Not too long after I was on the road I realized that I needed a better way to charge my Delta 1300. I was charging it via the 12v ‘cigarette’ socket, but this proved to be a non-viable solution. It seemed that I had two options:
- Use a DC to DC system – this would greatly speed up the charging process.
- Use a DC to AC inverter and take advantage of the EF quick-charge technology.
Adding a direct connect from my starter battery to the inverter was not something I was comfortable doing. So I looked for someone to assist. I was traveling to Florida, and found a custom coach builder a bit west of Jacksonville, FL. They were very booked up, but he fellow there agreed to do the work after hours (for a substantial fee, of course.) I was desperate and agreed.
Though I didn’t know it at the time, he did two things wrong which I discovered within 15 minutes of leaving his shop:
- He installed a solenoid to autostart/stop the inverter with the ignition. As I was fueling up Shabazan (around the corner from the shop) for the drive back north I smelled a burning from the solenoid, and the inverter stopped working. I called the fellow and he said to shut everything down, which I did. I remove the solenoid from the circuit. He later said that it was the wrong amperage and ‘mis-packaged from the auto parts store. A few day or so later, I found an instruction note that said not to use this component with an ECM.
- For some reason, he disconnected the driver seat electric plugs without first disconnecting the battery. Apparently a big NoNo.
The vehicle throws a B10AA-4A code (Check Configuration Failed) and blinks the odometer. My local dealer wants over $700 to fix it.
The Florida technician said that these errors were ‘just a coincidence’ and not his responsibility.
I’m living with a blinking odo.
Shabazan 