The thermostat on my 4-year old Dometic Penguin roof air malfunctioned last month - set at 85° (to keep the humidity down), had the coach at 72°. The dealer replaced it under warranty, I installed it, and the new one didn't work at all . So I got a second one from the dealer, and briefly tested it - compressor came on on A/C, heat strip came on on HS.

Monday I cleaned the coach and since it was warm, turned on the A/C - it ran for a minute and popped the breaker, This scenario repeated itself. My suspicion was bad caps, so I replaced them - one lead had nearly come out of the spade, so the effort was worth it. Turned on the A/C, held my hand near the rear vent - and there was heat! I checked the 'stat wiring - nope, it was OK. Disconnected the heat strip, and the A/C worked fine. The new thermostat turns on both the compressor and heat strip!

Oh yeah, there was an additional issue with the Hydroboost system which includes a shaft brake disengaged by an actuator cylinder. This had failed 2½ years ago and the symptom was the P/S reservoir overflowing with air entrainment, like opening a shaken soda can. So I had that replaced.

As a precaution, I test drove the Barth last Monday to make sure I had the air bled out of the system. Still had a little air, so I bled it several times,and all appeared OK - until the last test - reservoir overflowed...so I made an overflow tank out of an ATF bottle, and it's worked fine since - and I can check the level in the bottle's window.

And now the bathroom exhaust Fantastic doesn't work...somewhere I heard, "It's always SOMETHING!"

Rusty
Fantastic fan is still replacing defective units free of charge,with only shipping charges. Just replaced the bedroom motor and blade as it was real noisy. It sure is nice to see a company back their product and give great customer service!!

Neil

Yep -all this one needs is the cutout switch that's turns it off when the cover closes. I repaired it before, and it was about worn out.

Fantastic-Fan sent me the switch that reverses fan direction and cut-out switch, including complete installation instructions all for the cost of $11 for shipping. Rare support service.

They provided excellent service on my SOB when the rain-sensor model had issues. It's one of the few companies in the RV business with a no-excuses policy on accountability.

I recall mentioning, "It's always something!"

I noticed a small oil leak in the hoses to the oil cooler on my last trip; we checked it again when I had the oil changed last week, and the swage on the coupling was leaking worse.

No big deal - remove the hoses and have NAPA make replacements.

So let's see if you can guess where this is going; the necessary tools should be:

- 13/16" Open end wrench
- 7/8" " " "
- 1" " " "

In addition to those, I used:
- 7/8" Crows foot
- 24" Socket wrench (with extender)
- 13/16" Impact socket
- 1/2" Drive 250 lb.-ft. Impact wrench
- Angle grinder with cutoff wheel
- Sawzall
- #6 extractor

Hilarity ensues!

None of the fittings would budge with the "usual" tools. I got one line off at the block using the 7/8" crows foot and a 3' leverage, after cutting the hose to get it out of the way.

Using the angle grinder, I cut the second fitting just past the hex, and put the impact wrench on it. After a few shots, it came loose, because the street ell into the block, brass, had broken! . I planned to have to grind out the broken-off stub, but the #6 extractor required little force to remove it.

I removed the oil cooler to the shop, clamped its fittings in a vise, cut off the hose fittings, and applied the impact wrench - either absolutely would not budge!

So, anyway, I have the new hoses, and a new oil cooler is on the way.

Changing the battery in my flashlight, however, went very smoothly.

Owning a Barth: P R I C E L E S S

You gotta be careful what you start!

Like my "just change the rear main seal job" in April, whoa..

At least you've got the job behind you!

If you run out of things to do Bill NY could use you as a road tech. All who wander are not lost.

quote:

Originally posted by Sloop John B:
If you run out of things to do Bill NY could use you as a road tech.

I'm going out on a limb and predict it's unlikely that I will...today I replaced the vent cover broken by a branch from TS Beryl and repaired the step well cover extension rail. I also refinished the cabinet in which it's stored. And there are always frame rails to wax and screens to buff.

And then there's the muffler bearing that needs grease, and the connuter valve needs adjusting...
and of course, the test drives... so little time!

Thanks, darn near forgot the muffler bearing!

Fortunately, the Fnortner coupling has an oil reservoir...

quote:

Originally posted by Sloop John B:
If you run out of things to do Bill NY could use you as a road tech. All who wander are not lost.

Proof I won't run out: Today I installed the new oil cooler, fired up the engine, and...both hoses leaked at the cooler joint! I suspected there was an issue last night when I attached the hoses, as the hex head seemed to make contact before the flare did.

A quick trip to the local hydraulic place got a through-wall double male fitting, which I used as a depth gage; sure enough, the nipple was about 1 mm too short to engage.

So tomorrow's trip to the Chiefland Star Party is postponed until Monday when I can get the hoses repaired.

It's always SOMETHING!"

Rusty; Your statement that the new thermostat turned on the compressor and heat strips reminds me of my son's home situation. His light bill after they installed a new AC system was thru the roof. In FL you can get some nice bills in the summer but not that nice. Techs couldn't find anything wrong. So, he called his buddy, who is somewhat of an electrical genius, and he came over and went thru it and noted a high current draw. Turns out same thing. He was running heat strips and AC.

And, the same thing happened to me after a tech did a repair on an upstairs AC when I lived in another city. I noticed it was not as cold and the bill took a leap. Same thing. Apparently not a rare event

Tom Taylor
94 Breakaway

Well, the adaptor from the hydraulics shop didn't solve the leak; the fittings were fine with the engine cold, but a 7 mile test run getting the engine warmed up showed one was leaking.

So I looked up the specs online, and this cooler is spec'ed with 1/2" female NPT. However, the threads are for 8AN (1/2" flare). I checked to see if it was NPT or 8AN before I installed it.

Anyway I went to my fave online auto parts store (Amazon) and a better replacement will be here Weds. At least I can use the new hoses...