Grr...ABS and CMS lights!

Feb 16 - 24, 2026

It's kind of "he said, she said" version of our not-so-great week.

Grr...On our way to Robins AFB in Georgia, our dashboard lit up. First it hit us with ABS failure. That was quickly followed by CMS failure. While neither were show stoppers, and we were able to continue to our destination, we were going to have to go to a Spartan authorized repair center for diagnostics. Grr... 

So, we spent one night in our campsite at the famcamp on Robins AFB, got up early and drove the 30 minutes to Rush Truck Center in Macon, GA. They open at 7:00 am and are a first come, first serve facility. We expected to be there most of the day, possibly overnight if they had to order a part. Well, that stretched into four days with three overnights in a hotel as they tracked electrical issues step-by-step. Grr...so much for a quick fix.

They finally found a pinched wiring harness between the chassis and the "house" part of the coach. Guess what was not considered a warranty issue? Plus, there was an electrical issue with Silverleaf system on the house side not reading the proper voltage. By Friday afternoon, we're several thousand dollars into the repair. We asked them to stop the Silverleaf diagnostics since that has been an ongoing issue and though we'd love to figure it out, it wasn't preventing travel. We paid our bill, and headed back to the famcamp. Grr..., the ABS and CMS lights hit again. So there's something else besides the pinched wiring harness. 

Then, when we got to the famcamp, there was someone in our site. Though I hadn't coned off our site, I had spoken to the staff a couple of times during the week, letting them know what was happening. Grr....

We had called Rush on our way back to the famcamp, and they asked us to return on Monday morning. We did, and this time they found a wire rubbing against the chassis. This was covered by warranty and probably the real issue all along. How much of a fight do we want to put up with Spartan? Grr... We picked up the coach the next morning, after yet another hotel overnight, and headed to a new campground.  

It was a frustrating week. I was searching the Internet for both new coaches and new houses, wondering if it was time to quit full-timing, get a new coach, find a place to live, or some combination thereof. Grr...

Bags are packed

More waiting

Where Are We Going Next?

Anti-Lock Braking Warning Warning Will Robinson.

Feb 16 - 24, 2026

While traveling in our home on wheels, both, an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) and a Collision Mitigation System (CMS) warning lamps lit up on our dash.

Will Robinson and Robot Model B-9

We called Spartan RV, the fine people who manufactured the chassis, and they referred us to the closest Spartan Authorized Service Center to us at the time - Rush Truck Center in Macon George for repairs.

Our home at Rush Truck Center

We called A.J., the service manager at Rush Truck Center. He told us that they don't schedule appointments, but are a first come first served facility.  We continued on to our campsite for the night which was the Family Campground on Warner Robins Air Force Base which is a separate story.

As an ABS warning is not a critical error however we wanted to get it addressed as soon as possible as our chassis warranty runs out in June.

Will Bear overseeing the work.

The technician found that the J1939 bus (what all the chassis computers communicate on to include Engine Control Unit, transmission, brakes, Tire Pressure Monitoring System, electronic dash board, etc.) had 50 ohms of resistance at one end and 100 ohms at the other. The standard resistance is 60 ohms. Troubleshooting found a cable pinched between two inside body panels under the dashboard and the effected area was spliced out.

Cable to the CMS pinched in the wall panel

The technician took it for a test drive and returned our rig to us as no faults were found. This was on Friday near closing time. On my first drive the ABS warning light illuminated.

Sorry for the glare but in the middle you can see the ABS SYSTEM FAULT text.

 We returned to Rush Truck Center on Monday, and they found a cable near the ABS computer with chafing.  Repairs were effected, and we have been happy travelers ever since.

During this evolution we were displaced from our home while the rig was in the shop for maintenance. We had the opportunity to visit some hotels in the area. Yeah, for free breakfast and a pool.

Parked in the penalty box.

Where Are We Going Next?