Freshly Retired Navy, Hurricane 34B, X-Country engage!

[The_Breeze]

Ex AF. Thank you for your service! I got nothing on the A/C's. Check breaker panel?

[SamNavy]

Thanks for all that good info. I know I am getting good power into the RV from the garage receptacle. All of the 110 AC outlets in the rig work fine and I am currently running three small floor fans off of them. I can run at least a couple of the fans and the microwave without tripping the garage breaker. The fridge is also running on propane. Neither of the roof air conditioners will power up at all, even to FAN.

I'm convinced that there is a solenoid somewhere in the system that activates when it senses 30 or 50 amp power in order to send current to the AC units. Both AC units work fine on generator, and I am learning the max load capacity of the generator as I have tripped its 20 amp breaker several times by adding additional appliances to the load... For example, on generater (5500 Onan) with both AC units running and the fridge set to 110, it will trip when I turn on the microwave. I have not tested, but think just temporarily setting both AC's to fan (maybe just the rear) while runnimg the microwave will suffice to keep the breaker from tripping.

The rig is a 2008, but it's new to me and I have never plugged it in to 30 or 50 amp service at a campground. That test will be Sunday afternoon when we hit our first campground... just northeast of Vegas where it should be mid-nineties and I'm praying they both come on when I plug into shore 50amp.

Copy that I'll get a real 30>20 dogbone to replace the puck.

[JimOIB]

You have a breaker panel inside the coach. By any chance are the breakers to the ACs off? Otherwise it is the thermostats but the probability of both being bad are low.

[SamNavy]

Originally Posted by jimbo12

You have a breaker panel inside the coach. By any chance are the breakers to the ACs off? Otherwise it is the thermostats but the probability of both being bad are low.

Both AC's run perfectly fine on generator, but not even FAN from the garage receptacle only. When I fire up the generator in the evening to run the ACs for a few hours before it cools off enough that we don't need them and can open the windows, I am NOT unplugging the garage cable and the ac's come on like normal. Earlier somebody mentioned that the coach is smart enough to only accept power from one source.

Last night, I turned off the front ac, and left the rear one running when I killed the generator. The rear AC turned off too, wouldnt continue to run on garage outlet only... but the floor fans plugged into the coach's wall sockets all stayed on indicating they happily switched to the 20amp garage receptacle when the gen turned off. All breakers and fuses that I can find, including the primary ones under the queen bed in the rear are ON.

Hopefully all my noob terminology is clear enough. I'll pick up the lingo in time!

[JimOIB]

My best guess is the yellow adapter at the end of your extension cord is only supplying power to one leg of your 50A circuit. That leg probably runs everything but the ACs. A proper dogbone vs the yellow adapter should solve the problem. You will know as soon as you get to a campground and plug in. If ACs work on shore power then the yellow adapter is the culprit.

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by jimbo12

My best guess is the yellow adapter at the end of your extension cord is only supplying power to one leg of your 50A circuit. That leg probably runs everything but the ACs. A proper dogbone vs the yellow adapter should solve the problem. You will know as soon as you get to a campground and plug in. If ACs work on shore power then the yellow adapter is the culprit.

Each A/C should be on a separate leg.

The thermostats get control power from the furnace, which gets 12 VDC from the DC buss.

I can't think of any reason this would work on the generator but not the SP connection. I feel like a piece of the puzzle is missing.

[Calman]

At least it ain't Haze Gray and Underway. Thanks for your Naval Service.

[The_Breeze]

Originally Posted by 16ACE27

Each A/C should be on a separate leg.

The thermostats get control power from the furnace, which gets 12 VDC from the DC buss.

I can't think of any reason this would work on the generator but not the SP connection. I feel like a piece of the puzzle is missing.

But if he's only trying to one A/C, shouldn't that be ok?

I see where he's trying to run A/C. He's got a 20A input trying to power a 30A A/C unit - at least at start up and he's not even getting there. Is it possible it sees that and doesn't even try?

[SamNavy]

Bought a real dogbone at Tractor Supply to replace the puck...

YUP, AC powers up fine, but only runs about 15 minutes before the 15amp garage breaker trips. It's 100* with 5percent humidity here, and I'm running through 75ft of cord and 4 different connections, so it's not surprising. BUT, both AC's will cycle on (one-at-a-time) on the 15amp circuit with the new dogbone. Another data point to pass to the next FNG!

[JimOIB]

Bravo Zulu

[wingnut60]

Hey, SamNavy--
Nice visiting with you at the CO State Park. Thanks for the heads-up on the 50amp outlet, found out that it is not hooked up...guess they had only the new style box when recently worked on the pedestal.
Enjoy your new lifestyle, stay safe.
Joe the camp host.

