Foretravel Owners' Forum

Finally took possession of our new to us coach yesterday and promptly put new Michelins on her.  Used the toilet last night and felt some moisture on the floor.  Took the top off and felt the water feed lines up from the floor and they were damp,  Small trickle when the toilet is flushed.  Checked the Forum this AM and removed the lines and teflon taped all of the threads and it appears that the pressure regulator is leaking.  During the process I disconnected the power but neglected to turn off the breaker.  No excuse - just not thinking - When reconnecting the power lines I think I touched a contact under the on/off switch and NOTHING.  Got my meter out and have current thought the power supply lines coming up through the floor.  Checked all of the breaker at the foot of the bed and none were tripped.  Came back from dinner and went to turn on the lights on the switches to the right of the door by the steps and none work.  Must have blown a fuse somewhere but can not locate any other fuse boxes.  I would really appreciate it if some one could direct me to where the other fuses are located so I could pull more hair out of my already balding head. 

if it the same as our 2000 open the middle basement door and to the left there is a fibreglass panel with 3 screws on it. Take it off and maybe the resettable breakers are there. There is a little button under each one that can be reset. Hope this is what is causing you problems. Did you unknowingly turn the main disscionnect off in the step well? and there are others to the right of steps when you enter. The panel lifts up and pulls out. There is also a GFI to the right of the sink in bathroom, check that this is not tripped.
John H

Photo of said breakers is in this post No 12v Power to Magnum Opus Vacuum Toilet?? (http://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=12737.msg67590#msg67590)  (don't worry that the topic is VacuFlush, the breakers should be in the same place for yours .....)

eta found a (blurry) photo of ours   In our '03 they're behind the panel next to the Wabco ABS box, I believe

Check to make sure the "salesman's switch" by the door is on. When a lot of stuff quits working at the same time, it is often the result of "the dog" kicking the switch in the stairway at the door. I think everyone encounters that issue at some point.

Hi Scott,

On my 2002 U320 42' there are fuses are in 3 panels under the refrigerator. Pull out a slide tray. In the rear panel, with a very hard to remove over, I find a fuse for the fan and Microphor.

Jim

Thanks for the responses - Jim there are no fuses under the refer, just open space to the side wall.  J. D. - The dog was home when we went out to dinner but the Switch is on.  Just the 3 light switches by the door do not function.  Michelle - I Will check the breakers in the AM.  John - Checked the GFI while the DW was watching TV, it went off so I guess the GFI is working.  The DW says "HEY - What are you doing".  Seze me - "oops, should have told you what I was doing".  :-).  Will attempt to locate the resetable breakers in the AM.

not sure but I would definitly see if you have the same set up as us by pulling the panel off that they are on
John

Pulled off the panel and I have two rows of wire connections on the left side of the panel.  There is a small black button on the "side" of each connection box.  All black buttons appear to be "IN".  There does not appear to be a connection/box marked Microphor/Microflush on either two rows.  Thoughts.  :-(

My circuit Breaker is on the 1st row. See Photo.

Thanks Barry - I'll take another look when the DW wakes up.

Just another story about the VacuFlush 3000 series toilet that may (or may not) be germaine to this issue.  Some months ago, we suddenly found that the toilet would not flush.  As always, it was at night and our resources for assistance were minimal.  We once again grabbed the manual and started trouble shooting.  The little light codes indicated that there was insufficient 12 volt to the commode.  Hmmmm.  We are plugged into shore power ... why is this an issue??  Finally figured out that a day or more previous to this, as we were experimenting with our inverter, we had turned OFF the battery charger button on the inverter ... not thinking about the fact that there are ALWAYS things in the coach that run off of the 12 v system.  The toilet is one of them.  The batteries had run down, and the toilet, sensing that there was low voltage, had ceased to operate.  We turned tha battery charger back on ... waited a few hours ... and voila.  Vacuflushing resumed.  The toilet is MUCH smarter than we appear to be. 

