Axis - Vegas: Accessing the panel in the engine compartment

Philo Gemstone · 06-15-2021, 06:16 PM

So the Ford dealer trying to troubleshoot my dash A/C problem says they can't access the testing port/fuse panel located in the engine compartment because the RV body is in the way!

Has anyone successfully accessed this panel? I'm thinking I may need to have a hatch installed.

Scubawise · 06-15-2021, 06:44 PM

Can you get to it from the passenger computer dash table ledge? We had our rv tech make a big hole and allow access and use sound dynamat..easier to battery

JamieGeek · 06-15-2021, 06:47 PM

Yup take out the "computer desk" in front of the passenger seat. The wood underneath is perforated and made to be cut out so you can replace the chassis battery.

Some people have re-installed the panel below there with a hinge for future access.

Philo Gemstone · 06-15-2021, 06:52 PM

Thanks - I was under the impression the panel in question was on the driver's side. If the panel is accessible from the battery replacement hatch, great!

DavidEM · 06-15-2021, 08:02 PM

I have been through this for the last several months. First, don't ask Thor about this. One "tech" told me it was powered by the fuse panel as part of the converter, the other told me it was powered from the fuse panel in the compartment underneath the driver's seat. Neither are so.

Others have said it is a Ford fuse panel either near the gas pedal or underneath the hood. Not so. Finally others on this forum pointed me to the passenger side near the battery. Not so for the new e350 chassis. But one member told me to look in the Ford owner's manual and voila there was a diagram showing it on the drivers side under the hood outboard of the power steering reservoir and above where the BIM is located (page 162).

So I finally found it. But I have to agree, it is functionally not accessible in the Thor Axis. Maybe if you removed the mounting brackets and the front hood you could get to it, maybe.

It is going to be interesting to see who takes responsibility, Ford or Thor, for making my dash power ports (cigarette lighter) work. I predict lots of finger pointing.

David

ducksface · 06-15-2021, 08:32 PM

V10 ac units are a conglomeration of parts from evans and kenworth(?) With only the compressor and scant else being ford.

Will you please ask the ford dealer to ascertain if the new engine/chassis uses ALL ford parts for the air conditioning system? Maybe get him to dig a bit deeper and say what isn't, if it isn't?

I don't care myself, I won't be buying one, but advice will be needed for other folks.

Philo Gemstone · 06-15-2021, 08:46 PM

That's what I was afraid of, David.

Honestly, I can't blame Ford too much for their reluctance to start taking apart a motor home they didn't build.

I'm back to the idea of a driver's side hatch to match the passenger side.

DavidEM · 06-15-2021, 08:58 PM

No Class A uses all Ford, Freightliner, etc parts for the dash. On my new E350 the entire HVAC, radio, dash switches, rear camera, ie everything in the dash is Thor stuff. Yes, Ford supplies power to some of it like my cigarette lighter outlets from a cable to the Ford fuse box. But other stuff like the radio/rear camera display is all Thor.

For example the radio/rear camera display is powered as best I can tell from a relay fuse box in a compartment underneath the driver's seat. Its incoming power comes from the Ford alternator/battery circuit but the relays are triggered by Thor circuits. So it is all a weird mish mash of Ford and Thor supplied power.

David

Philo Gemstone · 06-15-2021, 09:04 PM

Ducks, I think if I asked them that they would tell me to direct my questions to Thor.

Philo Gemstone · 06-15-2021, 09:11 PM

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As I look at this page from the Ford manual, I'm even more convinced of the need for a full-length dash access hatch.

DavidEM · 06-15-2021, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philo Gemstone

Attachment 31381

As I look at this page from the Ford manual, I'm even more convinced of the need for a full-length dash access hatch.

Unfortunately unlike the passenger side where there is a flip up table and underneath decent access to the engine compartment, the driver's side has the steering wheel and instrument cluster. Not so easy to take out to get to what's underneath.

I believe that to access that fuse box on the driver's side, it will take significant disassembly of the hood, brackets and stuff underneath to get to the fuse box, not from above.

This is why Ford/Chevy/Freightliner, etc mechanics won't work on MHs. The standard flat rate that they normally get paid to do something just won't work with a MH, particularly the front end stuff.

David

Beau388 · 06-15-2021, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Philo Gemstone

So the Ford dealer trying to troubleshoot my dash A/C problem says they can't access the testing port/fuse panel located in the engine compartment because the RV body is in the way!

Has anyone successfully accessed this panel? I'm thinking I may need to have a hatch installed.

An air conditioner shop will put a couple line piercing taps on the lines in convenient places. So you can have the A/C easily serviced.

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