Help with my static Newmar kountry star RV please. (1 Viewer)

[Tony Hunt]

Because we live in our Newmar permanently on our nursery and never take it on the road this has thrown up one or two possible problems the main one being that I am unable to start the engine with the slide out in the out position and the jacks down.
Obviously this isnt an ideal situation as a big petrol engine needs to be started occasionally to lubricate things and to keep the anti freeze upto strength It also needs to be pumped round once introduced. Our van is getting on now and we are quite comfortable in it and dont envisage moving out of it in the forseeable future and certainly dont need to drive it anywhere as we have our Bessacarr for that which is much more economical to run.
My question is, just for peace of mind really in case I ever sell it, can the engine be started by bypassing the switches that are obviously stopping the ignition from working whilst the slide and jacks are out and how do I bypass these switches and where are they? We have so much extra furniture & junk plus televisions etc in the way that I just cant face moving it all say once a fortnight to turn the engine over.
Not being very mechanically minded what will happen if I dont turn the engine over, will it seize up and die :Sad:
I have partly resigned myself to accepting that this once very expensive and luxurious beast, owned originally by Motorcycle GP ace Karl Fogarty will end its days here with only 15000 miles on the clock. It would still be nice to hear its engine running occasionally. I still havent sussed out how to start the generator on it. Any help gratefully received.

 

[pappajohn]

Because we live in our Newmar permanently on our nursery and never take it on the road this has thrown up one or two possible problems the main one being that I am unable to start the engine with the slide out in the out position and the jacks down.
Obviously this isnt an ideal situation as a big petrol engine needs to be started occasionally to lubricate things and to keep the anti freeze upto strength It also needs to be pumped round once introduced. Our van is getting on now and we are quite comfortable in it and dont envisage moving out of it in the forseeable future and certainly dont need to drive it anywhere as we have our Bessacarr for that which is much more economical to run.
My question is, just for peace of mind really in case I ever sell it, can the engine be started by bypassing the switches that are obviously stopping the ignition from working whilst the slide and jacks are out and how do I bypass these switches and where are they? We have so much extra furniture & junk plus televisions etc in the way that I just cant face moving it all say once a fortnight to turn the engine over.
Not being very mechanically minded what will happen if I dont turn the engine over, will it seize up and die :Sad:
I have partly resigned myself to accepting that this once very expensive and luxurious beast, owned originally by Motorcycle GP ace Karl Fogarty will end its days here with only 15000 miles on the clock. It would still be nice to hear its engine running occasionally. I still havent sussed out how to start the generator on it. Any help gratefully received.

hi tony,
this sounds to me like a simple interlock system.
i dont have a clue where the switches will be but a starting point would be somewhere near the legs and under the slide or on the leg/slide switches themselves. there should be one for each item in case one leg/slide jams down/out. probably a micro switch of some type.
if/when you find the switches try disconnecting the wires from the switches (all of them) then attempt a start up.
if it wont, then connect each pair of wires together then try again.
i would think its a basic lockout system without any electronics except maybe a relay but i couldn't be sure. you wont do any harm trying. either it'll work or it wont but make sure the wheel area is clear of stuff as there will be some drag in the g/box and the wheels might turn. also come off hookup first. and yes it will sieze EVENTUALLY without use.
cant help with the genny but i hope this helps.
john.

 

[johnsandywhite]

:Cool: Hi Tony. We have a 1996 Newmar Mountain Aire. We have NO problems starting the engine when the Slide-out is out and the Jacks down. I assume you are in PARK?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Tony Hunt]

Thanks for reply john. Yes we are in Park I wonder if yours has been doctored to start with everything employed like Im looking at doing. I would think from a safety angle that everything should be stowed before possible takeoff normally Maybe my driving battery is flat, or just thought maybe it wont start whilst connected to mains shoreside? Problem is starting to bug me :Angry:

 

[olley]

Hi tony on my winnie you can start the engine with jacks down, slides out, hook-up connected and the aerial up.

I read somewhere that the RV's the yanks hire out in the states don't have jacks, because people kept forgetting and trying to drive off, bending them, if thats true then most makes don't have an interlock.

Olley

 

[Tony Hunt]

Mmmm the plot thickens. Its obvious I have a little problem somewhere maybe like a knackered starter battery or something then. At least it looks like things arent locked down. Thanks guys.:thumb:

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Harley Dave]

Tony, you say it won't start - does it even (attempt to) turn over?

Are the headlamps working?

Do they dim to nothing when you turn the key?

You already suggested the vehicle battery might be flat...

Why not charge it and see what happens?

Keep fault finding simple, at least to begin with.

HTH

 

[olley]

Hi tony do you have an emergency start switch on the dash? most RV's do, it connects the house batteries to your starter battery while you keep it depressed, so if you starter battery is flat the house batteries will start the engine. (as long as they are not flat as well oh

Olley

 

[Road Runner]

Silly question are you switching off the chassis isolator?

Put you other vehicle up to it with jump leads and see if your dash recognises power with ignition key.

Just a thought!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Tony Hunt]

oh: I reckon first thing Im gonna do is charge me battery this weekend and then see what it does. Beginning to think thats all the trouble is. Since weve had the van Ive often thought about starting it but never actually done it so it could of been flat for ages. Ive always presumed because we have power plugged in the batteries would be automatically charging like my Bessacarr does. Maybe the charging system is up the creek. When the guy delivered the van to me he linked the driving battery and the other batteries under the hood with a set of jump leads. He never explained why at the time and I didnt think to ask. Because we have power around the van interior like lights, microwave etc I havent bothered exploring to see how it all works. Needless to say we were not given any handbooks when we bought it so have been in the dark on how everything works and operates.
If the battery wont charge I might have to buy a new one and just trickle charge it occasionally to keep things ticking over.
Havent got a clue about isolating switches on the chassis or where to look.

 

[johnsandywhite]

:Cool: Hi Tony. It sounds like the Motor battery was dead when it was delivered. Possibly the Alternator isn't working too? Our 1996 Newmar had dead batteries when I bought it. I also had the problem that the Alternator was not charging the Coach batteries because the Solenoid (that kicks in when the Alternator raises the Motor battery up to voltage) wasn't working. Our Newmar also appears to charge the Motor battery when the Coach batteries get up to voltage. There always appears to be plenty of power in the Motor battery even though we have been parked on a campsite for months. By the way, our Coach batteries are charged by Solar panels.