Loud pitch noise from device under sink??

[Kevad]

Hi, I’m a new 2018 Freedom Elite 24FE owner which is on a Mercedes Sprinter Chassis. Several times now when I turn on the engine a loud whining high pitched noise is made from this little gray electronic device under the left part of the kitchen sink which is also next to the entry door and fairly close to the batteries under the entrance steps. It goes off immediately once the engine is turned off. It acts almost like a little alarm speaker, you can mute it by putting your finger over the open part. I disconnected it to drive home from San Clemente State Park about 35 mikes away. I’ve read it could be one of the Stabilizer Jacks May not be retracted all the way up but I’ve lowered them each (left & right side) and retracted them several times with no luck stopping this ‘alarm’. I also turned off the propane with no luck but this doesn’t look like a propane leak issue. Does anyone have any ideas what this ‘alarm’ is for and how to resolve it sounding off?

[Kevad]

Originally Posted by kevad

hi, i’m a new 2018 freedom elite 24fe owner which is on a mercedes sprinter chassis. Several times now when i turn on the engine a loud whining high pitched noise is made from this little gray electronic device under the left part of the kitchen sink which is also next to the entry door and fairly close to the batteries under the entrance steps. It goes off immediately once the engine is turned off. It acts almost like a little alarm speaker, you can mute it by putting your finger over the open part. I disconnected it to drive home from san clemente state park about 35 mikes away. I’ve read it could be one of the stabilizer jacks may not be retracted all the way up but i’ve lowered them each (left & right side) and retracted them several times with no luck stopping this ‘alarm’. I also turned off the propane with no luck but this doesn’t look like a propane leak issue. Does anyone have any ideas what this ‘alarm’ is for and how to resolve it sounding off?

[JamieGeek]

That guy is just the alert buzzer:
https://www.digikey.com/product-deta...221-ND/1957912

If no one answers your best bet would be to trace the wires down...

[Kevad]

[Laco]

Agree its an alert buzzer, but for what? Call Thor and ask them! I think your guess that it has something to do with the jacks is probably correct. Did those jacks come factory equipped? Ours, also on a MB chassis had no jacks, until I added an HWH auto leveling system.

[Kevad]

Originally Posted by Laco

Agree its an alert buzzer, but for what? Call Thor and ask them! I think your guess that it has something to do with the jacks is probably correct. Did those jacks come factory equipped? Ours, also on a MB chassis had no jacks, until I added an HWH auto leveling system.

Yes, the Stabilizer Jacks came factory equipped. I’ve taken the rig out 8 times now for a night or two each time and so used the jacks each time but the alarm began sounding recently like the last 2 or 3 trips and now appears it will keep sounding off while the engine is on until resolved, although I can temp disable it by pulling off one of the connected wires. If I can’t resolve it myself in the next few weeks I could just add it to my ‘punch’ list for warranty repair but I’m trying to resolve these apparently fairly minor issues as best I can first and with all the great knowledge from other Thor owners & posters in these forums, I am learning a lot as this is my first rig. I can try and track the wire to its source but that may not be easy. It’s the only alert buzzer I can see under the sink area with the only other electronic item closest apparently being the water pump which looks to be under the right part of the sink. But the alarm goes off regardless if the water pump switch is powered on or off. I have been having problems with water pressure coming from the ‘hot’ water which is heated by a Girard GSWH-2 tankless water heater. It is like 1/3 to 1/2 that of the cold water which effects the heater because it won’t heat if the pressure is too low. Given it only goes off when the engine is on I am assuming it is more likely the Stabilizer Jacks not retracting 100% although they look fully retracted because of course you don’t want to start driving away with them down to the ground so the alarm makes sense but they aren’t down at all that I can see. I’ll post separately about the Girard Tankless Water Heater and issues with my Hot Water Pressure although generally I can Get hot/warm water and shower but it switches to cold now and then because to get enough pressure to rinse off the shampoo I usually have to mix it with some cold water. Interesting Girard is located in San Clemente California about 3 Miles from where I often go camping so far. Now, where is the jack company [emoji3]. I can call Thor &/or CW too if no one in these forums knows exactly what sets that alert buzzer off and how to resolve it.

[Laco]

Yeah, I would give Thor a call. As far as the hot water, we too have the Girard tank less, and had intermittent hot water problems, until I dumped the pre-set water pressure regulator and bought an adjustable set to 53psi. The pre-sets are set to 45psi, not enough for the Girard to consistently heat water. No problems since I did that. Do your jacks level at all, or just stabilize at whatever level you are parked? I decided I had to have a full leveling system, thus the HWH auto level system. Not sure which CW you deal with, but neither the one in San Bernardino or Cerritos are exactly known for great service.

