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Old 03-19-2017, 12:01 PM   #1
2011 Berkshire 390bh
 
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Mystery Sounds

I have a 2011 Berkshire 390bh. It has been in inside storage since early November. It is not plugged in and the batteries are turned off in the battery compartment and at the switch just inside the door. Now here's where the mystery comes in. The guy at the storage building who literally lives there tells me that my coach makes a sound like a compressor working and then a whoosh sound like an air compressor being relieved. Other than gremlins I have no idea what may be causing this. This is the first opportunity I have had to stop at the coach since November. Any suggestions?

Oh yes, for added information. The way I store my coach is to put blocks under the jacks and relieve the air with the levelers and then allow the coach to rest on the upraised jacks and the six tires. That was what we were instructed to do at Camp Freightliner and it seems to make sense. I don't think this could be related to my powerless compressor and whoosh sound but perhaps it my be important.
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Old 03-19-2017, 09:39 PM   #2
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I will be interested in the answer to your question. I have a 2008 and I noticed that of the four house batteries only to of them go through my switch...
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Old 03-19-2017, 11:28 PM   #3
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Interesting. Our compressor is engine driven......
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Old 03-20-2017, 12:09 AM   #4
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I don't know about a MH but my 5th wheel's battery disconnect switch does not kill the juice to my hydraliv level up system. It just removes the power from things that have parasitic drain due to LED lights, etc.

I would bet you air bag system or something is still powered. Check it out to determine what is actually off when the disconnect switch is off.
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Old 03-22-2017, 12:32 PM   #5
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I have the same coach but not the same problem.

I believe the compressor attached to your levelers is powered thru the chassis battery. Unless you've turned off the chassis battery switch it will still receive power.

Of bigger concern for me is the sound of your compressor running & then shutting off. Sounds like you may have a leak in your system.

Let us know what you find.
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Old 03-22-2017, 01:15 PM   #6
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The levelers are hydraulic. It's a hydraulic pump and not a compressor. Completely different sound.

Yes, I also believe it's powered through the house batteries. OP mentioned those are off. Easy to find out if there's power to it by putting a meter on it.

The compressor for the suspension/brakes is engine mounted and only operates when the engine is running.
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Old 03-22-2017, 02:02 PM   #7
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The levelers are hydraulic. It's a hydraulic pump and not a compressor. Completely different sound.

Yes, I also believe it's powered through the house batteries. OP mentioned those are off. Easy to find out if there's power to it by putting a meter on it.

The compressor for the suspension/brakes is engine mounted and only operates when the engine is running.
Easier to just push a leveler switch..
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Old 03-22-2017, 02:50 PM   #8
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Easier to just push a leveler switch..
In theory yes, but it IS possible that the panel gets it's power from somewhere else.....
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Old 03-22-2017, 04:53 PM   #9
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In theory yes, but it IS possible that the panel gets it's power from somewhere else.....
Possible, try it and if no action, then break out the meter...
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Old 03-26-2017, 12:53 PM   #10
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This is where the mystery lies. The coach went into storage in October. The batteries were turned off then and there is no shore power attached. With this being a less than severe Western NY winter I would still think the batteries are pretty much dead at this point. If there is power going to anything, where could it be coming from? Do I have power gremlins in my coach?
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Old 03-26-2017, 03:16 PM   #11
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I think you nailed it.. power gremlins!

Since there have been several posts with suggestions and you have not replied to them as being plausible or not and from your posts it does not appear you have been to your coach to check things then power gremlins sounds as good as any explanation at this point.

Good luck finding them.
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Old 03-27-2017, 05:31 AM   #12
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Why would the batteries be dead? I've had (disconnected) batteries spend 5 months in winter storage and come out 80% charged.

I feel compelled to point out that you are 100% going on the word of this observer for the fact that there IS a compressor sound.
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Old 03-27-2017, 06:51 AM   #13
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as a DP owner, I can only suggest that this sounds like your air bags are trying to be inflated, which would be the compressor sound. The 'woosh' sound is either the 'blow off' valve when the compressor is full, OR it could be your air bags being 'deflated' as though you are parked and lowering your levelers(yours may be automatic, or like mine you may have a lever for 'Auto' and 'Lower').

it sounds as though something may have been miss-wired at the factory, and the compressor continues to try to keep the air bags inflated - or it could be that the air bags lever is not working properly....

either way, though, these are all CHASSIS items, that should only affect your CHASSIS batteries, not the house batteries.

a note: the large rotary switch in my battery compartment only serves to disconnect the House batteries from the Chassis batteries, which allows the use of the 'AUX' switch on the dash that provides a direct connection between the two.
I'm not aware of any switch that will disconnect the Chassis batteries from any items directly wired to the chassis, such as the air compressor, unless you disconnect the Chassis battery positive or negative wire.
The switch next to the door is what disconnects the House batteries from most 12v items within the coach, though some are wired directly to the House batteries, such as the Co2 detector, etc... at least from my understanding.
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Old 03-27-2017, 07:31 AM   #14
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You may be correct although my coach does have two switches, one for the house batteries and one for the coach batteries. I have had an issue in the past with the levelers showing that they are on when I first start the coach so that may be the problem. The more I think about it, that is probably the issue.

