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Old 03-14-2014, 04:25 PM   #1
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EE Code on 5 Button Comfort Control Center

Moved to a new park in Arizona today and we ran the air for a while then shut it off. Tried to turn the system on after a couple hours and I got an EE message which I guess means an error. Ive done everything I can think of including:
1) Did a reset procedure for the 5 button CCC.
2) Made sure our coach ceiling fluorescent lights are off.
3) Turned off AC power to the coach at the post
4) turned the coach batteries off
5) turned coach batteries on and still get EE
6) Turned coach AC power on and still get EE
7) did the reset procedure over and over....no joy
8) took the CCC off from the wall and checked the (phone) cord connection.

Anyone out there have any ideas or suggestions? Gets cold here in the desert at night and warm during the day so heat and cooling is needed.

Thanks in advance.
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Old 03-14-2014, 05:14 PM   #2
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A year or so ago, I switched out my 4 button Control Center for a 5 button. I purchased the upgrade from a seller on e-bay that seemed to be helpful and professional. I would suggest you try contacting him to see if he can help. I don't have access to his name right now.
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Old 03-15-2014, 08:57 AM   #3
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Steve, based on my experience with the "EE" problem (see my post about florescent light interference) it could be any one of three things.

1. Defective wall thermostat (least likely)

2. Defective telephone-type control cable between wall thermostat and A/C

3. Defective control board in one of the A/C

4. Interference from florescent lights (you've already ruled this one out)

I was lucky enough to find a dealer that had a new 5-button CCC who let me try it, that eliminated that possibility.

You can make up a telephone cable to run across the room to temporarily connect the wall thermostat to the A/C. (the connections must be straight-through, NOT reversed from end-to-end as a standard telephone cable is wired)

Good luck, happy trails, and God bless!
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Old 03-19-2014, 09:36 AM   #4
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An update on my problem in case anyone else experiences this problem.

I called Dometic customer support expecting to be put on hold for a long wait then get someone who did not know how to solve my issue.

I was wrong. I was on hold for less than a minute and spoke to AL. He was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. He gave me several trouble shooting steps to help isolate and fix the problem as follows:

The 5 button CCC is connected to the front and rear ac/heat pumps via a four wire telephone cable with snap in connectors same as what you have in your home. Al said that when you get an EE message on the thermostat display it means the thermostat is unable to communicate with one or both ac/heat pump units. He was confident that the 5 button CCC was not the problem but rather the phone cable was bad or the connectors were corroded.

He said I needed to go on the roof and open up each unit and use alcohol (not Jim Beam) and with a Q-tip to dab some on each connector and push them in/out a few times. I did this and still had the EE message so I called Al back.

His next step was to isolate if it was cable related either for the front unit or back or both. So he had me go back on the roof and unplug the back unit. When I did so the front unit (zone 1) began to function. This confirmed the 5 button CCC was functioning properly and the cable to the front unit was ok.

So now I have heat and ac which is welcomed as it got down to 27 here in the desert last night.

Next step is to determine if the rear connectors (there are two of them) are bad or if its a rear cable issue. So yesterday I went to Radio Shack and got new connectors and a 25 ft length of 4 wire cable. Today I will remove both unit covers and change the connectors to see if this fixes the problem and if not try the new cable. I'm hopeful this will get our rear unit up and running.My only concern is that if the cable is bad how do I run a new one from front to back. Maybe I can do so thru the duct work. if this is necessary I call Newmar for suggestions.

I'll report back after I finish.

Perhaps if anyone encounters the same problem this info will be helpful.
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Old 03-20-2014, 08:50 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bowpulpit View Post
An update on my problem in case anyone else experiences this problem.

I called Dometic customer support expecting to be put on hold for a long wait then get someone who did not know how to solve my issue.

I was wrong. I was on hold for less than a minute and spoke to AL. He was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. He gave me several trouble shooting steps to help isolate and fix the problem as follows:

The 5 button CCC is connected to the front and rear ac/heat pumps via a four wire telephone cable with snap in connectors same as what you have in your home. Al said that when you get an EE message on the thermostat display it means the thermostat is unable to communicate with one or both ac/heat pump units. He was confident that the 5 button CCC was not the problem but rather the phone cable was bad or the connectors were corroded.

He said I needed to go on the roof and open up each unit and use alcohol (not Jim Beam) and with a Q-tip to dab some on each connector and push them in/out a few times. I did this and still had the EE message so I called Al back.

His next step was to isolate if it was cable related either for the front unit or back or both. So he had me go back on the roof and unplug the back unit. When I did so the front unit (zone 1) began to function. This confirmed the 5 button CCC was functioning properly and the cable to the front unit was ok.

So now I have heat and ac which is welcomed as it got down to 27 here in the desert last night.

Next step is to determine if the rear connectors (there are two of them) are bad or if its a rear cable issue. So yesterday I went to Radio Shack and got new connectors and a 25 ft length of 4 wire cable. Today I will remove both unit covers and change the connectors to see if this fixes the problem and if not try the new cable. I'm hopeful this will get our rear unit up and running.My only concern is that if the cable is bad how do I run a new one from front to back. Maybe I can do so thru the duct work. if this is necessary I call Newmar for suggestions.