Additionally, since Jeff and I place ourselves pretty high on the doofus scale of technical knowledge, I will relay another story that happened 2 days ago.  Jeff got up about 30 minutes earlier than I.  The thumping and muttering from the front of the coach got me up and I entered the kitchen to see the coffee pot across the room, flashlights in play, stuff plugged in weird places and so forth and Jeff is getting agitated.  "We have an electrical problem!", he announces.  I am not surprised, because our SurgeGuard has been showing error messages from time to time and then resuming operations ... I am thinking that the power here in this park is not the best. "The outlets on this side of the coach are not working and only some of the ones on the other side of the coach ... and the bathroom is out.", Mr Wonderful says. "I am going to go outside and see what is going on at the pole."  "Well ... wait a minute", I say, "Let me think."  I go into the bathroom and check the GFI.  Click.  It resets and the kitchen outlet now works!  "Oh, good!", he says, "But the power is still out on the other side of the coach. The coffee pot is not lighting up."  I walk to the coffee maker and press firmly on the POWER button to turn it on.  Bingo!! It turns out that you just actually have to press "Go".    Seconds tick by ...  "Is there anything else I can fix for you this morning, dear?", I ask.  "No. I am going back to bed." he says.  I make coffee.  We take turns having these head-slapping moments where we just get stymied by the simplest things for a short time ... and 9 times out of 10 there will be some bit of information from this Forum that floats to the surface and saves the day ... and our sanity! 

Dear wife,

Please remove post...Now, not only our friends, but everyone will know how much of an idiot I am..xo

Carol & Jeff -
Just too much - brought tears to my eyes.  Read the post to my DW and we both had a good laugh.  Thanks.

Well....the coach was at CW today to get wired and married to the towed that had the wiring and stuff put on it yesterday.  Anyway - - when IU dropped the coach off this AM I causally asked the service manager if he could look into our toilet, light switch and Zip Dee awning issues...(tried the awning this AM and it didn't work either.  The service mgr said they would take a look.  At 5PM today the service mgr asked me to go to the coach with him as the service tech had a couple of questions.  I'm thinking I'm busted as I neglected to share with him that I probably fried the thing trying to repair a small leak.  Get into the coach by the toilet room and the tech is there as asked me what I did to the toilet wires?  I fessed up and told him the story.  He then asked me what wires had disconnected and I told him.  Evidently in his trouble shooting process he had changed some wires on the water control part.  I assured him I only disconnected the power and ground wires.  He changed the wires back and hit the flush handle and the flapper opened and closed.  I patted him on the back and thanked him very much.  He advised me that I had blow a 12v fuse in the base of the bed that he replaced.  The toilet flapper works.  Will use water to flush the bad stuff away and hope the black tank is directly below the bowl.  I asked the tech the location of the said 12v fuse and he again said at the base of the bed.  Since it was after 5PM the tech was rushing to get home I could not press him on the exact location.  Light switches work again and will try the awning tomorrow. I will contact the manufacturer on Monday and see if they have the small water control box and have them send it to me.  Hopefully I can install it without burning sown the coach, the RV park and greater Livingston, TX as that is where we will be when the part arrives.

Is the toilet a Microphor?

best, paul

Yes Paul it is a Microphor.

Our present Commode is a Sealand VacuFlush 3000 series.  I could write a whole book on it ... and probably have, by this point!  We had a Microphor in the last coach, the '95 that now belongs to Keith & Joyce Elms. Hence, my experience with a variety of flushing experiences that also include the manual rightoverthetank foot pedal variety in our '93.  These things are like the electric awnings ... they are WONDERFUL ... when they work.  My point with the post about our "electrical failure" the other day is that sometimes the smallest things just get you stymied.  I was going nuts trying to adjust the refrigerator temps and keep from alternately freezing or spoiling the food. I rearranged placement, defrosted, cleaned gaskets, fine tuned temperatures thrice daily, put fans in the backside, (Jeff & Dave Katsuki) put fans on the roof, and I was on the point of scheduling a fridge replacement and spending several thousand dollars.  And then I fixed it!  How, you ask??  I bought a new refrigerator thermometer that reads the correct temperature.  The fridge is actually not doing a bad job at all!    Head slap. 

Dear Scott and Carol,

You know, a good toilet or good wife is really hard to find. So... may I ask (hopefully without further endangering divorce), are you guys still thinking about getting a different toilet? Curious minds want to know...

Jim

2002 U320

enjoying the dilemma (wife/toilet, wife/toilet)

Hi Jim-
I guess that depends on what the fix is for this one and at what cost.  I think I would prefer a mechanical type.  Have read some interesting stories about the Microphor.  Although ours was working great until I fried it.  :(  Waiting until I can contact the company for info. and replacement part(s) cost.  Traveling Monday and Tuesday so I'll have to make a call while we are stopped.

The fuses at the foot of the bed are on the wall of the bed frame on the front side in a small black box with a door about 7 inches square, open the door and there blade type fuses, also known as gm type fuses

Thanks Red Tractor.