[gnach]

Originally Posted by Laco

Yeah, I would give Thor a call. As far as the hot water, we too have the Girard tank less, and had intermittent hot water problems, until I dumped the pre-set water pressure regulator and bought an adjustable set to 53psi. The pre-sets are set to 45psi, not enough for the Girard to consistently heat..

Not sure which CW you deal with, but neither the one in San Bernardino or Cerritos are exactly known for great service.

@Laco- re the adjustable regulator, would you provide a part no. or link? Sounds great.

As to CW, I think a Thor authorized independent is a much smarter bet. I'm very unhappy with them for warranty service.

[Kevad]

I will call Thor tomorrow Wednesday 2/7 and if necessary CW. I'm going to have someone retract I purchased the RV from CW in Newhall as La MIRADA & San Marcos don't sell RVs only repairs and sales of camper equipment and strongly recommend warranty repairs be done at Newhall. How do I change the pre-set water pressure regulator, where is it and how expensive is it to get an adjustable set higher to like the 53psi you use. Is the water pressure regulator regulating both city supplied and fresh tank? Is hot water line separately regulated vs cold?

Jacks are not meant to level but on the side of the slide-out especially which causes a slight dip when extended I've noticed there is a notch recovery or some re-leveling of about an inch or so but I've had to use the hard 'plastic' leveling blocks like LEGOs which work ok & fairly easily but I'd rather have the HWH auto leveling system you have [emoji3]! Does your hot water supply the same pressure out each faucet and especially the shower as your cold. Per Girard the system works best just using the hot water side lowering the temp water is heated on their control panel to either 115 or as others suggest to 105 but right now the hot water side puts out way less force or pressure than the cold and I'm not sure how to check or fix that which essentially requires that I slowly and very slightly turn on a bit of cold water so the combined force out is at least enough to shower. But I'll try your fix to replace my regulator and install one set to like 53psi if it's not too hard. By the way can you safely go even higher to like 55 or 57 psi?

[Laco]

Originally Posted by Kevad

I will call Thor tomorrow Wednesday 2/7 and if necessary CW. I'm going to have someone retract I purchased the RV from CW in Newhall as La MIRADA & San Marcos don't sell RVs only repairs and sales of camper equipment and strongly recommend warranty repairs be done at Newhall. How do I change the pre-set water pressure regulator, where is it and how expensive is it to get an adjustable set higher to like the 53psi you use. Is the water pressure regulator regulating both city supplied and fresh tank? Is hot water line separately regulated vs cold?

Jacks are not meant to level but on the side of the slide-out especially which causes a slight dip when extended I've noticed there is a notch recovery or some re-leveling of about an inch or so but I've had to use the hard 'plastic' leveling blocks like LEGOs which work ok & fairly easily but I'd rather have the HWH auto leveling system you have [emoji3]! Does your hot water supply the same pressure out each faucet and especially the shower as your cold. Per Girard the system works best just using the hot water side lowering the temp water is heated on their control panel to either 115 or as others suggest to 105 but right now the hot water side puts out way less force or pressure than the cold and I'm not sure how to check or fix that which essentially requires that I slowly and very slightly turn on a bit of cold water so the combined force out is at least enough to shower. But I'll try your fix to replace my regulator and install one set to like 53psi if it's not too hard. By the way can you safely go even higher to like 55 or 57 psi?

The adjustable water pressure regulator I have is:

Valterra A01-1117VP Brass Lead-Free Adjustable Water Regulator

available at Amazon. My understanding is for good hot water performance from the Girard optimum pressure should be between 50 and 55PSI. At 53PSI mine works fine, good pressure in the kitchen as well as in the shower. With the tank less, I find showers acceptable, but you just can not interrupt the water flow, or part of your shower will be cold. I can mix hot and cold water as desired, I set the water temp at 120. I would not recommend going above 55psi, too hard on the plastic plumbing.

I had HWH leveling on my former DP, thought I would be ok in the Gemini which after a 41 foot DP is tiny to us, but I hated that I could never quite get us as level as I wanted. Adding the HWH system in not inexpensive, but so worth it. I also added a second AC for the front, and lots of other stuff too. Just couldn't get the cooling where we were comfortable with the one AC in back, in hot weather. Now it cools pretty well.

