Need help to start engine or tow 701, towing driver ask how to open the front tray - Printable Version
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Need help to start engine or tow 701, towing driver ask how to open the front tray - kaptain - 06-28-2022
Towing my 701 back to the repair shop, the towing driver ask me to opon the front slide tray in the front tray, I don’t know how to as I never did it, and the engine could not be started as the battery seems too weak. The both batteries in 5he engine compartment shows date code: 3/22, so I believe they are still relatively new. But after this coach being worked and waiting for parts for nearly 3 months, either the batteries have exhausted or it has big drain somewhere while in engine off mode.
Are there any battery disconnect switch somewhere so I can totally disconnect it to prevent battery drain?
UPDATE:
The towing driver wasn’t able to tow it because the rear height being too low.
RE: Towing truck driver as how to open the front tray - Richard - 06-28-2022
Only way to tow the coach is with cradles that go under the front wheels. Reject all other methods.
RE: Towing truck driver as how to open the front tray - johnkosir - 06-28-2022
712 has a switch inside compartment in front of drivers front wheel marked extend retract on the front wall
RE: Towing truck driver as how to open the front tray - kaptain - 06-28-2022
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts. And I apologize for many typos in the initial post. I was posting using my Samsung Galaxy and the fonts looks so tiny.
The web pages looks more readable on a PC or on a big screen iPad
RE: Towing truck driver as how to open the front tray - Richard - 06-29-2022
Joe,
It is common for the batteries to run down while waiting on work to be done. There are a number of parasitic drains on both the house and engine batteries. There is a switch in the passenger side engine bay to disconnect the engine batteries. Look inside the stainless steel compartment in the engine bay.
Will the generator crank? If so, crank the generator so the inverter/charger will operate, then use the MERGE switch in the driver cockpit to combine the battery banks, that is the fastest way to charge the engine batteries.
You did not say why the coach requires a tow. Perhaps we can help you avoid that if possible. Towing a Newell has the potential for a lot of problems if not done correctly.
RE: Need help to start engine or tow 701, towing driver ask how to open the front tray - kaptain - 06-29-2022
Richard, thanks so much for excellent suggestions, I should have tried these but when deeply frustrated I guess it’s easy to get blindsided. Will try these.
There is what happened with my 701, bought thru an auction in March 2022, took to a repair shop to fix few things. The main problem was air leak and defective air springs. Coach leans to the passenger side.
Took a while to get the air springs from Europe. The shop replaced 2 of these air springs plus a few other items, one leveling sensor, one leveling controller. Last week I was informed the coach is finished the needed repairs and ready for pickup.
Drove to the repair shop, they had to charge the battery before the engine could be started.
The coach raised up after air buildup and seemed ready to go.
Drove out from the shop just 3 or 5 minutes, I started to smell rubber burning, initially I thought it’s something outside but soon I realized it’s inside the coach as well. So I immediately exited the highway and stopped at a parking lot. This is just 3 or 4 miles from the shop.
I hopped onto my companion’s truck, went back to the dealer. They said it needs to be towed back to check what went wrong or if something new failed.
Fortunately my insurance policy covers the towing, but it took a while for the tow truck to arrive.
The tow truck driver and his co-worker had to first raise the rear, using some wooden blocks, latter removed the driving shaft, they took quite some time working on the rear,before they moved the towing truck to the from of the coach to insert a cradle. The driver says he doesn’t know why the coach seems to want to lean to one side (to the passenger side). A couple of hours later he said he found the problem, “this (he pointed to a rod see photo) was not put into the right place. (Any idea what he was referring to?)
Any case he wasn’t able to tow it as the rear end of the coach was too low. As soon as he started to move the rear seems to scrubbing the ground. So he abandoned the effort and call it a say. It was already passed 10pm and dark.
Yesterday we also attempted with jump start, including using my truck and a portable booster battery, then called AAA road battery service, and lastly used his tow truck (big truck see photo), the symptom was it seems want to crank but too weak to turn on the engine. So all jump start attempts failed.