Not sure what you "toasted" anything but if the timer assembly (the black module with wires coming out of it) is bad the replacement part is $200. There is an adjustment on that potted module that controls the level of water for each flush. If the toilet was working before you "toasted" the unit by blowing a fuse you may not have damaged that potted module. There is a fuse in the tank of the toilet, it is a one amp fuse, that should blow before any other electronics are damaged. I do not think you have a "pressure" regulator. If it is a water leak that you have, it may be the crinkly copper water pipe thingy. I had an existing problem with that on our coach, and evidently the PO had the same issue. The PO's resolution was to put a small dish to catch the water. Not my idea of a fix. I could not get the ends of that pipe to stop leaking, I tried teflon tape and also plumbers putty with no success. I removed that "crinkle" pipe and used pex pipe and shark bite fittings to plumb the water supply. No further problems.

Roland

P.S. How long will you be in Las Cruces? We are in Columbus NM could go look at your commode and see if I can help you resolve the issue.

Hi Roland-
Thanks for your suggestion/input.  $200.00 Argh.  I did not know that there is a fuse under that metal bracket too.  I will try to get a look at it.

We were to leave Las Cruces this AM but it appears that we have a fuel filter leak.  The is a fellow here named Jim who is very familiar with this issue and we will be locating parts to replace with a Racor setup tomorrow.  If the wind is blowing in the right direction we may pull out of here on Tuesday AM. 

If you are in the area we are at Sunny Acres site 51.  Would love to see you.

Scott

May take a ride up ther in the AM. Will let you know.

Roland

Roland B and his DW Carmen (sp?) drove up to visit us today and to take a look at our Microphor.  Roland decided we needed to get to a Lowes or Home Depot to get some parts.  We went to lunch at La Posta, a nice Mexican rest. in old Mesilla.  Great lunch and great conversation.  Went to the Depot and got pex tubing and Shark Bites.  I didn't even know that Shark Bites existed.  After much work and some mumbling by him and me, he was able to fix the leak.  He was looking at the wiring while he was scratching his head and asked me if I had a amp meter.  I said I had a cheap one and I got it for him.  He started turning knobs and touching contacts and determined that current was flowing through the solenoid that moves the water gate.  Hmmmmmm.  We went through a process  of pulling the fuse and checking current/continuity and other stuff and finally after much mumbling by me and mostly Roland he was able to determin that the polarity was reversed.  He changed the + to - power connections and the water started to flow when the handle was pushed.  He fixed our toilet.  The repair that Roland performed took approximately 5 hours most of the time he was bent over the throne. 

When he was done we all sat for a while and chatted.  What wonderful folks both Roland and Carmen are.  I just can not thank them both enough.  Our pup, Harley, even had someone to play with as they brought their pooch Sam with them.  All In all a good time was had.

Tomorrow we will again attempt to leave Las Cruces en route to Livingston.

By the way during their visit the mobile Diesel repair guy replaced 3 "O" rings on our Winn fuel/water separator.  The engine is now running and that was not as bad as I expected.  I posted that recap on another thread.

This is a great forum full of great people eager to share their knowledge and experiences.  We are so grateful.

Today was another great day. ;D

Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!!  It is ALWAYS a great day when the commode cooperates.  Roland & Carmen earned some "stars for their crown" and we all get to share in the new information regarding the mysteries of the flusher AND the identity of a Diesel Mechanic in Las Cruces!!  Who was the mobil guy that came to the rescue?  Good service? Reasonable rates? Mechanic vs parts changer?  Always good info to have. 

We had a great visit, a wonderful lunch thanks to scot and carol, and managed to stop the leaking plumbing without flooding their rig........too much anyway. It is great to meet and spend some time with owners and forum members. Super folks and a nice looking rig.

Roland

Thanks Roland - we enjoyed the visit too and your amazing expertise. knowledge and patience. 

Found the mechanic in the yellow pages on line.  The Company's name is:  Advance Diesel Services, LLC.  The mechanic's name is Arnoldo Bustillos.  Office #: 575.524.1270. He seems to know what he is doing and concured Carol S. that your fix would work.  I don't know if he was expensive or not.  He charged $204.00 He arrived @ 11:30+/- took the filter apart - said hew was going to get lunch and be back with "O" rings.  He returned about an hour later and installed the rings.  All told he probably spent 1 to 1.5 hours on the job.  There was some conversations going on as well.  I don't know if I paid for that time or not.  I felt the cost for the service rendered was appropriate and could have been much, much worse.

Thanks to you all.

Scott

I spoke with the mechanic as well. Seemed to be very knowledgeable AND man did he have some great stories to tell......on Scott's nickel. :P

Roland

Roland I'm glad you enjoyed my Nickle..... :))