A little bummed out!

M

Mic

Advanced Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2010
Messages
74
Location
Richmond, Texas
Well picked up my "Eagle" last Monday! Tacoma handled it real well! Trip home was great!
But took FWC an extra 5-6 hours to get electrical systems working right??...something with the solar box/read out being in reverse!!! Kept flashing 602...
Got home and red LED still flashing...called Brenda and she thought it was ok...now no read out at all! Hot water heater won't work either! LED read out was 602 when I left FWC...and then nothing!!!!
Had a bit of rain on the way home and front window leaked pretty good!!! Yes it was closed tight! Cushions all wet! Yikes!!
I was very patient when they were having troubles...but not so happy now!!
As I have read here...camp in area before heading home!!!
I had planned on camping this weekend and in two weeks...
 
Thanks for the towel advice!!!
Oh I felt real good about all the work, workmanship and folks there...
I have a little larger tires on the truck and boy just made it past the jacks...so cut out some new jack extensions today!!! Made each one about an inch wider...I used steel as they won't be on the camper when camping...
Having a hard time get pictures loaded onto this site...any quick advice!!! Maybe mine are to big/large?
 
Sorry to hear about your troubles. I picked up my Eagle about 10 days ago and so far everything is working great. My biggest problem so far is bumping the light switches on my way in/out and having lights left on somewhere. Just a matter of operator training. :unsure:
 
I will talk to the service department in the morning to see whats going on.

Someone will be in touch.

Sorry to hear the news.

We will get it taken care of.

Stan



.
 
Sorry if you have tried the following already but ...
Use a Digital Multimeter (DMM) to measure the voltage on your batteries directly so you know where you are starting from.

It is very important to have the batteries fully charged when the temps get below freezing so that the batteries don't freeze.

Plug in the AC and charge to allow the IOTA DLs-30 to completely charge the batteries for a day or two. When the DLS has fully charged the batteries, the DMM should read about 13.6 volts with the AC still plugged in. That means the IOTA charger is in float mode.

If the batteries are dead, the water heater controls cannot start the flame.

Read the manual on the solar charge controller and check that it is configured for the type of batteries that you have. Probably for AGM. Reconfigure if not correct.

Water heater problem may be due to your propane tanks being empty. FWC will have tested furnace and hot water heater with their test tank. Your tanks need to be filled. Be sure to tell the propane service that the tanks are new. If you had the tanks filled after getting the camper, then make sure the innermost tank is hooked up and the valve is open. Remember that the internal propane lines will be empty at first. I used the cooktop to make sure that propane had made its way through the lines before trying the furnace or water heater. You may have to repeat this each time you change propane tanks. Make sure that you followed the instructions to get water into the water heater and that water flows out of the hot water tap in the sink

After the water heater fails to light a couple of times, it won't try again until you turn off the water heater switch for a bit and cycle it back on. . The same is true of the furnace.

In addition to the Kilroy's towel, remember to "Don't Panic". Both good advice from the "Hitchhiker's Guide ..." :)

Good luck and enjoy the trip.

Paul
 
I certainly did have propane tanks purged & filled!
I don't own a "Digital Millimeter"....I was kinda thinking after buying a new camper I wouldn't need it right away!
I have had the camper plugged in, in my heated shop for three days and batteries seem to keep the lights on and such...again no read outs as the controller doesn't come on!!!
Furnace started right up!
Oh well...
 
I just got mine so I don't have a lot of experience, but do you have to have the water pump on for the hot water heater to work? I've always turned my pump on first since that's the order they showed me at Adventure Trailers, but that may just have beed the way they did it and not necessary.
 
I camped a few nights on my way home from Prescott and noticed the hot water heater cycling at night keeping the tank hot, just like my old home unit before I went tankless. I was just wondering if the OP had water in his tank and the pump on, I'd expect the hot water heater to not work on an empty tank.
 
Workable DMM are so cheap that I bought one for the camper and others for the boat & house.

http://t.harborfreight.com/household/electrical/7-function-multimeter-98025.html

You've eliminated some of the things to check already. :)
Furnace works. Batteries are charged. I assume water flows from hot water faucet.

