Basement air fan runs even with the unit off

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FrontrangeRVer

FrontrangeRVer

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Joined
Dec 12, 2008
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We get back from our vacation in Breckenridge CO (a short drive for us), and I plug our Winnie in at home, the basement unit air conditioner inside fan comes on....hmm.  I check and make sure that the thermostat is set to "off" and the fan is set to "auto".  I mess with the switches...all systems work as advertised, the heat pump, the air conditioning, the furnace.  And then the fan (vents through ceiling) goes off.  Everything ok, and I chalk this up to a fluke incident.

On my way to work several days later, I drive past my motorhome (on my property, I have a very long drive up a mountain) with my window down, and I hear that the inside blower fan is operating....wow...I flip the breaker off.

Yesterday....I took off the whole Winnebago accessory panel that houses the gen switch, the hot water heater elect switch, the ems panel, etc. and looked at all the wires behind there...what a confusing mess!  I unhooked the 9 pin clamp that attaches to the back of the thermostat and it appeared solid.

Here is the kicker...everything works good now!  I think there was a bad connection behind the panel, and my unpluging the plug and plugging back in "fixed" it. (?)

Just a heads up to others! 
 
Hmmm....  How much do I hate intermittent problems? - let me count the ways...  Next time it happens (if it does) get access to your outside unit and remove the panel that covers the circuit board and start capacitors.  There are some diagnostic LEDs on the board - make a note of what LEDs are lit (if any.)  I would suspect in this order: 1) the board, 2) thermostat,  3)connectors, 4) wiring.
 
Thanks John.  I plan on doing that if I catch it again.

RVProducts (answered the tech line the first ring!) said that this intermittent problem could be several avenues of problems.

1....Wiring that somehow that particular wire is going to ground on an intermittent basis.
2....Thermostat

The test:  use a volt meter when I catch this problem (very intermittent) and have one lead on the ground wire in the thermostat, and the other on the low speed fan wire.....then test the high speed wire.

If EITHER one of the fan speeds show a voltage, then the Thermostat is the problem and sending the signal erroniously.  If there is NO voltage, then I have a wiring problem and need to run new wire.

Im hoping that this just "goes away" or "fixes itself"....that could happen, couldn't it?
 
Your problem sounds a little like something that happened to me a few days ago.  While backing into a RV spot, I often get out to check visually for any issues that may cause me to readjust the position of the rig.  While walking past the drivers side rear of the rig I noticed that the AC condenser fans were running.  I know for a fact that the AC was not on, in fact it was a little cool outside.  I stopped and looked at the fans to make sure I was seeing what I thought I was seeing.  Then they both shut off.  ???

Just a thought, if the front controls are set to defrost, does that run the air though the AC air dryer before it gets to the window?  I'm a little stumped.

Sarge
 
I had a similar problem a couple of years ago and ended up pulling the thermostat cover and cleaning the switch contacts with a spray contact cleaner. It wouldn't hurt if I did it again. This solved my problem then and a lot cheaper than replacing the thermostat.
 
I drove by my unit this morning...ambient air temperature 1 degree...the basement air indoor fan is blowing and going.  Hoist myself up the stepless door.

Checked the voltage like I was told above by RVProducts......no voltage on the fan leads at the thermostat (see instructions above)....so the thermostat isn't the problem. 

Reached down and flipped the fan/compressor breaker to off...WAY too upset with these continuing problems.

Jumped out (Kwikee steps have been removed due to non-operational) and slammed the door shut....I've had it about to HERE with these problems.

Edit: to add the sick and tired faces.  :mad:  :mad:  :mad:  :mad:  :mad:  :mad:  :mad:  :mad:  :mad:
 
Hey Mark, I got your PM but when I tried to reply, I got this message

"An Error Has Occurred!
You are not allowed to send personal messages. "

  Sorry , I don't mean to hi jack the thread but , I'll reply here.

Breckenridge / Keystone sounds like fun. We did the same thing last year. Stayed at Tiger Run.  I got nervous, and left the MH winterized.  Took showers at the clubhouse. I left the electric heater on and surprisingly it stayed very comfortable with the furnace  running only 10 or 15 min per hour.

Maybe someone can help me figure out why I can't send PMs
 
We stayed at Tiger Run also Max......we used a small heater in the water area and also the sewer area.  VERY COLD outside!  We used a couple of small space heaters inside in addition to the furnace. Tiger Run has a new hot tub!  AND!!! The pool was SPOTLESS!  Nice to swim and soak inside with outside temps in the single digits! 

We "only" had our step problem (will cost $250 to replace since Kwikee can't replace these parts without the whole motor assembly), and our now FRUSTRATING heat pump fan running when it is cold outside...remedied with a flip of the breaker switch.

I'm not looking at my motorhome for a while, as I am tired of pumping money into the thing...when it is depreciating faster than I can keep up.

The PM thing....Im not sure how it works.  PM John Canfield, and I think he can set you up (?)

Good to hear from you Max!



 
max49 said:
Hey Mark, I got your PM but when I tried to reply, I got this message

"An Error Has Occurred!
You are not allowed to send personal messages. "

  Sorry , I don't mean to hi jack the thread but , I'll reply here.

Breckenridge / Keystone sounds like fun. We did the same thing last year. Stayed at Tiger Run.  I got nervous, and left the MH winterized.  Took showers at the clubhouse. I left the electric heater on and surprisingly it stayed very comfortable with the furnace  running only 10 or 15 min per hour.

Maybe someone can help me figure out why I can't send PMs
Click to expand...

Max - the forum has had problems in the past with spammers registering for an account for the sole purpose of spamming via PMs, so Tom has understandably been careful to not let that happen again.  I've been trying to alert Tom about new Winnie members, but I'm not doing a great job of it  :p
 
Sorry John, I've been out of the loop for a few days.  What I meant was that the engine was running and I had the dash controlls set to defrost to keep the fog off the windshield. I didn't know if by selecting the defrost position, it ran the air through the AC dryer prior to sending it into the ducts.  Am I making sense?
 
I wanted to give everyone an update on this problem I have been having with my inside blower running occasionally.  After talking with RVP, I bought a new computer board and installed it , and this appeared to have corrected my problem.  ;D

I really want to give kudos again to RVP (RV Products) who are the basement air suppliers to Winnebago, and especially Eric and Dick, the service techs you can talk to when you call the service number.  They answer on the FIRST ring, and I had Eric on the line when I was replacing my board and he talked me through some of Winnebago's wiring changes with the board.  Thanks SO MUCH RVP!!!!  I believe to have a good business starts with good word of mouth and I plan to spread the word (HERE ON RVForum!) about RVProducts.  ;D
 
Mark - that's excellent news!  I have found RVP to be very easy to do business with and I'm delighted their high level of customer service is still a going thing considering the economy.
 
FrontrangeRVer said:
I really want to give kudos again to RVP (RV Products) who are the basement air suppliers to Winnebago, and especially Eric and Dick, the service techs you can talk to when you call the service number.  They answer on the FIRST ring, and I had Eric on the line when I was replacing my board and he talked me through some of Winnebago's wiring changes with the board.  Thanks SO MUCH RVP!!!!  I believe to have a good business starts with good word of mouth and I plan to spread the word (HERE ON RVForum!) about RVProducts.   ;D
Click to expand...
  BOY DO I AGREE about RVP. IMO they stand behind their product and will stay on the phone for hours to help tbl shoot. I also tell everybody about their service after the sale and in my case long after the sale.
 
You should check the connection of your fan to see if the fan has connected to your switch. You could try to use a multi-meter device to see the lines.
 
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