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Mlfiedler · 01-22-2019, 06:10 PM

This may be one of the craziest posts to the forum.

I have been poking around under the dash of my 2001 Country Coach, trying to sort out the "Over-the-road-heater" ( that doesn't heat! ) and I found this little guy hanging down.

The metal part is about 1/2 inch square, by maybe 3/16 thick. That black circle seems to be a hole in the metal stamping, with some other material exposed through it. Looks strangely like a tiny microphone. Looked around for any "socket" it may be intended to plug into, without success. The wire it is on disappears into a bundle of wires heading down below the floor.

Anyone have an idea what it is, or why it's hanging there?

Not likely critical to using the coach, but a puzzling discovery.

Alan24601 · 01-22-2019, 06:24 PM

I suspect it is a voltage regulator chip. Check the middle pin and each of the outside pins with a meter and see if you 12v on one and something else on the other. Also could be a thermistor for temp control.

Gary RVRoamer · 01-22-2019, 07:01 PM

A buzzer or alarm of some sort?

dons2346 · 01-22-2019, 08:33 PM

Mine is round, it is a buzzer. Mine is also dangling under the dash.

For your dash heat, check the control panel and look for a white hose. The white hose can come apart and then the plenum doors will not activate.

Your coach has the same graphics as mine, also I have the same color Jeep. I hope yours isn't a 4x4 on a dolly

twinboat · 01-22-2019, 08:37 PM

Voltage regulator like this.

I used them to run 3 and 5 volt items on a 12 volt system.
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Dav L · 01-23-2019, 03:04 PM

Infrared sensor for a remote control? Mine had one just like that for the old navigation system.
Mine was hotglued to the backside of the instrument panel behind a little hole that allowed the IR to pass to the sensor.

Mlfiedler · 01-23-2019, 03:23 PM

Wow, sure got a gold mine of suggestions.

The voltage regulator idea at least seemed testable. The three wires -- gray, white, and black --test out in pairs as follows:
Gray to Black - 5.01 volts
Gray to White - 4.87 volts
Black to White - 0.0 volts (reversed the leads, too, wondering if there is a rectifier in there. No change.)

This with the ignition on, and 13.6 volts showing between the hot bus and ground. 5v is a pretty common regime, isn't it?

I also like this idea: Infrared sensor for a remote control? Mine had one just like that for the old navigation system.
Mine was hotglued to the backside of the instrument panel

I wonder if an IR sensor would have 3 wires? (I know probably 1/10th of what I think I do, and I think I know just enough to get in trouble . . .) Transistors have three legs, but they get their operating signal via one of them, not from the external environment. But that black circle could be an IR window.

MSHappyCampers · 01-23-2019, 04:31 PM

Spy device planted there by aliens!

Dav L · 01-23-2019, 08:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mlfiedler

Wow, sure got a gold mine of suggestions.

I also like this idea: Infrared sensor for a remote control? Mine had one just like that for the old navigation system.
Mine was hotglued to the backside of the instrument panel

I wonder if an IR sensor would have 3 wires? (I know probably 1/10th of what I think I do, and I think I know just enough to get in trouble . . .) Transistors have three legs, but they get their operating signal via one of them, not from the external environment. But that black circle could be an IR window.

Yes, Power, Ground and Signal.

**Spdracr39** · 01-24-2019, 05:24 AM

Infrared Remotes only work by line of sight so I don't think it would be buried in the dash.

Dav L · 01-24-2019, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spdracr39

Infrared Remotes only work by line of sight so I don't think it would be buried in the dash.

Not sure about his, but mine was originally hot glued directly behind the dash face panel. I subsequently fell off and then fell into the bowels of the dash interior hanging from it's wire.