Firefly/Forest River frustration

[Aussieguy]

is the repair dealer ... the same as the dealer who you bought it from?


if so
shame on him for not looking after you on a item that will cost him a couple of dollars for parts and 30 minutes labor


GO tell the DEALER ...



fix it and go chase the money from FR or Firefly.... whoever.... I don't care!


otherwise when I go to purchase or replace something for the RV , Your Company won't be considered!

[bclemens]

To be fair, I was more asking if he had tried to rule out the easy stuff first.

Then, I dig in to the other items. Wiring schematics and then berate the supplier.

In this care that wire is for the real time clock I believe, so it would be a constant memory. Solution coming.

[DaktariEd]

Well, we finally got our Isata 3 back last week.


The Lazy Days folks had to enlist the help of the Forest River (and Firefly IIRC) technicians multiple times.

We were fortunate that Forest River had someone at the local dealership doing some teaching and education, and apparently knew a thing or two about the system.

Initially they ordered and received an internal circuit board and replaced it. Net result was: did not work. Some of the buttons were reversed, awning control didn't work, and did not solve the original problem.

They finally ordered a complete new firefly unit and boards, took them off the assembly line, or some such, and installed the new firefly unit and boards in our RV.

As of the day we picked it up, things seem to be working.

But the real test will be to see if the firefly system works after the unit has been in storage for 4 to 6 weeks.

We will be holding our breaths.


Ed

[RVingLife]

We are currently having this issue with our 2022 Europa 31SS. Took out of indoor garage storage to pack for camping trip, (Probably sat for 6 weeks) and Firefly lights up but there is no communication to the coach. No lights. Did an update, turned off batteries, reset and still nothing. Called Firefly helpline, no response or call back as of yet.
Any further advice? We have canceled our trip for now

[DaktariEd]

Originally Posted by RVingLife

We are currently having this issue with our 2022 Europa 31SS. Took out of indoor garage storage to pack for camping trip, (Probably sat for 6 weeks) and Firefly lights up but there is no communication to the coach. No lights. Did an update, turned off batteries, reset and still nothing. Called Firefly helpline, no response or call back as of yet.
Any further advice? We have canceled our trip for now

I don't know where your Firefly panel is located.


Here's my workflow on a hard reset for the Isata 3:


Open panel under kitchen sink, left side, multiple screws.
Turn power off to house: Shore power, main house disconnect switch.
All power off, no generator, no shore power, nothing.
Remove J 17 yellow spade connection.


Reconnect J 17 yellow wire and verify flashing LED on the Firefly unit to the upper left of the J17 connector. Then verify the LED becomes solid green.
Check firefly panel for function.


It's a pain but it works.
Hopefully we won't need to do this again.

We haven't tried it out since the last "fix."


Good luck....
Ed

[5picker]

Originally Posted by DaktariEd

I don't know where your Firefly panel is located.


Here's my workflow on a hard reset for the Isata 3:


Open panel under kitchen sink, left side, multiple screws.
Turn power off to house: Shore power, main house disconnect switch.
All power off, no generator, no shore power, nothing.
Remove J 17 yellow spade connection.


Reconnect J 17 yellow wire and verify flashing LED on the Firefly unit to the upper left of the J17 connector. Then verify the LED becomes solid green.
Check firefly panel for function.


It's a pain but it works.
Hopefully we won't need to do this again.

We haven't tried it out since the last "fix."


Good luck....
Ed

Ed,
I don't have a Dynamax but I am following this thread because my Cedar Creek has the Firefly and I appreciate the input in this thread.

In your instructions to reset you say...

Turn power off to house: Shore power, main house disconnect switch.
All power off, no generator, no shore power, nothing.
Remove J 17 yellow spade connection.

I am assuming ALL power is off at this point.

Then you say...

Reconnect J 17 yellow wire and verify flashing LED on the Firefly unit to the upper left of the J17 connector.

Did you forget to mention turning some form of power back on before reconnecting J17 or are you saying with ALL power disconnected, there is still power at the J17 wire?

[DaktariEd]

Originally Posted by 5picker

Ed,
I don't have a Dynamax but I am following this thread because my Cedar Creek has the Firefly and I appreciate the input in this thread.

