Weird Mechanical/Electrical problems on 2017 Forester class C w/Ford E-450 engine

[mharold101]

Just minding my own business running down the road in Flaming Gorge, Utah when my trip suddenly changes drastically.
The dashboard idiot lights tell me that my brakes are hot(or something), so I pull over to let them cool off. The brake/ABS warning lights go off so I think I'm in the clear to continue. Wrong! After 15 minutes or so the drivetrain light joins the brake and ABS lights coming on.
Now, I start to worry. I'm on a mountain range going downhill, no place to pull off and these lights are telling me there could be trouble with the brakes and or drivetrain...then speedometer quits working and the low fuel light comes on! I had just filled the tank 50 miles before so I know that is not right!
Now my brakes are still working fine but all these lights on the dash board tell me something is wrong. Well, I continue down hill because there is no damn place to pull off and the brakes and everything seem to be working fine. I'm thinking this is a dash board electrical/electronic problem.
Anyway, I finally get to a little town pull into a parking lot, look under the hood, under the RV and see nothing. But when I start it back up and put it in drive a loud banging sound, I think from the transmission, can be heard.

Lastly, I need help. Does anyone know what could cause all these problems to come at once? Maybe a computer chip?
If not that, does anyone know a good RV mechanic out here in Mountain View, Wyoming?
Thanks!

[nvs4602]

My chevy Avalanche pulled this same trick on me. It ended up being a bad battery. Replaced the battery and it all stopped happening.

As for the clang sound I will get that from the drive shaft when ever there is a load on the transmission from putting it in park on an uneven surface. If it keeps doing it have your ujoints checked.

[mharold101]

Thanks nvs...will do

[kenandterry]

Originally Posted by nvs4602

My chevy Avalanche pulled this same trick on me. It ended up being a bad battery. Replaced the battery and it all stopped happening.

As for the clang sound I will get that from the drive shaft when ever there is a load on the transmission from putting it in park on an uneven surface. If it keeps doing it have your ujoints checked.

I know we’re all surrounded by idiot lights on the dashboard these days, but the Ford E450 does have some factory gauges like fuel, temp, oil, voltage.
They’re pretty vague (range is C>H or L>H). Just wondering what your dash voltage needle reads? A digital gauge is best.

[Dela]

Having just returned to VA from WY and spending time on the Big Horns, I can only imagine your worry....


Have you tried disconnecting the battery for 5-10 minutes, then reconnecting? This should reset your computer and may clear some dash light issues, but a new battery may be in your near future, as it sounds like you have some voltage issues.



The transmission clang- I agree with the post saying it may have been from parking on a grade. Hope that's all it is...


Best of luck, safe travels. Don't know of any mechanics out there, but highly recommend a stop in Buffalo WY, and the ice cream shop on main street.

[RacerRalph]

Have had a similar problems over the years with our 05 E440. On a trip home from Texas the entire dash cluster went dead but the engine kept running. Research found that this was a common problem with this unit. Hasn’t happened again over three years. Last week, on a trip home from Maine, the battery appeared to die when stopped at a gas station. I found that one of the connections to the battery disconnect switch, located in the positive cable, had melted and come apart. I bypassed the switch and headed out. In a few miles the engine died and most, but not all, of the gauges switched off. I put the rig in neutral and restarted the engine, which fired right up. No more issues in the 250 miles home. I replaced the battery shutoff switch and am waiting for the next electrical Gremlin to appear.

The battery is several years old, I may try replacing it.

[Larry-NC]

The transmission clunk is a red herring. Forget it.

There is always a little slop in the driveline. It's mostly where gear teeth mesh or splined connections to transmission output shaft-to-U-joint-yoke. If you get into a perfectly good vehicle, lower the windows, start the engine, and repeatedly shift between R and D, you will hear the clunk on every shift, as the slack is taken up in the opposite direction. (The driveshaft is a hollow tube and resonates like a bell.)

Not a problem.

[LeoS]

I carry one of these:

Autophix OBD Bluetooth Scanner model 3210 (50.00)

Easy connection via bluetooth to my iPhone app (no cell signal or wi-fi needed).

Just plug it in to the data port under the dash, near the parking break release lever.

Checks codes, clear codes and monitors data from various computers.

I mostly use it to see if something is seriously wrong or just transitory (such as a random misfire code due to poor quality fuel).

Definitely some piece of mind and you don’t need an automotive engineering degree to use it.

You also don’t need to get tools out to disconnect the battery to try and clear codes.