Hi,
Thanks for the site. I have a 2028 Vilano 320. It has been good to me. However, this month it has been a little finicky.
First, rear outlets stopped working. I was using instant pot, conduction stove top and coffee pot simultaneously (not my best plan) and then it all stopped. I have found 2 GFI outlets (one on kitchen island and the other in bathroom) and I have reset both of them a dozen times hoping for good luck. I reset the outside breakers a dozen times though I “knew” it was not them. I have one breaker panel that I know of, and I have reset all of them again, a dozen times, just in case. The island outlets do work, just the outlets around the wall do not work in the rear. The refer outlet works, the fireplace outlet works, the microwave outlet works, the fireplace outlet works, the one outlet above the breaker panel under the cabinet works. Is there another breaker box I don’t know about? Advise is appreciated.
Second, furnace is not working. It was -5 with wind chill outside last night and was 43 degrees inside last night. I was able to run the fireplace and I was able to use a portable electric heater thru the one working outlet to maintain the 43 degrees. I have not used a 5th wheel in 20 years before this, I was a motorhome guy. So the set up is different and this may be another case of operator error. This is the first time I needed to use the propane furnace. I have both propane containers open. I added a 3rd tank with an auxillary line for just in case and I have it open also. I went to the main control board and learned that when I have the front system on and have heat on, the icons for furnace and heat pump come on. I turned both of them on enable. I set the temperature to 70. I tryed to turn it on when the outside temp was 9F.
Could the electrical problem be causing this?
Is there another thing I need to set?
Thanks for any advice. Please either respond here or my email is red2020jeep@gmail.com Thanks
Hi Chuck- I think you have two separate issues.
The first one is with the 120V outlets not working. You’re correct in checking the GFCI outlets to check if they had tripped and reset if needed.
Sounds like you also reset the breakers for those circuits in the breaker panel. Since you said this only affecting the rear outlets, you should only need to check the GFCI outlet in the island the breaker labeled for the rear outlets.
They should labelled like in the pic below.
There’s a couple of possibilities for this issue. The GFCI outlet could be bad and that cut power to all of the downstream outlets. When resetting the GFCI outlet, does the light go out and the reset button stay in? If it trips again immediately, that could indicate a faulty GFCI outlet or faulty wiring. If you comfortable working with electricity and have a multimeter, checking each outlet for voltage would be a good start as well as checking the wiring connections on the outlets. They can get worked loose with the rough roads we travel one.
The GFCI should be the first outlet and the others are connected in a line.
GFCI → Outlet → Outlet → Outlet
Inspecting and checking those outlets should uncover the cause of the no power at the other outlets.
The other issue you stated is with the furnace. The furnace runs off the 12V system (separate from the 120V system). Here are some things to check:
- Propane is in the tanks, too low volume can cause flow issues
- In extreme cold temps, propane can sometimes stop flowing until it warms up (you could try insulating the propane tanks)
- Battery voltage could be too low (check with a multimeter at the battery, not the main display)
- If on shore power the converter supplies 12V and charges the batteries, check the breaker for the converter
- Depending on the type of batteries you’re using, they may be unable to provide any power due to the low temps.
- Furnace sail switch isn’t working
- Air in the propane lines
Do the stove burners light? Does the water heater run on propane? When trying the furnace can you hear the igniter clicking attempting to light the burner?
If you can check those things, it should point us in the right direction of where the problem lies.
Good luck and I’ll try to answer any questions you might have.
Stuart
Thanks. That is better than any how to do it book. I can follow up on that. During lunch, I tried some experimenting. I could not get the rear furnace to start, but I did get the front one to start. Maybe the rear furnace is somehow tied into the electrical. When I started the inside temp was 43F and after half an hour with the front furnace running it went up to 47F so that will help alot. I appreciate your time being so thorough. Thanks and keep warm. Chuck
Also as I mentioned, I transitioned from a 20 year old motorhome to a 6 year old fifth wheel. And this is my first winter using it. some questions:
- Is there a reliable propane measuring instrument anybody in group would recommend?
- My display has both a “heat pump” icon and a “furnace” icon. When I was motorhoming, I could use the heat pump, using electricity, down to maybe 35 or 40 and then under 35 to 40 I needed the furnace below those temps.
Is it the same with this 5th wheel?
Are the heat pump and the furnace the same unit or separate units?
What has anyone used as a replacement?
