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Slide Suspension interaction
We
were leaving our lot in Indio in April this year for home and one of the pins
on my front slide didn’t set properly. I was able to get a hold of Jeff who
helped work around the issue and get them all set properly and we were able to
travel. It seemed like the slide was binding a bit coming in, and Jeff made a
comment that made me really think about my suspension system. He said that once
the coach had levelled off in the RUN position the slide should just smoothly
move. I had noticed for some time that I had to manually raise my coach after
being parked, it wouldn’t just rise to travel height on it’s own?? Jeff’s
comment started me thinking and I spent a lot of time reviewing my air diagrams
to fully understand what was going on. I realized that perhaps my leveling
valves weren’t working properly, BUT it wasn’t just one valve, all the coach
would not rise. Reviewing how the system works, the pilot air lines to the
front and rear Norgrens are from the front control solenoid valves to supply
air from either the Level Low or the RUN side of the Norgrens to position the
spool in the appropriate position. As I operated the level low switches
(Liberty system), I could feel and hear the solenoid valves click while cycling
the various three positions (RR, LR, Frnt) on the Level Low system. When I put
the switch into the RUN position the drive solenoid did nothing, I had 24 volts
on the solenoid but no sound. I removed one of the pilot lines and installed a gauge
on the valve, and when I switched the system again over to RUN, No pressure was
on the gauge. Therefore no air pressure was being supplied to the Norgrens to
put the Bus into the Run position in the suspension. I changed the pilot Valve
Bank and am saving the old manifold in case I have to use the good solenoid
valves in the future. Everything works fine now, coach raises on RUN, air
pressure is getting to the pilot lines, all is good. I suspect my sporadic slide
issues are now also solved with the slight coach twisting being stabilized with
the suspension working properly.Jeff
was a tremendous help getting me going, but also helping to flag to me that
something wasn’t right. I just wanted to share this bit of learnings as I
appreciate reading so much information on this forum to expand my knowledge, I
like to share my experiences as well to hopefully help others.
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2 Replies
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Darcy has explained what is just about the most common leveling system failure and that is the center solenoid valve in the 5 (or 4) valve stack fails. That is the valve that is energized at all times when the coach is being driven and the coil on the solenoid valve is the typical failure.
If you suspect your coach is not going to the driving height, or staying at the driving height it is very easy to verify the center solenoid valve is functioning. With the engine running (or just the key on) and air in the accessory system identify the center solenoid valve and loosen the compression fitting associated with the valve. If air escapes the vale is open and functioning. That means the problem is elsewhere.
But if the valve is not opening, and no air escapes, the first and easiest next step is to swap the coil on that solenoid valve with any other in the stack (AS LONG AS YOU DO NOT HAVE A LIBERTY CLASSIC). Keep the wires with their respective valves. A couple of screws will remove the wire connector from the coil and there is a snap ring that allows the coil to come off the valve stem..
If you have a Liberty Classic check the voltage rating for the coils and replace a bad coil with one of the correct voltage. I believe the center coil on a Classic is 24 volts, but the other coils are 12 so you may have to carry a spare 24V coil.
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Common problem with the center coil and valve. That center one is energized with the ignition and gets REALLY hot.
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