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07-23-2011, 10:52 AM
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#15
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Senior Member
National RV Owners Club Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Federal Way, Wa.
Posts: 2,901
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I've been a fanatic about cleaning my sensors---basically use the stuff at CW and the wand--mine work fine after nine years. I also use a lot of water when I flush to keep a very wet mixture in the tank. I always use RV type paper. I hate stuff that does not work.
But it looks like my sensors are not that hard to replace or remove and clean if they ever got really gunked up. Mine protrude into the tank. Am I right about that??? Would it help the OP?
__________________
I do all my own stunts
03 Dolphin LX 6355, Workhorse W22, 8.1 vortec, 04 CR-V, Blue Ox, Brake Pro----Norm, Barb and
Doc(He's a PhD)
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07-24-2011, 03:27 PM
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#16
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Senior Member
Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Palisade CO
Posts: 3,588
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Quote:
Originally Posted by njs42
I've been a fanatic about cleaning my sensors---basically use the stuff at CW and the wand--mine work fine after nine years. I also use a lot of water when I flush to keep a very wet mixture in the tank. I always use RV type paper. I hate stuff that does not work.
But it looks like my sensors are not that hard to replace or remove and clean if they ever got really gunked up. Mine protrude into the tank. Am I right about that??? Would it help the OP?
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Cleaning the sensors is not the answer because dirty sensors will cause empty readings not full ones.
The culprit in general is dirty tank walls where fluid holding crud builds up on the tank walls and that fools the sensors into thinking there is fluid in the tank. Whatever you can do to clean the walls should help.
That is not usually a problem with fresh water tanks because tank walls usually stay pretty clean and bleach will usually remove any algae build up.
A brief description of the way the most popular system works follows:
The sensors are just stainless steel screws going through the tank wall or in some cases blind well nuts are used.
If it's made by Ventline as many are, there is a 68k ohm resistor between the full and 2/3 sensor and one from the 2/3 sensor to the 1/3 sensor. The wire from the panel connects to the full sensor. On some units the resistors are potted in a small plastic cap close by the tank with one wire leading from it back to the panel. There are also wires from the cup to the sensors. There is another wire from the ground sensor also going back to the panel.
On others all four wires go into the wiring harness and I don't know where the resistors are located. Maybe on the display panel?
The display panel has five "LM339 Low Power Low Offset Voltage Quad Comparator" ICs (one for each waste tank, one for the propane tank, the water tank and one for the battery voltage) that are used to sense the voltage drops across the sensors and activate the proper LED.
Some people have reported having good luck using the HORST SENSORS and they are much cheaper than the non-contact systems. The Horst probes move the active part of the internal sensor out from the wall so the sensor is not contacted by the wet crud.
__________________
Clay WA5NMR - Ex Snowbird - 1 year, Ex Full timer for 11 years - 2004 Winnebago Sightseer 35N Workhorse chassis. Honda Accord toad.
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07-25-2011, 04:26 AM
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#17
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Registered User
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Varies Depending on The Weather
Posts: 8,517
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Who wants to screw around with ANY sensor that goes through the tank wall? Those types of sensors generally will have some sort of problem with them operating accurately.
Invest in a SeeLevel Tank Level system which uses an external flat sensor that is very accurate and easily attached to the outside of each tank. Simple installation.
Dr4Film ----- Richard.
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07-25-2011, 05:58 AM
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#18
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Senior Member
Ford Super Duty Owner
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Mcdonough, Ga.
Posts: 5,926
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Clay L
Cleaning the sensors is not the answer because dirty sensors will cause empty readings not full ones.
The culprit in general is dirty tank walls where fluid holding crud builds up on the tank walls and that fools the sensors into thinking there is fluid in the tank. Whatever you can do to clean the walls should help.
That is not usually a problem with fresh water tanks because tank walls usually stay pretty clean and bleach will usually remove any algae build up.
A brief description of the way the most popular system works follows:
The sensors are just stainless steel screws going through the tank wall or in some cases blind well nuts are used.
If it's made by Ventline as many are, there is a 68k ohm resistor between the full and 2/3 sensor and one from the 2/3 sensor to the 1/3 sensor. The wire from the panel connects to the full sensor. On some units the resistors are potted in a small plastic cap close by the tank with one wire leading from it back to the panel. There are also wires from the cup to the sensors. There is another wire from the ground sensor also going back to the panel.
