Appliance electrical weirdness

[Kidkraz]

This may be a very minor issue, within this thread. But I'm concerned about those two wire connections in your picture, where the wires wrap around the plastic line. I'd rewire those two connections where they don't wrap around the line. That's just not a proper way to run wiring.

[rickst29]

Originally Posted by DanSTL

Tried turning things on and off and made some progress

1. Propane leak concern eliminated- just ran water heater and no smells. CO/Propane detector is battery powered and ceiling mounted near converter but seems likely previously reported odor was from a stove burner and even before didn’t last long.

Propane gas is heavier than air, that should be re-located the factory position (near the floor). A CO-only detector detector can be located anywhere, because CO does not settle towards the floor in the same way as propane gas. The celing fan (above the stove) should be activated before starting any stove burner, including the oven.

Originally Posted by DanSTL

2. Water heater trigger point? - propane flame ran well for about 10-15 min then shut off. Is this normal once water reaches a certain temperature? If so, this may also be why it did nothing Saturday morning as I had the electric water heater switch “on” overnight and may have already been too hot for flame to operate. Tonight after flame turned off I toggled the interior water heater switch off/on again but still wouldn’t even try to light flame (no buzzing sound) so assuming there’s a thermostat that stops it at a certain heat.

Both heat sources are managed by small thermostat boards. Those boards will shut down the heaters (gas or electric) when the high limit is reached.

Originally Posted by DanSTL

3. Fridge on propane worked again but only after switching on refrigerator fan just prior to 4th attempt. Unfortunately now I’m facing the dreaded “won’t stay green issue” with dual on fridge door moving in/out of green , which I hadn’t seen before. On good news, I switched “off” refrigerator fan button and fridge lit on propane again (though it wouldn’t stay in green), which tells me it’s not wired to the fan.

The Fridge "coldness" adjustment dial works differently in propane versus electric modes. Electric heaters (AC and DC) are either 'ON' or 'OFF', with the proportion of 'ON' time set by a control circuit on the mainboard, using the switch position as a controlling factor. But in propane mode, the dial directly controls the needle valve pin positiion (and size of the flame), and the flame should remain on at all times. Your most likely problem cause is a failure in the thermocouple safety circuit (the valve itself is unlikely to be a problem). Eithedr the thermocouple sensor itself is mis-located or failed, or the thermocouple wiring has failed. You can 'search' on that, or use the diagnostic procedure in service manual to find the issue.

Originally Posted by DanSTL

4. Water heater noise I described as a buzz is not by design of PO (wasn’t there with previous water heater). It’s more like the constant buzz noise when an airplane is in flight and doesn’t go away but decreases very slightly from initial sound. Also noise begins immediately when switch is turned on, even before flame lights (and before clicks). Buzz not heard once water heater shut off, nor heard after I toggled interior water heater switch off/on in attempt to relight.

You need to isolate that 'buzz' a lot better by running the WH with the outside door open and locating the source of the noise. If it's one of the two small thermostat boards, get that board replaced.
[QUOTE=DanSTL;158250]5. Fuse that looks seated at angle was checked and connected fine. Also the breaker did seem off but when I pushed back it would move right over so figured that’s the normal pIf you push it slightly further "left" and then rest all the way to the "righti", but it still trips immediately, their is either a short circuit (blowing the breaker immediately) or the breaker is failed.

[DanSTL]

1.Turns out I’ve got a smoke/CO detector mounted at rear bed ceiling (as recommended in manual), and no propane detector . The PO cut wires to original CO/Propane detector (pictured) and had read a lot of complaints about them. I tested voltage at 13.04 volts using multi meter so I plan to buy a new one and splice together (learning as I go). Anyone know if they still sell a replacement online that will fit or is there a better option?


2/4. Pretty happy the water heater not starting issue has an explanation , and noise is more of an annoyance after a few minutes. Other than indicator light not working anymore (could that be cause of buzz?) not too worried about it . It puts out quite a flame too.

5. Moved breaker to off and on and it held. Does not appear to affect anything (still have a buzz)

[DanSTL]

Tried to isolate or identify buzz from outside with w/h door open but can hardly hear it out there .

Do you think the no longer operating indicator light is related to buzz? Can this buzz cause a long term failure or just an annoyance?

I have the Norcold service bulletin titled N300 LP Mode troubleshooting and will try to go through this .


Thanks!

[Kidkraz]

I've replaced my old one and I've not had any issues with mine before or after replacement. I've had it go off once, while using a can of what I thought was compressed air. It was one for cleaning computer equipment, well it went off and once I read the label on the can, I realized it wasn't air, but chemicals. I aired out the camper and no issues since.
Amazon has them, but not the version you have in your TM. Seems the 70-742 version is out of stock at most places. I'd see if the factory is still using the 70-742 or another model.