strange things happening

[tohare]

We have a 2007 winnie destination, rear engine gas. We are in Arizona in a campground with full hook ups. We have a surge protector, at the power pedastle. This unit has a heat pump. Everything was working fine until the other morning we turned on the heat using electric and it kicked over to gas. It was in the mid 50's out, so no reason to use gas. We turned on water heat, using electric and it did not heat water. turned on gas, worked fine. everything else seems to be fine..
Have looked for and hit every fuse we can find.
Any clues or hints??

[emorris548]

Are other 120 volt appliances working? If not start your generator then see if your AC appliances work. If so, this could indicate a defective transfer switch.

[crasster]

Have you verified 110V going into the heat unit itself yet?

[fcooper]

rgatijnet1 wrote:

Have you tried these items with the generator to see if they work off of electric?

Yes, please tell us if these items work with the shore power disconnected and genset running.

Fred

[jhilley]

There is a good chance it is the thermostat. Clean the switch contacts if you can.

[Executive45]

Start with the simple stuff....

Pedestal....check both legs of the 50amp service. Check the neutral. Check the ground.

Plug in without surge protector. See if it works.

Check voltage outside the surge protector. See if it works.

Fire up the genset..See if it works.

Do these four first as they're the easiest and don't require disassembly....Dennis

[dougrainer]

tohare wrote:
You are very wrong on that statement. what the point of having a heat pump if it doesnt heat on electric. a heat pump on heating mode draws heat of the outsie air. Thats being said, you said it was in the 50's. that system below about 55 degrees will actually start the gas furnace and heat the interior of the coach untill the heat pump can catch up

I am sorry you misunderstood. I was saying what it is doing now not what it is supposed to do. that is why we were looking for help.

OK, Does the HP FAN come on at all? Or is the complete HP Fan and Compressor not coming ON? You do have a basement system correct? Or is this a roof Air HP? IF the HP fan does not come on then I suspect you have NO 120 power to the HP(s). The Water Heater may just be a coincidence, as the heat Element for the W/H may just be burnt out. The ONLY way to tell is either a AMP draw test at the 120 wire to the water heater or accessing the 120 element and checking for 120 current on the 2 terminals. You do NOT need to OHM the element. IF it has 120 to it and is not heating, it is bad. Doug

[tohare]

You are very wrong on that statement. what the point of having a heat pump if it doesnt heat on electric. a heat pump on heating mode draws heat of the outsie air. Thats being said, you said it was in the 50's. that system below about 55 degrees will actually start the gas furnace and heat the interior of the coach untill the heat pump can catch up

I am sorry you misunderstood. I was saying what it is doing now not what it is supposed to do. that is why we were looking for help.

[camper_ron]

Sound like you lost a leg or your transfer switch cooked.

r0n....:?

[garry1p]

Can you plug in to the pedestal without the surge protector?

The combined AC/Heat Pump work off electric not gas and are good to around 45 deg outside temp.

[dougrainer]

1. HP's do NOT work on LP---120 ONLY
2. HP's (RVP old style like the OP has), IF the set HEAT temp is MORE than 5 degrees (the inside temp is 55 and you set the tstat at 65), the FURNACE (runs on LP and is a separate appliance and not part of the HP, will come ON and heat the RV. Once the inside temp is within 5 degrees of the set temp (in this case 60 to 61). the furnace will shut OFF as the HP comes on and Heats the final 4 to 5 degrees. Once the set temp is reached and the HP is left ON, the HP will come on when the RV cools and will heat up the RV to its preset temp.
3. The NEWER RVP HP's BOTH the HP and the furnace will come on in the greater than 5 degree separation. Once it reaches the within 5 degree the Furnace will drop out and the HP will complete the heat cycle.
4. RVP does this because they realize that it would take a LOT longer to heat up an RV with just a HP if the 5 degrees is greater. Doug

[wa8yxm]

wwest wrote:
Electric RV hot water heater is something I never knew existed, too many BTUs required.

Usually 1400 watts and slow recovery... I've used Electrically heated water in this RV since 2005, and on the dairy farm .. 40 years ago (or more) in the milkhouse... The water heater was made in Marshall Mi, by Ronan & Kunzel,, They no longer make water heaters but they do make some very fine products.. once made airplanes. And once employed the only woman head of accounting in the state of Michigan (My mother).

[hanko]

tohare wrote:
heat pump works on gas, and cools with electric does not heat with electric.
Nothing sounds silly at this point. We have checked every breaker and fuse in the rig. Oh for things to be labeled.. apparently the person who was supposed to do that in this rig took the day off.

You are very wrong on that statement. what the point of having a heat pump if it doesnt heat on electric. a heat pump on heating mode draws heat of the outsie air. Thats being said, you said it was in the 50's. that system below about 55 degrees will actually start the gas furnace and heat the interior of the coach untill the heat pump can catch up

[Hikerdogs]

If I remember correctly the heat pump will call for the gas furnace to come on if the temperature reading on the thermostat is 5 or more degrees below the set point for heat. The gas furnace will start first then the heat pump will assist. Did you have the thermostat set for electric heat? Sometime the little slider gets dirty doesn't make the contacts correctly. Sliding it between AC/electric heat& gas heat a few times usually gets it to work correctly.

Did you wait long enough for the heat pump to engage. It usually takes 1 - 2 minutes for the gas furnace to start then the heat pump should also start.

If the outside temperature is below +35* to +37*F the heat pump will try to start 3 times then default to gas heat only. It could be you have a bad outside temperature sensor and it believes the temp. is too low for the heat pump to operate.

With electric heat selected you might want to put the set point of the thermostat only a couple degrees above the thermostat reading. This should activate the the pump only and not the gas furnace. If it doesn't come on it's time to check the outside temperature sensor and the switching valve.

[rgatijnet1]

It sounds like most things have been covered. It is always hard to guess how a coach is wired and what runs through what. You may have two circuit breakers on your inverter charger that you may have overlooked.
Have you tried these items with the generator to see if they work off of electric?
If they work with the generator, then you may have a problem with the transfer switch cutting off one leg of the shore power. That is the relay that clicks when you hook up to shore power.
Have you physically turned off and switched back on each circuit breaker on the shore pedestal as well as all of the inside circuit breakers in your main panel?
Neither your furnace or your water heater would work on LP if you lost your 12 volts so I would rule that out.
Is your refrigerator working on AC or has it also switched to LP?
With my coach, the Heat pump is on the roof and it supplies cold and warm air but it ONLY works on 120 volts AC, not LP, and uses 12 volts to the thermostat. My furnace ONLY works on LP and also uses 12 volts for ignition and the thermostat.