On others all four wires go into the wiring harness and I don't know where the resistors are located. Maybe on the display panel?
The display panel has five "LM339 Low Power Low Offset Voltage Quad Comparator" ICs (one for each waste tank, one for the propane tank, the water tank and one for the battery voltage) that are used to sense the voltage drops across the sensors and activate the proper LED.
Some people have reported having good luck using the HORST SENSORS and they are much cheaper than the non-contact systems. The Horst probes move the active part of the internal sensor out from the wall so the sensor is not contacted by the wet crud.
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every system that I worked on, (dozens and dozens) The probe read full when dirty.
__________________
1998 Pace Arrow 35 ft. F53 Ford V10 2014 Honda CRV toad
32 years mechanic at Delta Air Lines 15 year motorhome service manager. 3 popups....2 travel trailers....5 motorhomes....loved them all.
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07-25-2011, 10:07 AM
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#19
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 466
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Every MH I have owned had a black tank capacity of 50 t0 60 gallons. The tanks were 12 t0 18 inches tall. Ten gallons would only cover the bottom probe. I find it difficult to believe that sloshing around would reach the other probes.
Jim E
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07-25-2011, 05:37 PM
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#20
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Senior Member
National RV Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Spring Hill, Florida
Posts: 854
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UPDATE. I added the dish detergent and hot water, also 3/4 of a bottle of fabric softener. We drove from Reno to Carson City, about 60 mies, overnighted there at a Casino RV park and saw no improvement with the lights. The next morning I added a 20lb bag of ice before driving to Lake Tahoe. Once we arrived at lake tahoe and got set up, all lights were still lit. We didn't dump the tank till we were leaving this morning and did a good thorough flush when emptying the tank. Same deal, all lights still lit. At this point I'm thinking it might me more than just a dirty tank. I can see the back of the sensors on the tank through the gaps in the panel that houses all of the valves for city water, tank to pump, wh bypass etc. Not sure how I'll proceed at this point, because the sensors do not look easilly accessable. I'll figure it out as I go along I suppose. Like I said before, it's not a critical item for us, just a nuisance that I want to get rid of. That is the ONLY issue there is with the motor home. Everything else, works perfectly as it should.
Thanks all who replied.
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07-25-2011, 05:44 PM
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#21
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Registered User
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Traveling the lower 48
Posts: 2,450
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I would not expect to see any substantial changes in your monitor results using the current method plus the ice cubes. Please let us know if you see any changes of any kind.
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07-26-2011, 05:22 AM
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#22
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Registered User
Monaco Owners Club
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Varies Depending on The Weather
Posts: 8,517
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolfpack Fan
UPDATE.
Same deal, all lights still lit. At this point I'm thinking it might me more than just a dirty tank.
That is the ONLY issue there is with the motor home. Everything else, works perfectly as it should.
Thanks all who replied.
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You might want to check the ground connection too, just to make sure it is a good clean solid ground.
If it's good, then you may be better off installing the SeeLevel Tank Level system. Simple, easy and 100% accurate ALL the time.
Dr4Film ----- Richard
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07-26-2011, 09:33 PM
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#23
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Senior Member
National RV Owners Club
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Spring Hill, Florida
Posts: 854
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr4Film
You might want to check the ground connection too, just to make sure it is a good clean solid ground.
If it's good, then you may be better off installing the SeeLevel Tank Level system. Simple, easy and 100% accurate ALL the time.
Dr4Film ----- Richard
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Thanks Richard. I think I will look into the SeeLevel system. Lights working or not isn't critical for us, just a darn annoyance. I'm kind anal about things like that. When I want something to work right.........................well, I want it to work right.
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07-29-2011, 09:46 AM
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#24
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Junior Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Chandler, AZ
Posts: 4
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I was having the same issue with my coach (Holiday Rambler Imperial DP) and tried most of the remedies outlined here with no success. Then I tried ice. I put a bag of ice down the toilet with the tank about 1/3 full and took the coach out for about a 30 minute drive around town (to ensure the ice was sloshing around). It worked like a charm. That was over a year ago and my sensor are still clean and reading correctly.
Alf50990
1998 Holiday Rambler Imperial
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