B190 Enthusiasts

Went to drive the Beast (1994 E350 Airstream B190 with the 460 and E40D trans)to the car wash today and the Turn signal and O/D quit out of nowhere. They were working when I drove it back from Denver to Vail last week and this is the first time Ito drive it since. I checked the fuses that the manual state are for these items and they were all intact then I checked them all and they were fine too.
Literally everything else is working, cruise control, running lights, head lights, hazards, brake lights, stereo, the only thing I did not try was the cig lighter as I don't have one and I didn't get my phone charger out of the other car.
I have a friend who is a mobile mechanic coming on Thursday but would like to see if anyone has any suggestions so I can save myself a bit of money or him some time if its above my pay grade TIA

I found this posted in the generator section when I did a search.

generator dead, need help

Postby RobertS » Thu May 30, 2013 2:18 pm

1992 B19 with onan gen set.
Last week tuned carb and ran for 20 minutes to clear fuel line with ac running great. As for preventative maintenance I also replaced both the starter relay and auxiliary battery relays next to the radiator.
On the following trip to south Florida the gen set refused to start. Not even a click form the start or stop rocker switch inside or on the gen set. Checked the two 5 amp fuses on the start panel, they were good. Continued on trip.
Later in the day I noticed the van turn signals quit and the push button overdrive located on the shifter failed to work. After replacing the 15 amp fuse, under dash # 5 location about four times, the fuse would fail after five minutes, I located the problem. The auxiliary battery relay is on the same 15 amp fuse.
The brand new auxiliary battery relay failed, shorting out the fuse, leaving the relay open causing the house battery not to receive any charge while driving. Needing turn signals driving through Miami I unplugged the trigger wire connected to the new failed aux relay, replaced the 15 amp fuse #5 location and continued the trip using turn signals, back up lights, and over drive down shift, all on this fuse.

Back home replaced the failed relay, testing new vs the failed unit to confirm my diagnosis, but still no gen set. I have test light tested every fuse under dash, in the Ford van power distribution box, the 50amp aux fuse connector airstream mounts on the fire wall, the two fuses on the gen set, all fuses in the motor home panel under couch, they all test good. The gen set start/stop rocker switch makes no click sound, dead.

I just checked for voltage at the gen start/stop rocker switch in the MH and the two outer leads switch read .05 dc volts. I think they should have 14 volt each.

Try a search on each problem, such as " Ford econoline turn signal problem".

Yeah, did that already, was posting here because they made so many modifications to our rigs at Airstream.

With the re-replaced aux battery relay, the OD and turn signals are working again?
The only current problem being that the genset won't start.

If that's the case, confirm voltage at the gennie starter and make sure the ground wire is secure - on my '90 model, there's a wire running direct from the coach battery to the gen, and the gen is grounded by a wire connected to the right rear mounting bolt. Check for voltage at the 12V input on the gen - for mine, there's a small removable panel on the top of the gen compartment (under the couch) for access to the battery line. Check across that battery line and the gen's ground location for voltage.

The mechanic is coming this afternoon, I have the sofa out so he can easily (or more easily) access the gennie. I am crossing my fingers it is just the multi function switch, but who knows, expect the worst pray for the best I will report back after I get the results!!

It was a 15amp fuse under the dash, from what I gathered it was in the normal fuse panel, what is odd is that I pulled the fuse and visually inspected it and it was fine, I also pulled EVERY fuse in the panel just to make sure. He said he found it with his test light. I am confused as to how this is possible but I remember reading somewhere that it is indeed. Anyone else have an experience like this?

jb1rd73 wrote:It was a 15amp fuse under the dash, from what I gathered it was in the normal fuse panel, what is odd is that I pulled the fuse and visually inspected it and it was fine, I also pulled EVERY fuse in the panel just to make sure. He said he found it with his test light. I am confused as to how this is possible but I remember reading somewhere that it is indeed. Anyone else have an experience like this?

Yes, this happens now and then - sometimes it's hard to tell visually that a fuse is bad, and a test light or multimeter is the only way to discover it.

Glad it's working again. I guess I'll have to start checking fuses with a meter to ensure I don't overlook anything.