Dash Warning Lights Flashing

GG1 · 06-09-2008, 02:58 AM

After a week or so of storage unplugged I entered the motorhome walked to the back for a few moments to check things out then to the front and noticed every dash warning light was blinking on and off. THE KEY WAS NOT IN THE IGNITION. Turning the main battery switch on and off did not help, I then inserted the ignition key turned it to the accessory position prior to starting the lights stopped blinking the wait to start light came on when it went out I started the engine. I let it run for a while until warm shut it down and everything seemed ok, no blinking lights. I will be calling Gaffney today for their opinion. For what its worth the temp outside was 96 degrees. Anyone have any ideas.

GG1 · 06-09-2008, 02:58 AM

After a week or so of storage unplugged I entered the motorhome walked to the back for a few moments to check things out then to the front and noticed every dash warning light was blinking on and off. THE KEY WAS NOT IN THE IGNITION. Turning the main battery switch on and off did not help, I then inserted the ignition key turned it to the accessory position prior to starting the lights stopped blinking the wait to start light came on when it went out I started the engine. I let it run for a while until warm shut it down and everything seemed ok, no blinking lights. I will be calling Gaffney today for their opinion. For what its worth the temp outside was 96 degrees. Anyone have any ideas.

John_Canfield · 06-09-2008, 05:29 AM

I remember a post about this sometime in the past, but I can't remember the scenario. Try various search terms in the forum and see what you come up with.

GG1 · 06-09-2008, 05:41 AM

Spoke to tech support in Gaffney. Low chassis batteries will cause the warning lights to flash on and off. He suggested a complete cutoff switch or a drive around once a week or so. There has been numerous posts about the cutoff switch. He also said that intense heat will also cause the batteries to run down faster.

KIX · 06-09-2008, 03:55 PM

We had a similar problem on a Spartan chassis. Turned out to be the ECM for the gauges. It's a black box mounted on our rig on a frame cross member behind the genset. It's about 10" x 6" x 2" thick. It has a couple of wire harnesses attached in addition to the red a green air lines. It's the module that controls all the gauges. It costs about $450 + labor

Gadget Man · 06-21-2008, 05:13 PM

GG1,

Were you able to fix the problem?

I had a similar issue a couple months back, except my warning lights only illuminated with the ignition key, and they remained lit...did not flash and they would not re-set. Ended up being a bad warning light cluster. Cost $750 to replace, covered by my extended warranty with a $50 deductible.

GG1 · 06-22-2008, 04:54 AM

Craig P,

I think the problem is resolved. I spoke with a tech at Freightliner who informed me that if the batteries are low the dash warning lights will blink for a time up to a few weeks before going dead. I checked the deep cycle batteries and found the water level very low. I added distilled water put a slow trickle charge on them for 12 hrs, so far so good.

Gadget Man · 06-22-2008, 05:12 AM

Thats good news. I'll have to file that away in my brain in case it ever happens to me.

Just as an FYI, I bought a Pro-Fill battery watering system for my house batteries last year. Very easy to use and install, and makes adding distilled water a breeze. I believe CW sells the system now as well.

Craig

historyljc · 06-22-2008, 05:32 PM

I'll second Craig on the Pro-Fill. I've used them on my house batteries for a year and a half. My batteries are not on a slide out tray and would be a real pain in the neck to check and add water without the Pro-Fill.