Alternator and Serpentine Belts May Disengage – 2021 Winnebago Revel Motorhomes

August 12, 2020 NHTSA CAMPAIGN NUMBER: 20V474000

Alternator and Serpentine Belts May Disengage

If the auxiliary alternator belt disengages, the engine serpentine belt may also disengage causing an immediate loss of power steering control increasing the risk of crash.

 

NHTSA Campaign Number: 20V474

Manufacturer Winnebago Industries, Inc

Components ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Potential Number of Units Affected 156

 

Summary

Winnebago Industries, Inc (Winnebago) is recalling certain 2021 Revel motorhomes. These motorhomes have an auxiliary alternator belt that may wear and detach.

 

Remedy

Winnebago will notify owners, and dealers will coordinate the inspection and proper alignment of the belt pulleys, free of charge. The recall began September 21, 2020. Owners may contact Winnebago customer service at 1-800-537-1885. Winnebago’s number for this recall is 162.

 

Notes

Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

 

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INSTRUCTIONS TO PERFORM RECALL CAMPAIGN 162

 

Models Affected: 

Certain 2021 model year Revel Motorhomes. These motorhomes were manufactured June 01, 2020 through July 31, 2020.

 

Tools Required:

• Wrench – 5/16” Box End

• Pipe (12”) for leverage on wrench

• Hex Socket 15mm with 3” extension

• Screw Driver – long skinny, flat end

• Impact Driver – high speed ½”

• Socket – 14mm allen for ½” drive

• Wrench or deep socket – 1 1/16” (27mm)

 

NOTE: Only use the ITEMS supplied in Recall Kit #RC7647-21-762

 

Parts and Tools Included:

• Two Alternator Shims

• Replacement Pulley Cap

• T55 Torx Bit

 

Xantrex Revel Alternator/Belt Inspection & Rework Instructions

Prepared By: Steve Carlson
Revision: A
Modified:  08/16/20

 

Parts and Tools

Parts and Tools Included:

• Two Alternator Shims

• Replacement Pulley Cap

• T55 Torx Bit

 

Other Tools Required:

• 5/16” Box-end Wrench

• Pipe (12”) to slide over 5/16” wrench to increase leverage

• 15mm Hex Socket and Ratchet with 3” extension

• Long Skinny Flat End Screwdriver

• High Speed ½” Drive Impact Wrench

• 14mm Allen Socket for ½” Drive

 

Belt Alignment Inspection

Start vehicle and check alignment of belt.  Paying close attention to the Idler and tensioner smooth pulleys.  Making sure that the belt is 100% on these pulleys.  Even if it is on the edge it could track on and off while engine is running.  Needs to be fully on while engine running.  Another indication that the belt is tracking off the pulleys is the appearance of thin white line/lines on the belt.  See image below. Yellow arrow shows belt off the idler pulley.

 

Alternator Inspection

If the belt is not fully on the two idler pulleys, inspect the alternator for 2 things.  1) The placement of the spacer on the mounting bolts and 2) the space between the pulley and the casting.

 

1) (1A)Incorrect placement of black spacer washer

 

1) (1B)Correct placement of spacer washer

 

2) See image below of alternators with and without shims. There should be just over 2mm of space between the back of the pulley and the casting.  See yellow arrow.

 

Compress Tensioner to Remove Belt

Place the T55 Torx bit in a 5/16” open/box end wrench and place the bit in the tensioner assembly to compress and remove the belt

 

Remove Alternator

1) Using a 15mm hex socket and short extension remove the alternator bolts.  Make sure to retain the bolts and black washer/spacers.  No need to disconnect any wires from the alternator.  Pull the alternator out of the bracket to face the pulley downward.

 

Remove Dust Cap from Pulley

1) Use a long but skinny flat end screwdriver, puncture the exact center of the rubber/metal cap.  Rotate the screwdriver down towards the edge of the pully and pry the cap out of place.  This takes more force than you expect which is why the screwdriver needs to be long to provide leverage.

 

Remove the Pulley, add Shims, & Replace

Use a high speed ½” impact wrench with a 14mm allen socket to remove the pulley.  With the impact at the highest speed setting, hold the pulley with your hand and do a quick reverse(counterclockwise) burst to break the pulley loose.  Do another soft burst to unscrew the pulley.  If the pulley is not loose repeat the last two steps until it comes loose.  Once the pulley is off the shaft check to see if there is a shim on the shaft.  Some pulleys have no shims, and some have one shim.  Add shims so that there are 2 shims on the shaft behind the pulley.  Thread the pulley on clockwise hand tight.  Using the impact on tighten(clockwise) give the pulley 3 quick bursts.  Snap the dust cap back into pulley.

 

Reinstall Alternator

Using a large channel-lock pliers, force the sliding bushings out of the inside of the mounting bracket.

Place the top bolt into the mounting bracket just far enough to hang the black spacer flush on the end.  Move the alternator into place and slide bolt through and hand start threading.  Make sure the spacer stays in place.  Place bolt through negative cable and spacer on the bottom mount in the same orientation.  Thread both bolts on equally to the point where they just begin to tighten.  Then rotate a quarter turn back and forth between the two until tight.  Torque to 34.5ft/lbs

 

Re-Check Belt Alignment

Start vehicle and check alignment of belt.  Paying close attention to the Idler and tensioner smooth pulleys.  Making sure that the belt is 100% on these pulleys.  Even if it is on the edge it could track on and off while engine is running.  Needs to be fully on while engine running.  If the belt is still not fully on the idler pulleys, contact Winnebago Technical Service at: 1-866-653-4329 for next steps.

 

If you have any questions regarding this recall remedy, please contact:

Xantrex Technical Assistance

1-574-214-8780

 

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1 Affected Product

Vehicle

MAKE	MODEL	YEAR
WINNEBAGO	REVEL	2021

 

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6 Associated Documents

Recall Quarterly Report #2, 2020-4

RCLQRT-20V474-1400.PDF 211.247KB

 

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Remedy Instructions and TSB

RCRIT-20V474-5819.pdf 3535.598KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #1, 2020-3

RCLQRT-20V474-9300.PDF 211.146KB

 

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Recall Acknowledgement

RCAK-20V474-6463.pdf 244.786KB

 

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Defect Notice 573 Report

RCLRPT-20V474-9632.PDF 213.714KB

 

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Recall Quarterly Report #4, 2021-2

RCLQRT-20V474-5821.PDF 211.434KB

 

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Latest Recalls Documents

For the Latest and Most Recent Recalls Information Visit the link below…

https://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/acms/cs/documentList.xhtml?docId=20V474&docType=RCL

 

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