[Laco]

The water regulator goes on the hose connection to the coach, so regulates all water pressure, both hot and cold. That adjustable regulator, as I recall was between $50 and $55.00. Its pretty easy to adjust, though mine came set at the 53psi, so I really never had to change it. It made an immediate difference. I was about ready to dump the Gerard and put a tank in, but I'm ok with it now.

[Hooligan2]

Valterra make a brass high flow 55psi regulator. Less than $20 and seems to work well.


I attach directly to campground faucet, then blue water filter between the regulator and the hose.

[mountainsam]

Kevin, next time you go out try turning on the water pump for your shower. It should supply enough pressure for proper operation of the water heater. It will tell you if its a pressure problem, which, like Laco says, it probably is. I have the same water heater as you and we have always used the water pump for showers without a problem.

[Kevad]

I have solved the issue as to what was causing the loud high pitched noise to my Thor Freedom Elite 24FE. Remember earlier in this thread I posted pictures of an electric buzzer under the sink and I showed it to a number of service techs at dealerships in my area and nobody knew what is was for or how to stop the loud noise except several speculated it was for the electronic stabilizers. Well, I have a photo I will post which shows the answer. I missed seeing this and I’m concerned I might need to go back to my eye doctor or a neurologist. You,lol see why I say that when you see the picture below. And the fix took like 1 minute. I’ll show you all the fix further below but involves turning like a nut on a bolt attached to the stabilizers on each side. When they are retracted the bolt touches a metal connector and the alarm shuts off. The nut on the bolt or the bolt itself (tech did it in like seconds) had to be ‘unscrewed’ like two turns so it stuck out aprox. 1/32 of an inch more and now the two metal parts touch properly and the alarm goes silent. So, what confirmed it was the stabilizers causing the noise. See below [emoji16]

[Kevad]

[duncii]

Originally Posted by Kevad

Attachment 9305

Have had the same issue on my Quantum KM24. Would start whining while we were driving. Found that by tapping extend, then retract while driving it would quit usually. Now I know. Will make adjustment. Thanks!

[Jer]

Hey, I wanted to thank you for posting the picture that allowed me to fix the somewhat disruptive noise without removing the little buzzer.

My wife thinks I'm highly intelligent, but it was the kindness of strangers like yourself that went to the trouble to post a solution to a problem. Our Thor Vegas is under warranty and I type this in the parking lot of Campiing World where we were going to bring it in to be worked on for the incessant buzzer.

[cavie]

If it is a leaveler or jack or slide alert I would get it straight to a dealer. It is to warn you while driving if one of them is moving. I don't think I need to explain the consequences of that problem do I? This is one time that duck tape or turning up the radio IS NOT the fix

[Jer]

I do most everything in house. The issue was solved by adjusting the bolt that pushes against the switch breaking the circuit to stop the alert when the stabilizer is fully retracted. Either side can trigger the alarm if the arms are not fully retracted or the stop bolt isn't properly adjusted. My stop bolt wasn't properly adjusted.
I just wanted to thank kvad for showing me where the retract adjustment is. I also tend not to trust dealership s, I don't trust them to work on my RV.

For the forum master electrician to suggest my repair is duct tape, well he may just be full of it and himself.

I work on trucks my whole life and don't really depend on fancy titles proclaiming I'm some kind of mechanical or electrical guru technician. I'll leave that to the keyboard jockeys.

[cavie]

Originally Posted by Jer

I do most everything in house. The issue was solved by adjusting the bolt that pushes against the switch breaking the circuit to stop the alert when the stabilizer is fully retracted. Either side can trigger the alarm if the arms are not fully retracted or the stop bolt isn't properly adjusted. My stop bolt wasn't properly adjusted.
I just wanted to thank kvad for showing me where the retract adjustment is. I also tend not to trust dealership s, I don't trust them to work on my RV.

For the forum master electrician to suggest my repair is duct tape, well he may just be full of it and himself.

I work on trucks my whole life and don't really depend on fancy titles proclaiming I'm some kind of mechanical or electrical guru technician. I'll leave that to the keyboard jockeys.

Sorry you do not have a sense of hummer and the duct tape was a generic joke about fixing things in general just like turning up the car radio. It was not directed at you. Sorry you have lead such a sheltered life!

By the way, it's not a fancy title. It's a license issued by the State of Florida after taking a test to be in business to prove you are a professional and know what you are doing to keep people safe.