The propane may not have pushed out the air from the tubing going to the hot water heater so I would try a couple more cycles of turning off the hot water heater switch and turning it back on. As I recall, the heater turns on the gas and tries to light the heater twice, the turns off the gas if no heat is detected. You the have to flip the heater switch off & back on for it to try again. You should be able to hear the valve click when it does this if it is quiet enough in your garage when you try it. It takes about 15 minutes for there to be hot water after it starts but you can feel hot air coming from the hot water heater exhaust soon after it starts.

Charlie may be right about having the water pump on also. I know I always have the pump on before starting the heater,

Looks like Stan is getting you some help for tomorrow anyway.

Paul
 
Very very happy with the response from the FWC staff with my Solar panel troubles...they have bent over back wards to get it up and working!!!!!!
WOW!!!!!
 
The news about Zamp difficulty gets my atention because I'm about to order a retrofit for my Grandby. I will sure check back to see how the assistance from FWC comes through.
 
We have factory installed 100-watt Zamp and Zamp controller. We have been very happy with the 2 batteries and the solar, and spent several nights in the same campsite, clouds, rain, and a CPAP machine at night with no issues. Plan on adding the 80-watt portable Zamp panel in the spring. FWC wired the wall plug to the Zamp controller, so we can just get the 80-watt portable without its own controller for $400.
 
An 80 watt portable for $400.00 is just plain crazy. :oops: Check out Renology and Solar Blvd. they both have units for far less. :D
 
Captm said:
An 80 watt portable for $400.00 is just plain crazy. :oops: Check out Renology and Solar Blvd. they both have units for far less. :D
Click to expand...
I've been watching the threads and the prices which are considerably lower than Zamp. I agree fully with your comment. My question is, will there be a problem using a different manufacturer 80-watt portable panel, with the Zamp Controller and Zamp 100-watt panel on the roof? Not being an electronic whiz had me wonder about mixing manufacturer's. Looking for some comments. JD
 
I am currently using the oft-mentioned Renogy 100W bendable panel as a portable, plugged into rear wall solar plug. As with your camper, I have the FWC-installed 100W Zamp panel and controller, and the Renogy panel charges through the Zamp controller. Before I ordered I verified that the Renogy panels' voltage was similar to the Zamp panels' voltage (about 17V at peak charging) so they would 'play well together'. It works well as a portable. Lightweight, easy to transport in the same packaging it was shipped in.

That said, I am considering mounting the lightweight Renogy on the roof, and wiring it in with the Zamp panel, and disconnecting the rear-wall solar plug from the controller. I usually end up putting the portable of the roof anyway since I generally am away from the camper during most days.
 
DesertDave said:
I am currently using the oft-mentioned Renogy 100W bendable panel as a portable, plugged into rear wall solar plug. As with your camper, I have the FWC-installed 100W Zamp panel and controller, and the Renogy panel charges through the Zamp controller. Before I ordered I verified that the Renogy panels' voltage was similar to the Zamp panels' voltage (about 17V at peak charging) so they would 'play well together'. It works well as a portable. Lightweight, easy to transport in the same packaging it was shipped in.

That said, I am considering mounting the lightweight Renogy on the roof, and wiring it in with the Zamp panel, and disconnecting the rear-wall solar plug from the controller. I usually end up putting the portable of the roof anyway since I generally am away from the camper during most days.
Click to expand...
Dave thanks. It's good to know that the 100-watt Renology would be OK. I will check it out. JD
 
DesertDave said:
I am currently using the oft-mentioned Renogy 100W bendable panel as a portable, plugged into rear wall solar plug. As with your camper, I have the FWC-installed 100W Zamp panel and controller, and the Renogy panel charges through the Zamp controller. Before I ordered I verified that the Renogy panels' voltage was similar to the Zamp panels' voltage (about 17V at peak charging) so they would 'play well together'. It works well as a portable. Lightweight, easy to transport in the same packaging it was shipped in.

That said, I am considering mounting the lightweight Renogy on the roof, and wiring it in with the Zamp panel, and disconnecting the rear-wall solar plug from the controller. I usually end up putting the portable of the roof anyway since I generally am away from the camper during most days.
Click to expand...
I've been contemplating adding a Renogy 100W bendabel panel to the roof along with my existing 90W panel and replacing my SunSaver6 with another controller.
 
Dave, did you have to modify the solar panel wiring to match the wall plug or did they provide matching plug? I believe FWC included the pigtail which I have in a cabinet.
 
Dave I would leave the plug on the back even if you mount the panel on the top. Just never know when you might want to add a portable panel. With the plug you would be plug and play.
 
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