Problems with monitoring panel

[pdchristensen]

Has anyone encountered a monitoring panel fault where all the indicator lights show up lit (ie. grey water, black water & galley show full) (holding tank always lit full). looking for some ideas where to start trouble shooting.

[Kaadk]

Are the lights always lit or do you mean when you hit the button they always show as full?

[pdchristensen]

Yes, exactly all the lights stay lit up when I select to check any tank.
It is a hassle right now because the tanks are not translucent so I can not even manually check our levels. Sorry for the late reply, we are currently at a site where wifi is limited. Do you have any ideas. I have crawled under the trailer looking for any broken connections cannot seem to find any. The user manual has no wiring schematics, so I have no idea what to expect for voltage readings at any of the terminals on the tanks. Right now I show 0 volts on all terminals I check on the grey, black, galley tanks.

[Kaadk]

Ok, second question. Have they ever worked right? Or is this a new trailer?

If new, I'd just bring it back to the dealer and let them fix it. Too many possibilities there between a short, being mis-wired, etc...

If they used to work, then that confirms it's a short. Since it's affecting all the tanks, I'd say it's either directly behind the panel, or in the panel itself.

I haven't pulled the panel out myself, so I can't guarantee how easy this is going to be, but I'd start by removing the panel and first visually seeing if there's anything there, like a mice nest or something that might have chewed up the wires. If the wires look clean, and if they can easily be disconnected, I'd disconnect them from the panel and then check for continuity between them. Don't use the black tank for this test since the black's easy to still have something between the probes. I'd use the FW, if it's affected, since that's the least likely to have something on the probes.

If there's continuity, but the tank's empty, then most likely you have a short downstream on the line. That would be a bugger to fix so again I'd look to have a dealer (or the Reps at Goshen if you're going) take a look at it.

The most likely cause though, is a short in the panel itself. If the wires don't show continuity, that points to an issue in the panel. Again, a visual inspection for debris, fur, etc.. that can cause the short would be the first step. If it's clean, then most likely it'll have to be replaced.

Of course, as I said, I haven't done any of this yet so I don't know for sure what the panels look like on the inside. Hopefully somebody who's pulled one before can hop in and provide their feedback.

[pdchristensen]

Thanks for the suggestions, it kind of fits my suspicions. The trailer is not new and the panel has worked for a few years, so I suspect something has gone wrong with the wiring recently. I will have to play around with it some more when time permits. thanks again.