[Judge]

Originally Posted by SamNavy

Bought a real dogbone at Tractor Supply to replace the puck...

YUP, AC powers up fine, but only runs about 15 minutes before the 15amp garage breaker trips. It's 100* with 5percent humidity here, and I'm running through 75ft of cord and 4 different connections, so it's not surprising. BUT, both AC's will cycle on (one-at-a-time) on the 15amp circuit with the new dogbone. Another data point to pass to the next FNG!

Welcome..... and just a quick tip after seeing the picture you posted.

Don't leave your power cord and extension cords coiled. The heat during maximum current draw can cause them to melt and possibly catch fire.

Sounds like you are pushing your 15A circuit as it is so you want to keep your run as short as possible and don't coil any excess power cords.

Good luck!

[vt800c]

Ping me when you get to DC. I'm a slimy contractor (retired AF) in the Puzzle Palace.

You find a place to live yet? you plan on staying in the RV until you do? let me know because it's expen$ive around here in some places.

drive safe. and remember, you're not the only land barge out there.

[SamNavy]

Hey all!
Made it into town yesterday and already saw a half-dozen houses with the realtor. Hopefully the offer we put in today sticks!

Since the maintenance never ends, here's the latest.

I noticed here at the campground during a routine walkaround that the hot water heater plastic plug appears to have been slow-leaking for awhile due to the calcium buildup. I pulled the plug which drained the tank... it was hand-tight when I took it off. Threw some teflon thread tape on it and put back on with a wrench (not too much oompf).

NOW NEITHER HOT WATER METHOD WILL WORK!

GAS: Could hear and smell gas, no light. Would light 3x times with a stick-lighter stuck in the tube, but go out after about 5 seconds. The red light on the wall switch would illuminate and stay illuminated, but when trying one time, I think I caught a flash (spark) from the switch and now nothing happens.

110AC: Nothing. The water heater is under the kitchen sink. When I pulled back a panel, I saw an open electrical panel that due to the dust inside has probably been open for a decade and noticed a wire connected to a relay? appeared burnt. This panel also looked freshly leaked on and it appears the sink was dripping directly onto it. I fixed the sink leak with some teflon tape and wiggled all the wire and tightened some of the twist-connectors. Still no hot water.

NO HOT WATER AFTER TANK DRAIN AND OTHER ADVENTURES! Both methods could have failed from some common cause like draining the tank, but have no clue how. Or it could be coincidence and I need to troubleshoot both systems.

Anybody have an "easy button" to try first?

[SamNavy]

Gas system from outside the rig...

[16ACE27]

Did the control board get wet with the drain?
Could be a coincidence that both systems failed simultaneously due to different issues.

Sounds like your ignitor is not working and when you manually light it, the board does not see the flame. Both functions are related to the ignitor itself as well as the control board. The ignitor is the cheapest part to replace but the control boards are notorious for frequent failure at the most inopportune time.

Was the electric element on when you drained the tank? If so you will need to replace the burnt out element. Otherwise it wil be voltmeter and troubleshooting time.

[JimOIB]

I assume you had the unit off when you drained it. And I assume you filled the hot water tank before lighting up again. I find my tank won’t fill unless I have a hot water faucet open.

Since both power sources are no-joy I would look at a thermostat as a potential problem.

There are 4 push-on spade connections under the TandP valve. Turn the unit off the pull each connector off the put it back on to make sure they aren’t cause issues from corrosion. Wiggle them as you put them back on.

[JimOIB]

PS - there is a 2 amp fuse under the two white connectors on the control board. Make sure that didn’t blow.

[SamNavy]

2AMP FUSE is good... pulled it and brushed the contacts just in case.

ECO AND TSTAT WIRES... pulled all wires and all have clean shiny connections.

THERMOSTAT... genius contact method of a spring pushing against the vessel to tell temp. I took the wires off and pulled the t-stat out. Looked good. When I re-installed it and flipped the gas switch... light on the gas switch came on (it hadn't been after I thought I'd fried the switch) gas activated three times and I could light it with a stick-lighter, but AGAIN, went out after 5 seconds.

HEATING ELEMENT... cannot remember if I killed the 110ac switch when I drained the tank, but it was drained for about 5 minutes total before I refilled it. Could the element have eaten/overheated itself in that amount of time?

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by SamNavy

HEATING ELEMENT... cannot remember if I killed the 110ac switch when I drained the tank, but it was drained for about 5 minutes total before I refilled it. Could the element have eaten/overheated itself in that amount of time?

Absolutely.