And lastly, does anybody have a link to the owner’s manual? or one on pdf they could send me? Thanks to all. Chuck
Hey Chuck- You’re welcome, hope that info helps out.
I’m pretty sure your unit only has one furnace, controlled by the main display under the Front A/C section indicated with “Furn”. The heat pump is part of the A/C unit themselves and like you mentioned is really only effective down to about 40°. Under that temp the heat exchange doesn’t work. I didn’t order the heat pump option on our unit, but sometimes wish I did.
One thing to note is that the furnace is completely separate from any heat pumps. The furnace can run on 12V power and propane, where the heat pumps are part of the A/C units and require shore power (120V AC), or decent sized inverter and battery bank, that essentially has them run in reverse and distribute the “warm” air through the ceiling duct work. The furnace blows the warm air through the air ducts located in the floors or at the bottom of some cabinets.
Assuming the front furnace you mentioned is the actual propane furnace as it’s shown under the Front A/C on the panel. Any other heat source is probably a A/C based heat pump.
Here’s a link to the manual. They’re pretty generic, but a good starting point to understand all the different components in the unit.
Vanleigh Vilano Owners Manual
Stuart
Cool. I made a list of my “testing” items from your first email. Much appreciated. And now I understand the heat pump and furnace scenario. I did not know the colemans had heat pumps - cool for them. Also the link is much appreciated. Thanks Chuck
Forgot to answer the question you had on propane measurement/monitoring. The best I’ve found is made by Mopeka. It uses a “sonar” sender on the bottom of the tanks and you can monitor it via a phone app.
I’ve been using it for about 6 years. I’d recommend the “Pro Check” version sensors as they seem to be easier to install and perform better.
Here’s a screenshot of my propane tanks from the app.
Two additional thoughts
1 make sure propane is flowing by running a burner or two on the stove… not for long but a minute or so.
- When you turn on furnace are you hearing a fan start up? If not check 12v furnace fuse.
Hi, the Mopeka is EXACTLY want I needed. Too perfect. Easy install of course and works great.
The outlets are another issue. I went thru your steps, thanks. All outlets pulled and checked for loose or discolored wires, etc. That was fine. 7 in the back are dead. One above cooking surface, one beside cooking surface, left side of bed, right side of bed two behind recliner area and one in dining area. GFI checked out ok. Breakers checked out of. Checks were done with meter. So I called our knowledable and friendly Vilano specialist. Great guy as everybody says. He confirmed only one GFI for rear of coach. He confirmed my steps were ok and suggested that maybe the connection in the underbelly had come aloose under the recliner area. So popped the underbelly and looked around as best I could and came up with nothing. Soooo I asked the local electrical guru to come out and he spend about five hours. I asked him to do the assessment and to recheck me (I have been guilty of operator error more than once), anyway he did all those steps and was completely baffled. There was some minor voltage feedback, like one to six volts, from all the outlets and he pulled all the pieces of the puzzle and physically checked all connections and meter again and again. He went into the underbelly and followed the conduit as far as he could see and reach. No luck. He said next step would be for him to see a wiring diagram of the 320 so that he could properly organize his search. Do you know anybody that has the diagram they could send me?
Thanks for all the help. Chuck
Sounds like you did some pretty good troubleshooting even getting an electrician involved. I’d love to have a wiring diagram, but wasn’t able to obtain one from Vanleigh, although I did manage to acquire a plumbing diagram for my 39FBB which has been helpful.
In our unit we have two GFCI outlets controlling the outlets for the front and rear. The GFCI outlet for the front outlets is in the half bath and all downstream outlets in the bedroom and from bath are handled by that. The rear GFCI outlet by the sink/island handled all of the outlets in the kitchen & living areas. Both GFCI are linked to just the regular wall outlets not using their own circuit breakers (fridge, ceiling fan, fireplace).
You may have to come up with your own wiring diagram by tracing each length wire from each outlet to the next. sounds like that’s what the electrician is looking to do. Since each outlet is daisy chained starting with the GFCI outlet, knowing the path would make the troubleshooting easier. It’ll just take some time and effort to uncover the wiring path. I’m betting there’s a compromised wire between the last working outlet and the first outlet that has no power.
The trick will be in tracking that down. I’m think I should probably put together a wiring diagram for my unit, in case I run into similar issues.
Good luck in that process.
Thanks. If i happen to get one, I will share. Chuck