Country Coach Owners

[dale farley]

Although, most of us have a full set of manuals and electrical schematics of every system on the bus, it will be helpful to have lower level schematics that show the components on the circuit boards.

As a result of our CC discussion at OKC, Miles has agreed to go to CC and compile all the information he can find on our systems. I have agreed to make a list of CC owners so Miles can present this list to CC. I need everyone to send me the following information via this post, Private Message or email:

Owner Name: Dale Farley
Year of Conversion and Model: 1999 XL 45'
CC serial # : 60389

Thanks, Dale

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Dale, I am not a CC owner, but I would suggest as a group you take an inventory of the assets you already have as owners. Amongst the owners may already be some of the data you seek along with some knowledge of the systems or people who have successfully maintained the systems. You may wish to ask for that information also. It may include information from others that have had a CC, but who have another conversion now.

Also, I have seen posts and spoken to people with earlier conversions and their need for knowledge about their systems and components may not include the electronics, but is also something that should not be overlooked.

[flyu2there]

Dale,

I presume that you are describing the mother and daughter Boards located behind the plexiglass shield in the most forward bay. I have the data that shows what system or systems each daughter board controls. There are also a handfull of what I might call grand daughter boards that are spread throughout the coach that control things like auto generator start, fuel quantity indication, speech processor, alarms, motion sensors and so on; unfortunately in many cases they are inter laced and if you have a failure on one you may, or may not have multiple failures.

That being said, as one who has been down this road, the data that CC has on the specific boards runs from the general (this plugs into there type of thing and these are the outputs) to the hyper technical (motorola model 53001-a transistor up to coach number 603XXX superceded by Motorola model 54002, revision A, thru coach number.....................) There is no mid ground and personally, anyone who is not an extremely talented computer technician with every lick of data from not only Prevost, CC, and the Vendor who developed and built the product is in dangerous territory for fear of complicating the issue.

I had a fuel indication problem. CC tech support told me how to find a different power supply for same (which is apparently what CC does in these issues) but I chose the path to fix it! It took months and I called a number of marks (aircraft r and e guys, computer techs et al), all to no avail. I found the vendor for the boards (Eugene, Oregon) and had several boards tested and checked by them....no help. At the end of the day I finally found a fuse (not shown in ANY schematic)hidden back by the coach, not house, batteries that was connected to a 300 series wire that ran first to the motherboard, then directly to a granddaughter board behind the television thence thru the speech processor and down to the fuel gauge.

Couple of additional words of caution, no matter how great the temptation to "clean up" the mother board, daughter board or connectors (they do get dusty) avoid the use of spray clean...use canned air and forget about it. Those cutsie little red connectors that are so widely used will melt themselves down when touched with spray clean, followed by disconnecting themselves from thier homes...it is not pretty!


John

[dale farley]

Jon & John,

One of the main things we are looking for is the schematics for the mother & daughter boards. CC has provided good documentation down to the board level for virtually every converter-specific system in the bus.

I currently have a switching problem with my Webasto. The existing schematics show all switches, relays, etc., down to the board level. Miles and I have traced my problem to the #18 daughter board on the ECC, but we can't go any farther without a schematic for the board. We could do the shotgun approach, but that should only be the last resort. We know the switch is good, the Webasto System itself is good, and the wire to the board is good.

My problem is probably a lazy relay on the board, and would be easy to replace if we knew exactly which one it is. All of the boards (including the mother board) are single-layer boards, so repairs should not be that difficult.

This information would be extremely helpful for every owner to have in the bus whether they want to troubleshoot or have any other technician perform the work.

[dale farley]

John,

When you get a chance, how about making a picture of that fuse and posting it for all to see. I was not aware it existed. Thanks.

[flyu2there]

Dale,

First of all I am a long ways from home and the bus but I will post a pic when I get back.

