Fuses & breakers for a 2016 2861DS?

[LinandLen]

Forget the downloadable owner's manual. It's just general and does not cover most important items for your specific model, and then it always says to refer to your individual owner's manual and we don't have one. It has not been helpful whatsoever. That being said where are the fuses and breakers in a 2016 Forester 2861DS? There are fuses in a little black box where the engine is, but if that's them for the house there is no way to tell what goes to what.

I just blew the power in our coach by running the 15K air conditioner. Our RV is plugged into a heavy extension cord because we have no outlets close by and I made the mistake of running the a/c. I think that's what cut the power off. We had no idea what fuse was blown or how to get the power back. We ended up pushing the GFCI in (the one in the bathroom was out), and that restored the power. Hopefully our a/c is still working.

Could someone who has a 2016 Forester 2861DS let me know where the fuses are. Thanks!

[LinandLen]

P.S. - Ok, the outlet in the bathroom and the outlet in the kitchen are not working. The outlet in the bedroom works. The micowave is on. So something is blown. HELP!

[AquaMan]

Look for another gfci outlet. Possibly in a basement storage.

[HopHed]

Look at the foot of the bed at the base. Right had side as you look at the bed from the foot of the bed. Small black box. Both 12v fuses and 110v breakers in there. Hope that helps.

[HopHed]

If you are plugged in at home on a 15 amp circuit that may be what blew running a 20 amp AC. Check your house breaker also. Both the bathroom and kitchen are on the same GFCI circuit so check the GFCI breaker for the RV which would be in the box previously mentioned.

[LinandLen]

Originally Posted by HopHed

Look at the foot of the bed at the base. Right had side as you look at the bed from the foot of the bed. Small black box. Both 12v fuses and 110v breakers in there. Hope that helps.

Thank you! Yes, the fuse box is at the foot of the bed with fuses all marked and everything. We had to hit the GFCI black reset button in the bathroom. All the outlets work now. I won't dare turn on the a/c. Hopefully it's fine.

[RedLdr1]

A 15 Amp source, like most home outlets, is not enough power to reliably run the A/C unit. While the unit will run below 15Amps most of the time when it cycles it can easily exceed 15Amps and pop the breakers. Add in that you has some power loss with the extension cord and you have all sorts of potential issues. And low power input can damage the A/C unit...

For those reasons when I want to run our A/C I run the generator set...

[A32Deuce]

If you are home, disc. the extension cord, start the genni and see if the ac runs.

[LinandLen]

Originally Posted by A32Deuce

If you are home, disc. the extension cord, start the genni and see if the ac runs.

Started the generator, and the a/c is not working properly. It runs for just a few seconds, then stops, takes a few minutes, runs for a few seconds and then stops. It doesn't stay on to cool the RV. Fan is on auto, and when I tried fan on manual "high", the fan runs but no cold air. We switched the a/c breaker on and off, and that didn't help, just runs and stops. Ugh, this may be an expensive fix if I can't figure out what's going on.

[JLeising]

Any chance the AC vent is blowing directly at your thermostat? Mine "short-cycled" when that was the case - cold draft told the thermostat to turn off the AC, as soon as the draft stopped, the thermostat (after a delay) turned the AC back on, repeat...

[LinandLen]

Originally Posted by JLeising

Any chance the AC vent is blowing directly at your thermostat? Mine "short-cycled" when that was the case - cold draft told the thermostat to turn off the AC, as soon as the draft stopped, the thermostat (after a delay) turned the AC back on, repeat...

No, I don't think that's the problem. I was so excited that we had the upgraded 15K a/c, and now it doesn't even work and we definitely won't be able to afford repairs from a certified technician. Guess we won't be camping anywhere hot this year.

[JLeising]

Not sure, but I think the Dometic AC has a two year warranty. As you have a 2016, maybe call Dometic?

[LinandLen]

Originally Posted by JLeising

Not sure, but I think the Dometic AC has a two year warranty. As you have a 2016, maybe call Dometic?

Thank you so much for your input, JLeising. Unfortunately I don't think the Dometic warranty transfers to a second owner.

[LinandLen]

I may have discovered something this morning. Where exactly is the air intake? If it's on the ceiling with the compartment that houses the filter, those vents were closed. I'm attaching a photo. I opened the vent, so hopefully this is the solution to the short cycling.

[newRVer]

Originally Posted by LinandLen

I may have discovered something this morning. Where exactly is the air intake? If it's on the ceiling with the compartment that houses the filter, those vents were closed. I'm attaching a photo. I opened the vent, so hopefully this is the solution to the short cycling.

L&L the picture you attached is both the intake and the output. The vents that you opened should be the single outlet for the cold air if you don't want to use the ceiling ducts. It's the best way to cool down an RV when it is hot, especially in the main cabin. Once the RV is cooled down a bit, close it and the cold air will be directed through the ceiling ducts. You loose some cold air efficiency in the duct work so I have found this to work better for a faster cool down. The downside is it is then louder in the main cabin area. This of course assumes you have the overhead ducts as well.

[LinandLen]

I have overhead ducts, so if that's not the intake then where is it?

[ScottBrownstein]

Intake in the picture is on the left.

[LinandLen]

Originally Posted by ScottBrownstein

Intake in the picture is on the left.

That vent was closed and I opened it. So was that the problem with the short cycling? Haven't turned the a/c on yet to find out. I'm out right now.

[LinandLen]

I really need to figure this short cycling out. And everything I read about it does not give a fix for this other than vents blowing on the thermostat, and that's not the problem.