My other option is to arrange for an exorcism of the coach but that's probably an over reaction as it has been a very good rig overall. I may trade it in a few months once we finally can determine what we want to go with in our next coach.
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Old 03-27-2017, 09:49 AM   #15
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The compressor is on the engine. There will be no WHOOSH from blowoff unless the engine is running, EVER.

It is not electric. It is GEAR driven.

http://www.frontiertruckparts.com/st....JPG?width=330

Yes, when you hit autolevel the suspension air dumps, this is another whoosh. Even if you don't level, the air will bleed out slowly. My suspension bleeds down to the stops in less than a day.

There are a lot of relays that get power when you turn the key to ON. So yes, the leveler panel gets power when you first start the engine.

Mine do too, this is normal.

I still maintain that you first need to verify that this noise is in fact coming out of your coach. You are relying on ONE person that THINKS so.

Mohos parked for more than a few days without running the engine do not WHOOSH, no matter how the batteries are configured and no matter what the auto leveling system is doing.

Without the engine running there is no air pressure!
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Old 03-27-2017, 03:08 PM   #16
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Oscarvan, after reading through your comments for a second time I now know exactly what you are saying. During tax season we often end up short cutting our non-tax reading and this is a fine example of that. The compressor does work directly off the engine and no engine running means no compressor running so I'm back to gremlins in the coach. It's obviously not a big item, but more of a curiosity than anything else.

Do you think I can use this as a good excuse to convince my wife we need a new coach? Yeah, I don't either, but I'm still working on it!
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Old 03-27-2017, 03:33 PM   #17
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Oscarvan, after reading through your comments for a second time I now know exactly what you are saying. During tax season we often end up short cutting our non-tax reading and this is a fine example of that. The compressor does work directly off the engine and no engine running means no compressor running so I'm back to gremlins in the coach. It's obviously not a big item, but more of a curiosity than anything else.

Do you think I can use this as a good excuse to convince my wife we need a new coach? Yeah, I don't either, but I'm still working on it!
LOL..... I have a friend who claims to be a mystic and looks like one! For a small fee he will come out, and after a serious "investigation" of the spiritual state of your coach will somberly declare that the energy is negative and you best get rid of it.......
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Old 03-28-2017, 09:15 AM   #18
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LOL..... I have a friend who claims to be a mystic and looks like one! For a small fee he will come out, and after a serious "investigation" of the spiritual state of your coach will somberly declare that the energy is negative and you best get rid of it.......
Perfect! I will tell my wife that your friend channeled through my e-mail into the coach and determined that it is indeed possessed and must be replaced. Hey, she watches the "Long Island Medium" so it may make sense to her. Naw, I didn't think so either, but it was worth a shot.
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Old 03-28-2017, 11:10 AM   #19
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Tell her it was HUGE, and the whoosh was.... well, it ate the beans.
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Old 04-04-2017, 06:55 PM   #20
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as a DP owner, I can only suggest that this sounds like your air bags are trying to be inflated, which would be the compressor sound. The 'woosh' sound is either the 'blow off' valve when the compressor is full, OR it could be your air bags being 'deflated' as though you are parked and lowering your levelers(yours may be automatic, or like mine you may have a lever for 'Auto' and 'Lower').

it sounds as though something may have been miss-wired at the factory, and the compressor continues to try to keep the air bags inflated - or it could be that the air bags lever is not working properly....

either way, though, these are all CHASSIS items, that should only affect your CHASSIS batteries, not the house batteries.

a note: the large rotary switch in my battery compartment only serves to disconnect the House batteries from the Chassis batteries, which allows the use of the 'AUX' switch on the dash that provides a direct connection between the two.
I'm not aware of any switch that will disconnect the Chassis batteries from any items directly wired to the chassis, such as the air compressor, unless you disconnect the Chassis battery positive or negative wire.
The switch next to the door is what disconnects the House batteries from most 12v items within the coach, though some are wired directly to the House batteries, such as the Co2 detector, etc... at least from my understanding.


So you are saying that his air compressor on his Berkshire is running when his coach is shut down and in storage ?

Russell
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