Secondly, each of the relays has red/green lights...they should all be either red or green when you first look at the board. Should a number of these be without lights the circuit is either not used or the relay is bad, look further down and make certain that the fuses are all good, they also have lights. Further, as I recall a number of the daughter boards are interchangeable, especially the ones at the far right side (the higher numbers). Take a look at the sisters and see if they have the same part number and swap them...carefully, only after powering down both ac and dc. See if that resolves the Webasto problem. Failing that, open up the mother board, it is hinged on the LH side. There are a number of miniture micro switches on the back that are used by those, really in the know, to isolate various systems. Could one of those been accidently pushed? Should you have an assistant, you could push those switches one at a time to see if the problem resolves. I would think twice about soldering on that or any of those boards; when I shipped mine to Inner City Electronics they sent me a special bag, like for computer parts. I was also warned about static electricity and to make sure I was grounded when touching anything like the mother or daughter boards. FYI, all of the "stuff" down there was built by Inner City Electronics in Eugene and truly, they are the ones I would have test or repair any of those components.

John

[dale farley]

John,

I fully understand and agree with the precautions you are referring to when doing circuit board handling and repair. Many years ago I went through a 4-year electronics program where we did micro-miniature board repair down to 7 layers of circuitry. Unfortunately, I no longer have the tools or recency of experience to do work to that level.

Although these boards require careful handling and proper repair techniques, they are considered about as simple as they come when dealing with circuit boards. They are really no more complicated than the boards in my electric fence chargers and gate openers that I routinely repair after consulting with a technician.

Fortunately for us, Miles is a CC owner, and he is about as sharp as they come when it comes to electronics circuitry. I am a has-been; he is still very much an expert in the field. I remember enough to get myself in trouble. Miles knows enough to get me out.

[flyu2there]

Dale,

Understood, go for it! Once again caution when it comes to the red connectors, they are also used to connect the daughter boards to the mother board. They are an odd ball size and come from the aircraft industry, believe they are made in Seattle. CC and others used them as connectors and because of their side grooves, they are like Lego's and blocks are made from them. Trouble is yours, like mine, are approaching 10 years or more and they are brittle....break one and you will play hell finding a replacement. Nobody but no one has them save the manufacturer and I might add, they are very proud of their merchandise.
As mentioned before, never squirt them with spray clean, what ever is in that stuff nowadays will cause them to immediately self destruct and you will hear the faint plink plink plink as the wires fall off whatever they were attached to. I do not know about the relays but would guess that they are not Radio Shack items although a saavy electronics guy can pull off the codes. Inner City is a good resource, he has every schematic in the land, much more than CC has....trouble is, he is not too talkative and apparently very busy. BTW, they do not care much for the coach number rather the part number on the specific board in question. Seems that every coach that CC has built is slightly different (aside from cosmetics and accessories) than the other. Good Luck, keep us appraised.

John

[flyu2there]

One more thing. The bulkhead, in front of the mother board has a cooling fan for that the compartment. I would bet that the filter, a chincy little foam rubber thing, has never been cleaned.........have a look.
Also, no matter what temptations anyone has, set the thermostat on the fan to the max temperature (as per CC); seems it sucks in outside air thru that little filter and if you have or someone has set the thermostat to a much lower temperature, the fan will run nearly all of the time, plugging the filter quickly and rendering the fan useless.

[dale farley]

I was checking mine the other day because I have never heard it running. When I turned the thermostat down, it came on, so it seems to be working right.

[rahangman]

Rodger & Faye Hang
1990XL CC conversion #60115
Original Purchase from Beaudry RV in Tucson AZ



Although, most of us have a full set of manuals and electrical schematics of every system on the bus, it will be helpful to have lower level schematics that show the components on the circuit boards.

As a result of our CC discussion at OKC, Miles has agreed to go to CC and compile all the information he can find on our systems. I have agreed to make a list of CC owners so Miles can present this list to CC. I need everyone to send me the following information via this post, Private Message or email:

Owner Name: Dale Farley
Year of Conversion and Model: 1999 XL 45'
CC serial # : 60389

Thanks, Dale

[dale farley]

Thanks to those who have replied to the first post of this thread. I still need to hear from some others. I know Jim K. and Roger are still floating around somewhere out there.

[JIM KELLER]

Dale, Thanks to you and Miles for taking on this job.

Jim Keller
45 XL
# 60382

[Will Garner]

Will & Carole Garner
1990 XL shell/1991 CC conversion
#60121

Thanks for your efforts to put together comprehensive technical data on these machines. I hope Miles has a better experience at CC than I did in June 2008.

Good luck to all.

