 hours ago