Seneca will not shift into Drive

[Mnwelsh]

We were traveling from Rapid City SD to Minneapolis MN. Pulled over at a rest stop to let the dog out. Shut down the Seneca. When we got back in and started the truck the push button controlled Allison transmission would not go into gear. The display showed NN on both sides of the display. Messed with it for a while, shut down start , reverse, would not work either. Finally it went into Drive and we drove another 60 miles to a campground for the night. When I checked in I shut the truck down and upon start up to go to my campsite the same problem, would not go into drive. Messed around a while and finally it went into Drive. I did not put the leveling jacks down as my site was level and we were leaving early. I sat there trying to figure out what was wrong. Then on a hunch I hit the power button on the leveling jacks and then hit the retract all button. I heard the pump come on, then a tone change in the sound like a jack stopped. That was it. Started the truck, transmission gear selection Normal. Remained normal for the rest of the trip. No lights ever showed a jack had drifted down an inch or so. Now I know. As an aside, the fuel gage on the 100 gallon fuel tank is spot on, when the gage showed 3/4 of a tank my Scan gage showed I had burned 25 gallons. When it read 1/2 my scan gage showed 50 gallons burned. Sent from my iPad

[Jagiven]

Sounded like a scary problem. Glad the fix was eaay!

[RVermont]

That sure could ruin a drive. Glad you figured it out and thanks for sharing for those with the electronic shift.

[AaronL]

Would be SO nice to have an accurate fuel gauge! Glad Jayco/Freightliner/Cummins (whoever!) sorted this on the newer units.

[hammer55]

don't you figure out how many miles you get to a gallon and then figure how far you can go on the amount of fuel you have on board, and go from there, what will a scan gauge do for those getting them on fuel consumption

[Dave_Jan]

Amen!!! Would be nice indeed on the 2014

[AaronL]

Originally Posted by hammer55

don't you figure out how many miles you get to a gallon and then figure how far you can go on the amount of fuel you have on board, and go from there, what will a scan gauge do for those getting them on fuel consumption

Yes, I do. But admittedly, I’m still new to this coach so learning what I can reliably expect. On my last 1,000 mi journey, my trip average was 10.52 MPG. I believe the scan gauge will help me better predict my range but one thing I don’t like is the fact that the DTE - Distance to Empty function counts UP instead of what I’m used to seeing in a car for instance which counts down. Probably makes sense, as this would eliminate the “range anxiety” one might get when the miles remaining figure is steadily dropping as you motor along.

At this point, I set my ODO to zero at trip start, and plan to stop at 300 miles. That’s my safe zone until I get better data on true range. At about 300 miles to fill, I was averaging 25 gallons on the re-fill so used 35 gal average. I use the scan gauge set at a 60 gallon (usable) fuel fill.

What I’ve found is it seems my fuel gauge is off by 1/4 tank. So at 300 miles, my gauge is showing me 1/4 tank remain when it’s more like 1/2 as evidenced by my average fill data above. I should cover it with some black duct tape as it’s pretty useless and just makes me nervous looking at it. Also taking a static MPG number times fuel in the tank is a good estimate but doesn’t take into account real-world mpg fluctuations up/down as you drive. I had a segment where I had a high of 12.6 average and a low of 8.2, among others.

That is where I think the scan gauge is nice as you can see your potential DTE number steadily increasing, based on actual driving conditions helping you feel more confident on true range.

Would love to know from others how they use the SG for DTE and how that factors into fuel stop planning.

[RVermont]

I just watch gallons used and refill at 35-45 gallons. 35-40 if running generator. 40-45 if no generator used. Useally withings a couple gallons is no generator used. Short by 3-8 gallons if using generator.

[AaronL]

Originally Posted by RVermont

I just watch gallons used and refill at 35-45 gallons. 35-40 if running generator. 40-45 if no generator used. Useally withings a couple gallons is no generator used. Short by 3-8 gallons if using generator.

Nice, will add the gallons used display next trip.

[Rustynuts]

One thing on the new S2RV chassis is you have to firmly have the brake pedal pressed in order for the push button shifter to work. I had the same issue and I just wasn’t pressing the pedal hard enough. I have also found out that the jacks will not work if you park lights are on as the jack system thinks the ignition is on.

[Dave_Jan]

i have set my usable fuel to 66 gals in SG. I have driven 450 miles based on that number. Albeit puckering a bit. At fill up I took 48 gals. I wanted to feel comfortable driving 400 mi. at a time.