Power Center

[gunny]

'03 Journey with a 2000 Power Monitor. Went out today to run everything and the ESP panel was dead. No problem, get out the meter and tools, manual too and see what we have here. Finally found the control, in the breaker panel. All checks good, fuse is good, no sign of damage but no display. Also the tank monitors right under the display has stopped working. Mashing the botton makes the LEDs flash real dim and then nothing.

Thoughts, ideas, comments, suggestions?

[gunny]

'03 Journey with a 2000 Power Monitor. Went out today to run everything and the ESP panel was dead. No problem, get out the meter and tools, manual too and see what we have here. Finally found the control, in the breaker panel. All checks good, fuse is good, no sign of damage but no display. Also the tank monitors right under the display has stopped working. Mashing the botton makes the LEDs flash real dim and then nothing.

Thoughts, ideas, comments, suggestions?

[abn]

Are you connected to shore power?
If not, check the batteries and battery connections.

I had trouble getting my generator to start earlier in the season. Turned out to be the house batteries. Replaced them and cleaned connections. Everything worked fine.

Good Luck

Please post your findings when you get it figured out.

[gunny]

House batteries are fine, 13.2VDC. Engine batteries were a little low, they were at 12.6VDC, ran the engine for a while and charged them. Makes no difference if on shore or generator, generator does fine. Did note that everything is on, both compressors, could overload the generaotr by running the water heater on top of the air. Will go look at it some more a little later and see if I have 12VDC on the end of the square plug (4 wire). That should determine if its the controller or the display, suspect its the controller. Then figure out what happened with the level monitors.
Any suggestions as to a good place to get these parts, know for sure the local RV dealer has marked everything up at least 100%.

[abn]

Winnebago Service

JC Whitney

Couple of suggestions.

[gunny]

Winnebago Service, not such a good idea. First went to the local stealer, I mean dealer. $202 for the EMS board, plus shipping, it'll be at least a week and a half, maybe more. Next up was Winnebago service, man on the phone was more of a smart a$$ than anything else. Tried to impress me with how much he knew compared to how little I did.
Called Mater Tech (800)848-0558. Wish I would have started there. Nice folks, real helpful and a whole lot cheaper than the local stealer who has lost my business forever. Part will be here tomorrow. Believe those folks will get a lot of my business from now on.

[troth]

gunny, do you have a surge protector on your shore power input line? Any chance a thunderstorm/lightning bolt might have shocked the system?
Apparently you did some diagnosing and felt that your problem was the EMS circuit board... Please keep us tuned in on the replacement & results.
What is Mater Tech (sp?) I tried an internet search but couldn't find anything rv-related for Master Tech.

[Pete B]

Gunny - I don't know what your power panel looks like, but my EMS panel went dark. So did my tank level indicators. It was the plug that goes into the circuit board behind the ems display. The receptacle is soldered onto the board. That has come loose. I resoldered it and everything works great.

The wire is snaked in the wall behind the shower valve. The cable was too short and was pulling on the receptacle. Eventually it pulled it right off. The fact that you can press on the display and get the level lights to flutter sounds to me like something is loose.

[gunny]

Troth:
My bad. Yes, Master Tech. Sometimes my spelling doesn't work well for me, English is my second language. Sorry. I'd think they'd have a web site, call them (800)848-0558 and see. Yes, an excellent chance a lightning handshake got to it. Had not been in the MH for a few days and we did have a bad electrical storm, one strike was so close I felt the heat, thunderclap occured the same time I saw the lightning. No surge surpressor, MH is plugged into a 30 amp putlet in the garage. I keep it plugged in and the AC set at 88 to keep it dry inside and the mildew at bay.

Pete B.
Got the same symptoms as you. Got 12VDC power to the tank level board. On the plug that connects the EMS display with the controller in the breaker panel, no power coming through. Should have +12VDC, -12VDC, data and control. Looked for loose connections and or damage first, no joy there. New boards will be here tomorrow, I'll report progress/results.

Thanks for the suggestions & comments.

[rebelsbeach]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by gunny:
Troth:
My bad. Yes, Master Tech. Sometimes my spelling doesn't work well for me, English is my second language. Sorry. I'd think they'd have a web site, call them (800)848-0558 and see. Yes, an excellent chance a lightning handshake got to it. Had not been in the MH for a few days and we did have a bad electrical storm, one strike was so close I felt the heat, thunderclap occured the same time I saw the lightning. No surge surpressor, MH is plugged into a 30 amp outlet in the garage. I keep it plugged in and the AC set at 88 to keep it dry inside and the mildew at bay.
</div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Most anyone on these forums will express the opinion that a surge protector is needed....I learned the hard way, through the fault of no one but me how a surge can fry stuff...

Sounds like you're at least familiar with that lesson, but you still need to purchase even a "portable" surge protector....I recommend rvupgrades.com an iRV2 sponsor for your purchase.

[glenda1908]

Bob, after your bad experience at Walnut Hills we purchased a portable surge protector from rvupgrades. Guess we have been lucky so far, but don't want to take any chances in the future. Thanks for having that "bit of bad luck" to make us decide we needed one!

[rebelsbeach]

Glenda, I'm always glad to help in any way I can...

[troth]

OK for anyone else that's interested, I did find Master Tech on the internet (mastertech-inc.com) using a reverse phone lookup ( ! ).
here it is

Looks like they handle a lot of the RV electronics (Intellitec, Progressive Dynamics, Cole Hersee, etc.). Locations are in FL and MI.

Good to know a source like this for some of the electronic gizmos in my coach.
Gunny, I couldn't find the price of the Intellitec EMS panel on the Master Tech site...(?)


Tom

[JJ Hamick]

Shortly after I received my coach I plugged it into a 20a socket that apparently was bad without checking it first. $1000 later I have a Progressive surge protector and multimeter. Don't leave home without it. Good luck and happy camping...