Community Forums

Gadget Man · 07-23-2007, 03:21 PM

A weird thing happened to me today while preparing my rig for a trip. I hooked the MH up to my 50 amp pedestal and turned on both A/C units to cool off the interior. I checked to make sure both were blowing cool air before I left.

I came back to the MH about 2 hours later and it was very warm inside. The rear air was off, and the front A/C was blowing warm air. I went over to the climate control, and it would not allow me to change any of the settings. The temp. reading was 00. I switched the A/C to "Off", but the front A/C fan kept going. I disconnected and then reconnected shore power to see if it would re-set, but that did nothing. I shut off shore power again and also switched off the batteries, and the thermostat re-set. Everything's now working fine, but this whole incident has me worried. What if this happens on a hot day with our dog left inside? The results could be disastrous! Anybody know what might have happened and how to prevent it from reoccurring?

Craig

Gadget Man · 07-23-2007, 03:21 PM

A weird thing happened to me today while preparing my rig for a trip. I hooked the MH up to my 50 amp pedestal and turned on both A/C units to cool off the interior. I checked to make sure both were blowing cool air before I left.

I came back to the MH about 2 hours later and it was very warm inside. The rear air was off, and the front A/C was blowing warm air. I went over to the climate control, and it would not allow me to change any of the settings. The temp. reading was 00. I switched the A/C to "Off", but the front A/C fan kept going. I disconnected and then reconnected shore power to see if it would re-set, but that did nothing. I shut off shore power again and also switched off the batteries, and the thermostat re-set. Everything's now working fine, but this whole incident has me worried. What if this happens on a hot day with our dog left inside? The results could be disastrous! Anybody know what might have happened and how to prevent it from reoccurring?

Craig

Don (W5IT) · 07-23-2007, 04:16 PM

Craig, if yours is a Coleman controller that controls both A\C units I gotta possible fix for ya.

CAREFULLY remove the cover on the thermostat. If you look at the edges of it you will see a narrow seam where the two parts of the clamshell fit together.

After you get the clamshell separated you will see a fuse inside. (Round glass automotive style)

Remove one end of the fuse so it opens the circuit. (It is low voltage so you will not get your eyeballs lit up)

Let it stay with an open circuit for a minute, then place the fuse back as it was.

Then carefully put the cover/clamshell back in place.

This will reset the controller. (Thermostat)

Now try operating the A\C's again.

If this does not fix the problem see your dealer/RV tech. as this means the thermostat/controller has gone south.

Catch Ya Later,

Don

Gadget Man · 07-24-2007, 05:57 AM

Hi Don,

I was able to re-set the thermostat by switching off the house batteries. It is all working fine now. I'm now just wondering about the cause. I'm going to see if I can contact Coleman today. Thanks.

Craig

Cruzer · 07-24-2007, 11:59 AM

I've seen a few cases of this on Tiffins as well. The double zeros on the thermostat are the indication and the procedure that Don mentioned does reset the thermostat. They've traced back the source to be fluorescent lights that were mounted underneath the kitchen cabinets. Apparently this only happened when the fluorescent lights were on. I don't recall whether the solution was to replace the light or add a filter though. Coleman did have the answer and was familiar with the situation.

Gadget Man · 07-24-2007, 01:06 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Cruzer:
They've traced back the source to be fluorescent lights that were mounted underneath the kitchen cabinets. Apparently this only happened when the fluorescent lights were on. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Odd stuff. I have halogen cabinet lights, but they were off when this happened.

I looked on the web for a Coleman appliance contact, but all I can find are contacts for their camping gear. Anyone have a phone or email address?

Craig

Gary RVRoamer · 07-24-2007, 01:41 PM

Coleman RV air conditioners are made by RV Products, Inc. Coleman-Mach Air Conditioners

They should not be confused with Coleman residential air conditioners, which are made and sold by Jognson COntrols, an entire different company.

The Coleman brand name is franchised to various manufacturers. There is no Coleman Company that actually makes products - they just license their widely recognized brand name to manufacturers.

Gadget Man · 07-24-2007, 02:05 PM

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by RV Roamer:
Coleman RV air conditioners are made by RV Products, Inc. Coleman-Mach Air Conditioners </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Thanks Gary. That web site had an email link, and I was able to cut/paste my original post and send it to them.

Craig

RV Wizard · 07-24-2007, 10:57 PM

I just added a technical info link for RV Products (Coleman) in the RV Systems & Appliances section. We are beginning to build a list of technical links and put them in a "sticky" spont in this section of the forum. Please send any links you have for others to access. Thank you.

Gadget Man · 07-25-2007, 06:20 AM

Cruzer was right on with his reference to fluorescent lighting. Below is the response I received from RVP. Kudos to them for responding so quickly. Unfortunately in my case, it is not my fluorescent lighting that caused this interruption. I went through the elimination procedure described below and found nothing.

"The thermostat has a microprocessor in it. What we find in about 95%
of the cases like this one, is a fluorescent light with a bad ballast
sending a sound frequency through the ground and confusing the
microprocessor in the thermostat. The way we find the problem is to
turn off all the lights in the coach, then go through the reset
procedure on the form I attached to this email. When you get the
thermostat reset. turn on the lights one at a time until you find the
one that is disrupting the thermostat. When you find the right one,
either leave it off or replace the fixture."