Now, I am waiting the towing company to contact me again, they might send a different truck today.
RE: Need help to start engine or tow 701, towing driver ask how to open the front tray - Richard - 06-29-2022
Ok…….crank your generator and let it run, merge the batteries, and wait for at least 2 hours for batteries to charge.
Do you know if the batteries were merged while at the shop, or more importantly as you are trying to jump start? If they are merged while trying to jump start, the dead house batteries will absolutely drain all the current you need for starting. Turn off the merge if trying to jump start.
With the engine running, put the coach into level mode. See if you can raise the rear end.
If you can, you have a height control valve issue, which you should be able to fix on the spot without a tow.
If you can’t raise while in level, you have a leaking air bag. Have the road service jack the coach up far enough so the tires don’t touch the body, and insert some wood blocks into the suspension to keep the coach up off the tires. Drive it to the shop.
RE: Need help to start engine or tow 701, towing driver ask how to open the front tray - Richard - 06-29-2022
We are through hiking today. Call me if you think a 3rd party observer could help deal with your stressful situation. 8172232056
Leave a message, my phone doesn’t ring unless you are already in my contacts. Sorry about that, but I already have enough car warranties and Medicare insurance plans.
RE: Need help to start engine or tow 701, towing driver ask how to open the front tray - kaptain - 06-30-2022
Quote:We are through hiking today. Call me if you think a 3rd party observer could help deal with your stressful situation. 8172232056
Leave a message, my phone doesn’t ring unless you are already in my contacts. Sorry about that, but I already have enough car warranties and Medicare insurance plans.
Richard,
Thank you so much for being so kind and gracious to offer your knowledge and valuable insights.
The towing company came back with 2 drivers the next day, and finally, we got the 701 coach back to the same repair shop yesterday.
The tow truck driver spent about 4.5 hours on 1st day, then another 4 hours the next day mostly underneath the chassis, making some disconnection/connection and pumping air in order to raise the coach high enough to be towed. During the process, the tow truck driver says he found the problem why the coach lost air and caused the coach to drop (thus tag wheel touching/scrubbing the chassis) - he pointed to a rod - he said this was loose or they didn't put in the right place. See photo.
I relayed this info to the shop, and the shop manager quickly rejected that saying that's unlikely. He says it must be something else. Today the tech from the repair shop wrote to me:
"..it seems like the rubber grommet for the passenger side rear leveling valve came apart. This caused the rear side to fall. Also upon inspection it seems like the air bag for the driver side front wheel failed also. Our concern is the condition on the remaining air bags and leveling valves. We recommend the following repairs at this time.
Replacing remaining 6 air bags. Which are different from the ones we purchased from the last repair.
All 3 leveling valves.
Replacing 2 batteries. Batteries we have in stock. They are $371.04 each. We also need these batteries to continue working on the RV."
I responded and gave green light to proceed with all recommended.
As a matter of fact, I had provided 4 new airbags for the initial repair (I ordered these 4 airbags from Europe because there was no availability in the USA, and the shop doesn't have availability). They only used 2, they put the 2 unused ones in the RV storage tray. Now they suggest replacing all remaining airbags. I am fine with this.
During the initial repair, the shop also replaced 2 other items:
Item#1, VTL02A001-1, Controller, Leveling V1 Compatible.
Item#2, VTL01A003-1, Sensor, Leveling V1 285kbps, (confirmed as higher version and direct replacement for VTL01A003)
I wonder on my 701, do I have a total of 3 leveling valves? Who is the maker and what is the part number?
RE: Need help to start engine or tow 701, towing driver ask how to open the front tray - Richard - 06-30-2022
I would want to verify something before I allowed that shop to have any more of my money.
Will the coach air up in LEVEL mode? If it does, then air bags are NOT the problem.
Ask the tech at the shop, WHO he has spoken with at Newell?
Is this a shop that normally works on Newells?