In your instructions to reset you say...


I am assuming ALL power is off at this point.

Then you say...


Did you forget to mention turning some form of power back on before reconnecting J17 or are you saying with ALL power disconnected, there is still power at the J17 wire?

Oh, yeah, good catch.
After reseating the J17 connector we turn the house power back on. If all is well, the shore power is plugged back in (if using).
Ed

[RVingLife]

We heard from Firefly tech support this am and they knew exactly what our problem was...concerning because this is happening more often. Also, our panel keeps dropping our floorplan.

When in storage, the Firefly goes in sleepmode and powers down. So you would need to do a reset. Hoping this doesn't happen again, we will keep our coach plugged in during storage.

Instructions for Europa 31SS

First get access to the G12 behind the bedroom right bottom drawer (not real easy access).
Make sure all power is removed from coach. 12v disconnect off, shore power off and generator not running.
Remove the wire J17 (red wire with small plug) and about 5 seconds plug wire back on. You can then turn on the 12v switch and test your lights/awning/pump and should be working.

Hope this helps others if in same situation. Our power is restored.

[Desert Boat]

Firefly troubleshooting often involves accessing the "G12" module and disconnecting the "J17" real-time clock power input.

On many coaches, the G12 is buried behind panels, etc. On our 28ss, you have to
- unload the pantry
- remove the pantry shelves
- remove back two pantry shelf brackets
- remove back wall trim pieces
- remove pantry back wall.

Then reverse to reassemble. And the light-weight wood used in RV cabinetry doesn't like repeated screw removals and reinsertions.

(Tip - never use a power driver to put the screws back in!)

But there is a shortcut.

You can save lots of frustration by learning where the other end of the J17 power line goes on your coach - probably into the wiring bay to a separate stand-alone fuse, connected between the manual battery switch and the solenoid disconnect.

Here is a picture of the applicable fuse on a mid-2020 I5 28ss. It an in-line ATC fuse holder connected to the battery side of the solenoid disconnect switch, with a 15 amp fuse.

How do I know I found the correct fuse?

With coach power on, if you remove the FF RTC fuse, there is no change. If you turn off the solenoid disconnect with the fuse out, leave it off for 10-15 seconds, (firefly panel goes blank), turn it back on, and FF time is now 00:00, then you found the right fuse, and you have done the same as pulling the J17 spade.

If time did not reset to 00:00, the either power was not off long enough or the FF RTC fuse was not the one pulled.

If your coach is real cranky, I have heard someone discuss adding an in-line switch on this fuse line.

[chriscowles]

I don't have a Firefly but would it not be practical to put a momentary normally-closed switch on a long piece of zipcord, with male and female spade connectors corresponding to the J17 connection? After doing whatever you have to do to expose the J17 connection, attach the connectors at the end of your wire to the J17 connectors, then route that wire to an accessible but out of the way location. Close everything back up. The next time you need to reset, press the button for the prescribed time.

This is an alternative to Desert Boat's approach of finding and cutting the power supply, which may be superior to this one.

[bclemens]

This from engineering (along the lines of easier disconnect of the J17).

"On the M2’s the memory fuse is located in the fuse block in the front left compartment. If they turn the battery disconnect off, they kill power to the G12 and memory wire. The Isata 5’s all have the 15 amp fuse on the non-disconnect side of the house disconnect. The Isata 3’s have a 15 amp fuse on the non-disconnect side of the disconnect which is accessed through the removable panel in the kitchen base."

This would explain why I only really see this on the 3 and 5 series.

[Desert Boat]

Originally Posted by bclemens

This from engineering (along the lines of easier disconnect of the J17).

"...The Isata 5’s all have the 15 amp fuse on the non-disconnect side of the house disconnect. ....

Interesting, on my mid-2020 I5, the fuse is connected between the manual battery disconnect and the solenoid disconnect, as shown in my previous picture and diagrams. So the manual disconnect will kill RTC power, but the solenoid one doesn't.

Easy enough to test. If turning off the manual battery disconnect for a minute does not cause the FF clock to reset, then it is not switched. In this case, it is easy enough to lift the fuse lead and reconnect between the manual and solenoid disconnects, if desired.