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Old 07-01-2016, 01:18 PM   #1
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Exclamation Replacing Older Dometic with New Penguin II

I just went through an ordeal that I wanted to share in case someone else was facing the same problem.

I had 2 Dometic DuoTherm roof AC's. They were both older models (630035.321). The rear one went out and needed to be replaced. The replacement model was the Penguin II, Low Profile, Heat Pump. Getting the new AC to "talk" to the old AC in order to keep the 2 zones cool is accomplished by "down grading" the new AC with another controller board that Dometic will send if you tell them what you are doing. You also have to replace the ambient outside thermocouple. My rig has the 5-button Comfort Control thermostat.

The new AC went in just fine (btw, I did not install this, a dealer did). I picked up the MH and noticed that the rear AC fan would kick out, followed by the compressor no matter what setting I had the fan in (Auto, Lo, or Hi). This was weird because if the fan is set to Hi or Lo, it should continue to run no matter if the compressor is on or not.

I took it back. After checking if a new thermostat would work or not, the tech called Dometic. Dometic Tech Serv said the fan motor was the problem. The tech at the dealer did not accept this (he was terrific). He walked the Dometic guy through the wiring on the controller board and together they discovered the issue.

The Penguin II (the new unit) only has 2 fan speeds (Hi and Lo). On the control board there is a yellow wire that can be connected and it actually was on the old unit. This yellow wire is apparently for a unit with 3 speeds. For the new unit, this wire can not be connected because it causes the fan to over-rev. When he pulled this, rebooted the CCC (thermostat), it worked perfectly.

I truly hope this helps someone else. It frustrated me to death until I decided to take it to someone who knows what they are doing.
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Old 07-01-2016, 01:25 PM   #2
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Thanks for the information. I am sure this will help someone in the future!
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Old 07-01-2016, 01:34 PM   #3
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FWIW:

I also have two Dometic Penguin ducted heat pumps.

Each with their own thermostat.

So, the new one I installed with two speeds was not a wiring problem.
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Old 07-01-2016, 02:54 PM   #4
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Did you notice an increase in the noise level? I replaced an older unit with the low profile unit, and the noise level is almost unbearable. So much that I will look for another unit before replacing the second unit.


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Old 07-01-2016, 03:23 PM   #5
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The decible readings for the 21 yr old 13.5 Penguin and the new High Capacity Penguin are very close per my android sound meter apps.

I do think there is not much difference in sound between the low and high fan settings of the new unit.

I will measure that comparison one day soon.
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Old 07-01-2016, 03:43 PM   #6
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It is louder, but I think it has more to do with it being in the bedroom and more confined. It won't bother my wife and I since we sleep under a loud fan anyway at home. We like the constant noise.
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Old 07-01-2016, 10:51 PM   #7
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Thanks for that info.! I have to replace one of my units and will probably run into the same thing.
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Old 07-02-2016, 07:09 AM   #8
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When we had our third a/c installed by Newmar at Newmar they hooked up the yellow wire and a/c did not work right. We got to make another trip to them for proper hookup.
The new unit makes more noise and the last time we ran it there was a loud noise like vibrating tubing could make. On my list to remove cover and see what is going on.
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Old 07-02-2016, 08:29 AM   #9
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Interesting. I'm in the midst of wiring my new Penguin II repacing the original Penguin 630035.331 unit. That one ceased cooling after a bad crosswind ripped off the shroud.
I installed the conversion board (extra $100+) without issues, but in trying to wire to the existing wiring box, I'm stymied by a wiring anomaly. While the wiring diagram shows 2 blue (furnace) and 2 yellow (load shed) wires, the existing box has a white wire in place of one of the blues. And that wire comes from a splice to 115v white ... not from the circuit board).
Waiting to hear from Dometic whether that's factory or Monaco changed something.
One of these days a replacement will actually go smoothly.
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Old 07-02-2016, 11:16 AM   #10
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I did this as a DIY project. I have the five button thermostat and since I was replacing only one of the two units, I needed to purchase the adapter card. The instructions that came with the card were very detailed and walked me thru the entire process of swapping out the new and old cards. And as I recall, the yellow wire discussed above is simply capped off. I am electronically challenged, but I was able to do this project with no problems whatsoever.
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Old 07-02-2016, 11:44 PM   #11
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Yes the yellow wire gets capped off. I just had my rear Penguin low profile unit replaced in Boise. He capped that wire. I upgraded to a 15,000 high capacity unit. It spits out ice cubes with 44° air at the vent with 90° ambient temps. My older front unit will only put out 48° air at the same parameters. It's a 13.5. As far as noise? I can't tell the difference.
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Old 07-03-2016, 10:30 PM   #12
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My issue is not with the yellows ... I did cap off one of the yellows at the replacement circuit board. It's the two blues that are causing me headaches, since there is only one blue at the connection box. The other wire, that should be blue according to the wiring diagram, is a white power wire instead, and I'm unsure whether that is a Dometic change, or a Monaco change. If it were a low voltage wire I would be willing to experiment ... but it's 120V and I would prefer not to damage the $100 replacement board or the new A/C
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Old 07-04-2016, 10:11 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteandDeb View Post
My issue is not with the yellows ... I did cap off one of the yellows at the replacement circuit board. It's the two blues that are causing me headaches, since there is only one blue at the connection box. The other wire, that should be blue according to the wiring diagram, is a white power wire instead, and I'm unsure whether that is a Dometic change, or a Monaco change. If it were a low voltage wire I would be willing to experiment ... but it's 120V and I would prefer not to damage the $100 replacement board or the new A/C
Indian Creek RV (Norris City, IL) performed the work for me. Tech's name is Shawn. Give them a call. It was just last week. He might remember the wiring and put your mind at ease.
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