Isata 4 Celing Lights Stopped Working

cbwood · 04-04-2019, 06:46 PM

This is a 2018 Isata 4 25FW. Precision Plex (PP) panel says all fuses are OK.

Seems like ceiling lights on the left (driver's side) have stopped working. They all worked 2 weeks ago, before I shut off the battery switch. Today getting ready for a weekend trip most ceiling ("C" as listed below) lights don't work.

Here's a list of what DOESN'T work (as described on Precision Plex screen: Bedroom C, Rear C, Living Slide, Living C, Kitchen C, Front C, Bunk.
What DOES work is Bathroom, Aisle, Kitchen Ovhd, Awning, Exterior, Cargo. Master works to turn on/off, but only for the lights that do work.

Absolutely everything else on the Precision Plex panel works - Water Pump, Generator, Slide, Awning, etc. I can hear the relays clicking for the lights that work, but it is silent for those that don't, although the "light bulb" on the PP Panel lights up - even thought the actual lights don't illuminate. Again, PP says fuses are OK. I shut down all power and re-booted the PP twice, but no change to the symptoms.

The common thread here seems to be wiring that may be in the center or left side of the ceiling/roof area (??). I will say that I was up on the roof yesterday cleaning green pollen & leaves off, so I walked around up there. Could there be a bad wire up there or a screw thru something when I stepped on the roof? Don't know how one wire could affect so may lights.

Any thoughts or recommendations? I don't have any further ideas on how to diagnose this. Leaving late morning tomorrow for the weekend trip, and have decided we can live without those lights for a couple of nights. We'll have to figure out more when we come back...

vandersr · 04-04-2019, 08:07 PM

We have a 2018 Isata 4. To many problems to list

vandersr · 04-04-2019, 08:15 PM

We had a error reading on our main control panel. Some lights worked intermittent. Our data cable was the problem. It’s being replaced . If this is your only problem with your Isata 4 feel fortunate. Ours is a nightmare. Still love it!

cbwood · 04-05-2019, 05:32 AM

Problem resolved:

Further thinking that ceiling lights is not the common item, as Bedroom Overhead and Living Slide lights are located in the slide, which presumably are fed from below. Then I was thinking that all lights that didn't work were dimmable, vs non-dimmable for everything that works. Also noted that the wall switches for in the Bedroom and Bunk areas lit up when operated from the PP panel, even though the lights didn't come on. Seemed to not be hardware related, and my walking on the roof had nothing to do with it.

Went out early this AM in the dark, and still had the same symptoms. So I re-booted the PP again (by turning off the battery disconnect, then back on). This time no solar input to the battery, whether that had anything to do with it.

Eureka! Lights now work. Dimmers work, all is back to normal. When I mentioned yesterday that there was no relay click for the lights that weren't working - that is still true. Guess it has something to do with the dimmer function. Non-dimmable lights make a click when you turn them on or off.

If this happens again, guess the trick is to keep re-booting the Precision Plex panel.

**bclemens** · 04-08-2019, 07:57 AM

Correct....its a computer. Sometimes there is an issue and a re-boot is in order. The key is to make sure the solar is covered up or its at night...otherwise the solar can actually keep the system powered. We're looking at a way to prevent that.

cbwood · 04-08-2019, 08:09 AM

Thanks for the reply Brian. I didn't think the solar input would get through the battery disconnect, but apparently some does (?). First 2 re-boots were in late afternoon and somewhat shaded, so solar still has some input. Third reboot in the dark worked.

Now my next problem after this weekends trip is on the black tank wash. First time to use, and something is disconnected on the right side of the coach. Water spraying out near front of wheel well, but also some inside on floor coming out just outside the bathroom door. Didn't try to diagnose yesterday when leaving camp, just dried it up, and today will try to find out what happened.

Can you provide the plumbing drawing that has the tank wash so I know what I am looking for? Again, this is an I4 25FW.

**bclemens** · 04-08-2019, 08:32 AM

here ya go.

cbwood · 04-08-2019, 08:54 AM

Excellent, thank you. Looks like it must be a connection at the vacuum breaker, since that is nearest to where the water came out. Having the drawing makes life much easier now - hopefully this will be a relatively easy fix.

No to complain too much, but I'm sure you already have had comments about the water filter location under the bed. When I picked up this unit in December we found the filter element in the fridge during PDI, and the tech didn't know where the housing was. This Fresh Water drawing shows the location. Many screws later to take the plywood off the bed platform for access... Understand space is at a premium, but taking over a dozen screws out to change the filter is not that easy. My tech initially tried to go remove the breaker/converter box for access, but that didn't work. I really don't have any better suggestions, because there is no room for a side access panel for the filter. I may just make that filter go away in the future.

**bclemens** · 04-08-2019, 02:02 PM

I want to say we already moved it...but I'll check on that to be sure.

Twages91 · 04-09-2019, 08:53 PM

I have a 1995 Rockwood pop-up camper. Last evening I was doing a repair and needed to take the front interior light down and when I took it down all the lights stopped working. The ac and outside light guy still works. I’ve checked the fuses which is only 4 and they all look good. I have no clue why they stopped working. I am plugged in by my house electricity. Please help

cbwood · 07-20-2020, 03:41 PM

Regarding the Precision Plex not rebooting when there is solar input:

I had an issue on our last trip where the Precision Plex shut off when voltage got really low and I was trying to start the generator from it (as I recognized a low battery condition - a different issue later resolved). The coach engine had just been started, but maybe PP didn't recognize the additional voltage yet to start the Gen. Anyway, Gen started but PP got voltage pulled down and tried to reboot, but hung - couldn't access anything on it, although light switches on walls worked. Turned off battery disconnect but PP would not reboot again, so had to shut down generator outside by the switch on the generator.

Ultimately, was able to turn off the battery disconnect after dark and the PP rebooted - all was well after that.

Anyway the point of this post is that I mentioned this to Greg at Dynamax factory service (near the end of the trip), and inquired about whether I could install switch to cut off the solar input from the battery. He initially thought a fuseable link in the battery compartment on the solar cable that could be pulled when necessary was a good solution (although it is tight in the battery compartment with limited space). Although I didn't expect it, Greg actually installed a switch next to the solar controller to disconnect the panels from the batteries. (I suspect he changed his mind about the fuseable link while replacing the batteries, as there is little extra space near them.) The switch seems to be the best solution for cutting off solar input to the batteries.

Many thanks to Greg for doing this while we were there for other warranty work. The switch will solve the problem w/ Precision Plex not shutting completely off during the daytime (due to solar input). We were extremely happy with the factory service - Greg and his team went well beyond our expectations and addressed everything we mentioned to them; even if it was not strictly a failure that was a warranty issue.

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