[dale farley]

Hopefully, by having a list of all CC owners, in addition to compiling information specific to the ECC and other electronics, we will be able to share more general information about our buses and resolve specific problems as they arise. As with all conversions, if one person has a problem, odds are, others have/will experience the same issues at some point.

[Xtreme James]

Owners : James And Jennifer Stallings

1999 Prevost Chassis / 2001 Country Coach Conversion
VIN # 2PCM33490x1026986

Coach # 60441

[Jerry Winchester]

Wait a dang minute.

There is more than one plexiglass shield on these flippin coaches? Who authorized that?

[Will Garner]

Jerry,

You been in the juice too much? Me thinks you are seeing double!

All the bugs in Arkansas I would have liked to had a plastic shield, even if I just disposed of it when I got home.

BTW, the new Prevost/Volvo 9700 comes from the factory with an all white plastic shield. HBT! I saw a fleet of them at Prevost Nashville going home.

Later ...

[rahangman]

Whats wrong with the bugs in Arkansas. They are just looking to hook a ride on a Prevost. Beats snow any day. The bugs are dead and wash off reasonably easy.:rolleyes:

[flyu2there]

Wait a dang minute.

There is more than one plexiglass shield on these flippin coaches? Who authorized that?

A purest would call them Lexan shields, actually a polycarbonate not to be confused with plexiglass. The same stuff that keeps the bugs and birds out of your face while protecting your coiffe when flying your light airplane. I see lots of folks polishing those shields at the air yard. :cool:

[Jon Wehrenberg]

All kidding aside, Nascar has tear off plastic windshield protectors. It must be a sophisticated version of Saran Wrap.

Is there anything out there like the carpet protector film that can be applied to the front of the bus for long trips, and then just peeled off at the end of the trip?

No bug screen translates into a lot of work when it is bug season, and exposes the coach to dents and dings.

A POLYCARBONATE shield (bug screen and dent preventer) prevents the dings, but is an equally large PITA to clean.

Somewhere in the middle between none and cow catcher (couldn't resist) must be a solution that makes bug clean up easier and contributes to protecting the front from chips, dents and dings.

[flyu2there]

Actually Jon, they are easy to clean. There is a big difference between cleaning and polishing when it comes to Lexan. People tend to defer maintenance on the shields until they become so scratched and milky that the polishing job becomes immense. As for bugs, I was told long ago by a really old geezer to use white vinegar and water. I didn't do too well in organic chemestry but suffice to say, he was correct. Seems that the bugs, which are protein, instantly become partially digested by the acidic properties in vinegar; wipe over the critters with the 50-50 mix, wait 5 minutes and wash off......bugs gone!

[Jon Wehrenberg]

How does the acid react with the paint and aluminum trim?

[flyu2there]

How does the acid react with the paint and aluminum trim?


You just made a good case for a Lexan Shield! ;)

Actually vinegar (white vinegar) is mild. We use it on painted a/c leading edges all of the time with no problems. You could speed up the process with muriatic acid and water but that one, guaranteed, will damage the paint.

[flyu2there]

By the way, to clarify my last, the vinegar and water does not digest the exoskeleton left behind by the decedent insect but rather the entrails (stomach, liver, etc.) that exited same upon impact and quickly became the "glue" that attached the remains to the vehicle. In other words, the bugs are still there, they do not disappear, they just wash or wipe off easily with little or no elbow grease.

John

[mike kerley]

Dale, What a great idea.

Thank you for putting this together.

Mike Kerley
1992 XL, 1993 CC conversion
#60182

[Xtreme James]

Has anyone tried the WashWax product with their scrub brush ? I've used it on both stainless and paint, with no ill effects. The big plus is that it leaves a semi waxed finish.

[tdelorme]

Has anyone tried the WashWax product with their scrub brush ? I've used it on both stainless and paint, with no ill effects. The big plus is that it leaves a semi waxed finish.

Nope, but I will try anything once. The dryer sheets that women put in a clothes dryer sorta work. You wet a few of them and wipe down the front of the bus before heading out. Then when you get bugged up, you wet a few more and the bugs rub off easier. If that smell wasn't so strong I would do it all the time. The Shurhold (what happened to them) product "Serious Shine" works about like wax. It will also prevent spots on the stainless after a rain which is nice. The wash brush I bought from Shurhold is as good as it gets. Jan does a nice job with a bit of encouragement.

