Dometic Thermostat E5 Code

Alan F · 05-01-2018, 12:44 AM

I am camping at Mesa Verde National Park. This evening late, the Heat Pump (15,000) seemed to stall and the thermostat was flashing an E5 Code. Outside temperature is 45 degrees, inside set on 70. Has run perfectly, then this happened. The E5 flashed in all settings (heat pump, furnace, AC) I turned the system off for about ten minutes and then back on furnace setting. Furnace is running normal now. I have not tried the heat pump again. Any thoughts, suggestions, experience on E5 Code?

2017 Forest River Forester Motor Home
One Heat Pump, 15,000 btu
Running on shore power

Duckogram · 05-01-2018, 07:06 AM

Just a shot in the dark as the Atwood is an unusual setup. E-5 is a compressor overload condition. The first thing I would investigate is low voltage. Beyond that, I would not have a clue.

Edit: I assumed you have an AirCommand. If you don’t, then I would begin with “Sorry, I have no clue.”

Alan F · 05-01-2018, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duckogram

Just a shot in the dark as the Atwood is an unusual setup. E-5 is a compressor overload condition. The first thing I would investigate is low voltage. Beyond that, I would not have a clue.

Edit: I assumed you have an AirCommand. If you don’t, then I would begin with “Sorry, I have no clue.”

The only information i can find on the make of the unit it that it is a 15,000BTU AC/Heat Pump and it is Dometic. There is no owners manual in the packet of information that came with the Motorhome. It is a 3171DS on ford E450 Chassis.

ben31 · 05-01-2018, 07:51 AM

Dometic Thermostat Owners Manual. This is the thermostat I've seen most often.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BwpX...B5UFVJOFU/edit

I've had to clear error codes before, usually an E1. What worked for me was removing all power from the RV. Unplug from shore power and then disconnect the house battery. Let it sit for about 20 minutes. Then reconnect and follow the procedure for resetting the thermostat. That has worked for me both times I received an error code, which didn't seem to make sense.

Next, call Dometic's customer service. It is in the manual.

Duckogram · 05-01-2018, 07:52 AM

Understood. Dometic owns Atwood. So anything is possible but it would have an AirCommand logo on the shroud or just say dometic if it is not. Ill look up the Dometic branded 15k heat pump codes to see if they are the same.

Edit: Don’t need to look it up if you have the thermostat ben31 referenced. It’s on page 10 in his link. Thanks Ben31

CHICKDOE · 05-01-2018, 08:19 AM

we had an E5 code on one of our a/c's. the code says something about a freeze sensor. the tech went up onto the roof and took the shroud off and disconnected a little piece that was stuck into the coils. it looked a lot like a thermocouple in a furnace. anyway he said it had just been jammed in and the wire leads were damaged. he ordered another one and put it in and no problem since. covered under warranty.

**Bama Rambler** · 05-01-2018, 11:46 AM

As Chickdoe eluded to, E5 is the freeze coil. Looks like a stack of quarters with wires coming out of them. It'll be pressed right against the evaporator coil fins at the bottom.

It should accessible from the bottom by taking the grill off. (at least ours is).

Alan F · 05-03-2018, 06:04 AM

Thanks go all for the suggestions. I turned it off for a few hours and tried it again, and it worked fine. Not sure what the problem was (is). I will have it checked out if the problem repeats. Until then, fingers crossed. Thanks again for your comments.

CHICKDOE · 05-03-2018, 06:24 AM

hope for the best but don't be surprised if it fails again. i'm not exactly sure how the freeze sensor works. I was told it is inserted (jammed) into the coils to sense when the coils start to get ice on them. if it senses ice it does something to stop, (or delay or something) the compressor until the ice dissipates and it is safe to run the compressor again. the problem we had was the way the sensor was put into the coils it chaffed the electrical leads. it worked or failed on a seemingly random basis. luckily the technician we used was familiar with the problem and found it even though the a/c was working properly at the time. he said the E5 code points to the control unit not getting a proper signal from the sensor. give it a try and I hope it continues to work. check on warranty repair if necessary, either through forest river or dometic. even if out of warranty it is a very simple swap out repair.

Alan F · 06-17-2018, 02:01 PM

As a follow up, after the initial error code, I shut the unit off and didn’t use it for a few days. When I started it back up, it worked fine, and has ever since. Hopefully it was an erroneous error code. Keeping my fingers crossed, but for the next five weeks it worked fine. Thank you for your suggestions.

Kirk S · 06-17-2018, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan F

As a follow up, after the initial error code, I shut the unit off and didn’t use it for a few days. When I started it back up, it worked fine, and has ever since. Hopefully it was an erroneous error code. Keeping my fingers crossed, but for the next five weeks it worked fine. Thank you for your suggestions.

Thank you for the follow up. Always good to hear the rest of the story.

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