I'll report back after I finish.

Perhaps if anyone encounters the same problem this info will be helpful.
Steve, remember that a standard telephone line cord is reversed from one end to the other. That won't work. The connections must be straight through!
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Old 03-20-2014, 09:38 AM   #6
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Thanks Joe.......I was not aware of this.
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Old 03-20-2014, 03:48 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bowpulpit View Post
Thanks Joe.......I was not aware of this.
Did you buy bulk cable without ends and a tool to install the plugs?
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Old 03-20-2014, 03:58 PM   #8
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I recently replaced the gasket under my a/c units. When I raised the units from the roof there were telephone cable junctions w/quick connects. These connectors are not visible by removing the a/c covers. I mention this as it may be the location of a bad connection.
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Old 03-20-2014, 04:07 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bowpulpit View Post
An update on my problem in case anyone else experiences this problem.

I called Dometic customer support expecting to be put on hold for a long wait then get someone who did not know how to solve my issue.

I was wrong. I was on hold for less than a minute and spoke to AL. He was extremely knowledgeable and helpful. He gave me several trouble shooting steps to help isolate and fix the problem as follows:

The 5 button CCC is connected to the front and rear ac/heat pumps via a four wire telephone cable with snap in connectors same as what you have in your home. Al said that when you get an EE message on the thermostat display it means the thermostat is unable to communicate with one or both ac/heat pump units. He was confident that the 5 button CCC was not the problem but rather the phone cable was bad or the connectors were corroded.

He said I needed to go on the roof and open up each unit and use alcohol (not Jim Beam) and with a Q-tip to dab some on each connector and push them in/out a few times. I did this and still had the EE message so I called Al back.

His next step was to isolate if it was cable related either for the front unit or back or both. So he had me go back on the roof and unplug the back unit. When I did so the front unit (zone 1) began to function. This confirmed the 5 button CCC was functioning properly and the cable to the front unit was ok.

So now I have heat and ac which is welcomed as it got down to 27 here in the desert last night.

Next step is to determine if the rear connectors (there are two of them) are bad or if its a rear cable issue. So yesterday I went to Radio Shack and got new connectors and a 25 ft length of 4 wire cable. Today I will remove both unit covers and change the connectors to see if this fixes the problem and if not try the new cable. I'm hopeful this will get our rear unit up and running.My only concern is that if the cable is bad how do I run a new one from front to back. Maybe I can do so thru the duct work. if this is necessary I call Newmar for suggestions.

I'll report back after I finish.

Perhaps if anyone encounters the same problem this info will be helpful.



Tie the new cable on to the old (existing ) cable. Strip back the conductors of each cable and twist the conductors together, then tightly tape it all together. Keep in mind to make connection as small as possible.
As long as the existing cable is not stapled down..... should pull through.
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Old 04-19-2014, 11:19 AM   #10
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Closing the chapter on this issue........

Thanks to the advise by Joe and others I was able to fix my problem and I am happy to say both heat pumps are now working.

As noted in my earlier posts, Dometic tech service helped diagnosed the problem to be the communication cable that runs from the front heat pump unit to the back unit. This cable looks exactly like a telephone cable with RJ-11 male connectors on each end. These cables as purchased from Home Depot, Radio Shack etc WILL NOT WORK as the connectors are reversed from one end to the other. For the cable to work correctly the connectors must be wired "straight thru" so that the 4 colored wires are in the same pin locations on both RJ-11 connectors. This is quite easy to remedy but does require a special tool ($28 @ HD) that allows one to strip the wire and crimp on a new connector (Bag of 10 $3.98 @ HD).

An easy way to check if your cable is "straight thru" is to set both connectors side by side on a table with the spring clips facing down. Look at the colored wires and if both connectors have all wire colors in the same sequence ie black on the left followed the three other wire colors you have a "straight thru" connector and it can be used to connect your Dometic HP to the 5 button Control Center. If the wire colors are reversed from one connector to the other it will be necessary to get the tools mentioned above, cut off one connector and crimp on a new one.

The replacement cable that I got at HD was like this and not "straight thru" so I had to modify it first. Then I had to string this cable from the front unit to the back. This was done by using a fish tape and pulling the new cable thru the cold air return in the ceiling. I removed the covers from each heat pump on the roof (be very careful when up on your roof. It's a long way down). Next I removed the cold air return ducts on the ceiling inside the MH between the front and back heat pump. This allowed the access needed to fish the new cable.

Once the new cable is plugged in do a reset on the 5 button control center (hold the Zone and Mode buttons down while turning on the 5 button control center. You will see the letters FF and once you release the Zone/Mode buttons you will then see Zone 1 & 2 displayed).

It's a great feeling to fix the issues that come up from time to time on our MH's. Best of all the knowledgeable folks on this forum have saved my bacon and $$$$$ on more than one occasion.
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