1988 Eldorado Motor Coach

My husband and I purchased a used EMC last August and have spent considerable time and money repairing and updating it. We were ready to take our first trip in it when the fan motor cratered leaving us with no air conditioning, heat or defrost. We took it to the AC repair man but they can't seem to get access to the fan motor. Any idea how to change it and will we be able to find a replacement motor for it?
Also, the passenger side wiper blade is broken at the base. Any idea where to get that replacement part.
Gotta tell you this has not been a good experience for us. We are ready to give up RVing before we even begin.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Tena

Tena,

Sorry to hear about your troubles with your EMC. These old rigs are a labor of love. I tell a lot of people that are considering an older rig that they need a lot of patience and a good sense of humor.

First, are you talking about the coach or the truck fan motor? If it's the blower motor for the truck, You'll need a service manual for your chassis.

Try this site for many service manuals online:

http://www.bedlib.org/ebsco.html Click the Auto Repair Reference Center Logo, then use "library" for the user name and also "library" for the password. You'll see a list of years and pick your chassis from there.

I'm not an A/C repairman, but on the Champion Fleet Owners message board I belong to (I also have a Champion Transtar motorhome) someone just posted a similar problem on their roof (coach) air and many have come to his aid to try to troubleshoot and diagnose it.

See the topic here:

http://championfleetowners.org/smf/index.php?topic=1115.msg2698;topicseen#msg2698

As far as the wiper blade, if you can get pictures of it, that would be a help. Seems that a well stocked RV center should have them (I.E. Camping World or the like). Look for any type of markings on it to try to find out the manufacturer of it, measure the lengths, etc. If no luck, pop the arm off at the base and use a bunch of Rain-X on the windshield. Really, I prefer the Rain-X to the "big old bus" wipers anyway.

HTH,
Tim

Thank you for that timely advice. The fan motor was on the chassis and we were able to find a replacement at our local auto repair shop. They had one stored in the shops attic from who knows when and we disassembled it and reassembled the motor into the squirrel cages on the one we removed from our motorhome and voila it worked. My husband then installed it back into the motorhome and NOTHING!!!!!! When we turned the AC button on in the dash it didn't work. We know the fan assembly worked as we tested it on the battery before reinstalling so now we are waiting for an electrician friend to come over and use his tester to find out where the connection is not connecting.
A piece of useful information.... when we removed the cover on the fan motor it looks like it is riveted on but really it isn't. You have to remove the 2 screws on the right hand side and then slide it to the left and the pins release from the frame. (hope that makes sense) The repair shop wouldn't touch it because they didn't want to have to remove the rivets which turned out to not be rivets.
I will look up the repair Reference Center and get the manuals. We weren't able to take it on vacation this past weekend but we will try again.
The morning we went to fix the dash fan motor the coach air conditioner quit as well and we believe it is also the fan motor so now my husband figures he can fix it himself. All these little lessons have to come in useful sometime again. Right?
Thank you.
Tena

Tena,

Glad you could find the part you needed for your fan motor. Sorry that did not cure the problem. Electrical demons are one of the worst to try to track down. Once you have your electrician friend come by, have him give you a quick lesson on how to use a voltmeter (what he'll most likely use to test your circuit). Most home improvement stores have voltmeters at a reasonable cost and it will be invaluable in your future of vintage motorhome ownership.

I'm not surprised that a repair shop wouldn't touch your rig. Most don't employ people that were even born when these rigs were new. If you do find one that will touch it, expect to pay out the wazoo for such repairs. From what I've found, a basic set of tools, a bit of automotive knowledge (and some house remodeling skills) and that ever present good sense of humor, you can get through most any problem if you're not afraid to get your hands dirty. Once all the "demons" are cured from your rig, you will have something that is truly unique and something you can be proud of.

Tim

Yeh!!!!!!! We have success! Our friend came over with his voltmeter and voila within 2 hours had detected all the little demons living under the hood (and there were many) and repaired them all. We are leaving in the morning for a short jaunt. We have a new fridge, new bed and new air conditioning-what more do we need for this adventure.
Thank you Tim for your encouraging words.
Tena

Tena,

Glad you got it all worked out. Sounds like your ready to roll, best of luck!

Let us know how your adventure goes.

Tim

We didn't get anywhere on our first adventure. The A/C fan works great but then the compressor went in the A/C unit so it wouldn't blow cold air. It is back into the repair shop for a new compressor and clutch on the A/C unit. We are hoping it will be ready for Friday as we have a long weekend in Canada Aug 1-4. Prayer would be helpful at this point.
Tena Godin