Forum Discussion

starzen's avatar
starzen
Explorer
Aug 23, 2017

Propane Detector Issue

A friend of mine bought a new detector (Atwood 36720) to replace his old detector. He couldnt get it to work so i took a look at it.

He connected it to the wires from the old detector. When it connects the red led blinks i think 5 times (instead of the 3 minutes as it says in the manual) and then goes dark and thats it. Test button does not do anything either.

Now i tried connecting it directly to the battery and it works just fine.

Then i measured the voltage on the wires it was conmnected to and it was 12.4V. Proper polarity as well.

Any thoughts why it wouldnt work on these wires?

one thing i have not tested is if the voltage goes down under load on these wires which would be strange as the load is almost nil but will try that

thanks
Seeking Advice
  • Ralph_Cramden's avatar
    Ralph_Cramden
    Explorer II
    Aug 28, 2017
    ThePowells wrote:
    I can't help with this issue, but just for future reference, we have a dog bed under the dinette and the CO detector in on the front of the bench near the floor. It went off with nothing gas being used. Immediately reset. A few minutes later, the dog jumped up and ran and it went off again. The conclusion was that the dog farted and set it off.



    Not surprising at all. Dog farts are typically industrial strength, and will not only activate a gas detector but probably remove paint, melt vinyl, and cause premature blindness. That's why it's not a good idea to feed them the leftover chili.
  • ThePowells's avatar
    ThePowells
    Explorer
    Aug 28, 2017
    I can't help with this issue, but just for future reference, we have a dog bed under the dinette and the CO detector in on the front of the bench near the floor. It went off with nothing gas being used. Immediately reset. A few minutes later, the dog jumped up and ran and it went off again. The conclusion was that the dog farted and set it off.
  • starzen's avatar
    starzen
    Explorer
    Aug 24, 2017
    ScottG wrote:
    starzen wrote:
    was connected for quite a while.

    strange thing is as soon as i plug it directly into the battery it works fine but when it is plugged into the wire inside the TT it stops after a few blinks.

    i even hooked up a 12V pump to the same wires and it runs fine


    This is a stretch but is there a flourescent or LED light on that circuit?
    I wonder if there's some kind of noise present.


    dont think so but today i will see if i can do some more testing

    another thing i thought was to test if the ground is clean. I had him test the voltage and it showed 12.4V but maybe the ground has some issue
  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    Aug 23, 2017
    starzen wrote:
    was connected for quite a while.

    strange thing is as soon as i plug it directly into the battery it works fine but when it is plugged into the wire inside the TT it stops after a few blinks.

    i even hooked up a 12V pump to the same wires and it runs fine


    This is a stretch but is there a flourescent or LED light on that circuit?
    I wonder if there's some kind of noise present.
  • starzen's avatar
    starzen
    Explorer
    Aug 23, 2017
    was connected for quite a while.

    strange thing is as soon as i plug it directly into the battery it works fine but when it is plugged into the wire inside the TT it stops after a few blinks.

    i even hooked up a 12V pump to the same wires and it runs fine
  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    Aug 23, 2017
    I think that's the one I bought for our last trailer.
    It too acted strangely when I installed it but after 5 or ten minutes, it worked normally.
    Maybe just leave it connected for a while and see what happens.

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