Dometic Thermostat

[Nailz]

I had good weather to work on the new camper this past weekend. I decided to run the generator and the 3 AC units for load and to keep me cool. Two of my thermostats started acting wonky.

When I touched the mode button on the thermostat it reacted like I had touched two buttons. Sometimes the t-stat showed celsius and I could not return it to fahrenheit. This is usually accomplished by touching both the up and down arrows at the same time. But it's like it would not register my touch. I tried to set the fan speed to low and the setting would jump back to high, like I had touched the up button. The t-stat in the garage and the one in the bedroom both began to act this way. I tried to reinitialize and it would just display -- and not acknowledge my attempts at touching the mode button.

I finally removed the cover/front face from each t-stat. I was able to touch each contact that interfaces with the faceplate buttons and both the t-stats worked great. When I replaced the faceplates either the buttons would not work or would act like two buttons were pressed at the same time.

I put the RV back into storage and am not able to access it until this weekend. Does anyone have any suggestions?

XLR Nitro 35VL5

Thanks, Curtis

[Bama Rambler]

Did you clean the back side of the touch panel before you put it back together?
If you clean it use alcohol and a q-tip and clean the panel and the lands. If the lands are conductive paint don't clean it to roughly.

[Nailz]

I looked at the faceplate and it looks all plastic with three plastic squares that are approximately 1/4" deep. These squares align with the contacts on the circuit board. Down inside the squares appears to be a black sponge like material. I did remove one and there was a small substance like ?glue? holding the sponge material in place. Didn't really see anything to clean or straighten.

Thanks Bama Rambler

I'm in North Alabama btw.

Curtis

[Casey r]

Had the same issue. I think I was being heavy handed and the wall was flexing. My cure was to cut a piece of 1/8 aluminum to the size of the back. Drilled it to allow for the mounting hardware and harness. Inserted mollys in the wall and reattached.

[Bama Rambler]

That sponge material is actually conductive and makes contact between the fingers of the lands. If it had glue that got on the surface that touches the lands, it won't complete the circuit.

[Nailz]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'm going camping next week and will be able to fiddle with it some more. I'll post what I find.