Artic pack

nemo · 05-12-2011, 07:31 PM

Hello!
I have a 2002 Cardinal 29LE By my thermostat there is a white panel with two red switches on it and on the panel it says artic pack. I am tying to find out just what these switches control. They do not light up in any position!

prof_fate · 05-12-2011, 07:43 PM

I would guess, and this is just a guess, tank heaters for fresh, gray, black...not sure why'd there be 2 and not 1 or 3. I'm sure it has to be plugged into 120AC (or more perhaps) for them to work.

F and E Damp · 05-13-2011, 09:32 AM

I have the Arctic Pack on my GT325 and there's an owner's guide to it in the documentation the PO passed on. They are indeed tank heaters on the grey and black tanks. On my rig there's a single switch.

There's a thermostat for each tank. It turns the heat on at 40F and off at 63F. Why it's necessary to heat the waste to 63 degrees before turning the heat off, I have no idea. Frankly, with the contaminants in the water, I'd bet the freezing point of the mixture is quite a bit lower than plain water.

One caution, they're 12VDC (not 115Vac) and draw quite a lot of power, so if you're not plugged in, your batteries won't last long with them turned on. Also, the tanks are plastic, so turning the heater power on when the tanks are empty could be a disaster.

IMO, it would be a lot more useful if there was a heater on the potable water tank that would keep the contents between 35 and 40. I doubt we'll ever use our system.

cfsoistman · 05-13-2011, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by F and E Damp

I have the Arctic Pack on my GT325 and there's an owner's guide to it in the documentation the PO passed on. They are indeed tank heaters on the grey and black tanks. On my rig there's a single switch.

One caution, they're 12VDC (not 115Vac) and draw quite a lot of power, so if you're not plugged in, your batteries won't last long with them turned on. Also, the tanks are plastic, so turning the heater power on when the tanks are empty could be a disaster.

Useless the in line stat went bad there should be no reason to worry about a heater that turns off at 63 degrees. It is strange though why they would have a stat that stays on that long, unless they feel it will eliminate the on/off cycle from being too frequent? Like you said it will be on a long time trying to get to 63 degrees when it's 20 degrees outside.

jimh · 05-13-2011, 11:55 AM

30TS_Elect_Schematics.pdf
have the same problem with mine. ur going to have to find the fuses for it. some say on a different trailer...same manufacture, they located them under the frig.
i have a schematic that i am trying to attach that should cover urs.
my packs stopped working abt 2 yrs after i had it. took it to the dealer with an unrelated problem and mentioned the lights on the artic packs weren't working. when i got it back, they worked...i didn't asked what they found.
if u find ur problem, post it, i would like to know. it has been a low priority for me.

cfsoistman · 05-13-2011, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimh

Attachment 5778
have the same problem with mine. ur going to have to find the fuses for it. some say on a different trailer...same manufacture, they located them under the frig.
i have a schematic that i am trying to attach that should cover urs.
my packs stopped working abt 2 yrs after i had it. took it to the dealer with an unrelated problem and mentioned the lights on the artic packs weren't working. when i got it back, they worked...i didn't asked what they found.
if u find ur problem, post it, i would like to know. it has been a low priority for me.

The only issue I've had with mine was the light inside the switch burned out the first time I turned them on. It was on for about 30 minutes when I noticed the light was off. Fortunately the bulb was the only thing not working. I'm able to reach the heating pads they wrapped around the elbows at the sewage termination and it was warm so I knew it was still working.

jimh · 05-13-2011, 12:29 PM

that may be what is wrong with mine. the fuses are labeled on the dc panel but i thought there may be another set somewhere.
it would really be nice if it is something that simple.

cfsoistman · 05-13-2011, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimh

that may be what is wrong with mine. the fuses are labeled on the dc panel but i thought there may be another set somewhere.
it would really be nice if it is something that simple.

I replaced my switch with an Amber Colored on so if I glanced back I could tell if they were on instead of the Red Switch on the Water Pump. If you should ever need replacement switches they are made by Sigma and are 12 Volts DC with 14 volt bulbs.

Sigma A1 Series Rocker Switches.pdf

The Columns of Black, White, Ivory and Brown are the body colors while the Red, Green, Blue and Amber are the colored lighted switches. I found a guy on ebay selling 10 red switches for $13.83 / free shipping. I believe they tops can be swapped to whatever color you need.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=p5197.c0.m619

cfsoistman · 05-13-2011, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfsoistman

Unless the in line stat went bad there should be no reason to worry about a heater that turns off at 63 degrees. It is strange though why they would have a stat that stays on that long, unless they feel it will eliminate the on/off cycle from being too frequent? Like you said it will be on a long time trying to get to 63 degrees when it's 20 degrees outside.

UNLESS not USELESS----Had to fix that first word. It was driving me crazy.

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