[Xtreme James]

I have tried the drier sheets myself, with limited success. The WashWax seems to work very well, with a 5 minute soak time, then rewet the surface, and scrub. But what I really want to know about is this " encouragement " issue ...... That's what I think is limiting my success .... James

[tdelorme]

I have tried the drier sheets myself, with limited success. The WashWax seems to work very well, with a 5 minute soak time, then rewet the surface, and scrub. But what I really want to know about is this " encouragement " issue ...... That's what I think is limiting my success .... James


James, try phrases like this. Sweetheart, you do such a good job on the bus. or Sugar, you missed a spot, or my personal favorite, Don't forget the roof, do you need help getting up there?
You might start by asking her, Dear, why do you think it's called "Mother's Polish"

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Ted, meet Eric. Eric meet Ted. Jan meet Debbie, Debbie, meet Jan.

There I think we have that out of the way.

[Xtreme James]

I'll try a few of those, but she'll know somethings up.. LOL.... James

[dale farley]

Are there any more CC owners that want to add their name to this list?

[charlesebrownjr]

Hey Dale,
Thanks for the help. I will give you the particulars on my coach to add to the list.
I have a complete set of manuals w/wiring for all the components of the bus.
Not sure what level they are but they show all the boards and what each does.
Be glad to email a few to somebody to see if they are useable.
1998 chassis on a 1999 conversion
40'XL
VIN #2PCM33402W1026472 CC#60367
Also would you email me the contact info for the company that makes all the boards.
Some of my lights on the switches go for red to nothing when you use them while others go from yellow to green when on. (the norm I think)

[dale farley]

Charles,

The switch changing to red is probably a problem with the switch itself. Some of them do that when they get older. There are a couple switches that are supposed to turn red, but most turn green when energized. I think some other owners have changed some of their swithes because they were turning red.

[dreamchasers]

Hey Dale,
Thanks for the help. I will give you the particulars on my coach to add to the list.
I have a complete set of manuals w/wiring for all the components of the bus.
Not sure what level they are but they show all the boards and what each does.
Be glad to email a few to somebody to see if they are useable.
1998 chassis on a 1999 conversion
40'XL
VIN #2PCM33402W1026472 CC#60367
Also would you email me the contact info for the company that makes all the boards.
Some of my lights on the switches go for red to nothing when you use them while others go from yellow to green when on. (the norm I think)


Charles,

The switches you are referring to made by Sunmulon and are "dear to the heart" of every Country Coach owner. Thus far, my experiences with incorrect switch indication has been faulty contacts with the lamp assembly. The conductivity of very small springs in the lamp assembly to the three prongs that are center mounted in the switch have been problematic. If you pull the lamp assembly out (I use my finger nails to prevent damage to the lamp assembly), you can look into the switch and see three prongs attached to the lamp contacts and look into the rear of the lamp assembly to see the three springs I am talking about. I have not attempted to clean the spring ends yet, I have spares, so I have replaced the lamp assemblies. If you decide to order spares, our switches use the 5 volt assemblies. Each display board has a 5 volt voltage regulator in the circuit.

I will attach the spec sheet for the Sunmulon switches. I have not ordered any switches, my coach came with a few spares. If you find a supplier for the switch and/or components, please share your experiences.

FIY - I have posted numerous schematics and diagrams on the CC Yahoo forum run by John G. I would suggest all CC owners take a look at what is available. Anyone is welcome, but the data is Country Coach specific.


Hector

5865

[Ray Davis]

When I had Nick Hessler work on my CC, he was able to open the switches, and spray them with contact cleaner. Never needed new.

How to open? Now that is a good question ...

[Denny]

Does anyone know where Nick is and how to contact him? The last phone number I have for him is 541-321-2545 and it is not a good number.

Thanks.

[dreamchasers]

Does anyone know where Nick is and how to contact him? The last phone number I have for him is 541-321-2545 and it is not a good number.

Thanks.

Denny,

That is the same number I have for him. Humm.....


Hector

[truk4u]

My experience with Nicks help at Branson was trouble at the daughter board and not the switch assembly.