Cheating Lights - Tank Levels

[lostinmerica]

2024 Forest River 28 View.

As I've mentioned in a couple of other posts, I am a first time RV owner and have a new 28 view. I purchased it from the dealer and it has been sitting in storage unused at a family members property. Dealer filled tanks to test it and I drained all tanks and I left them empty after I picked it up from the dealer and parked it in storage. Tanks are otherwise new and unused.

Yesterday I filled the freshwater tank with a bleach solution to sanitize it. I was surprised to see that as the fresh water tank level indicated by the control panel increased, the gray, black, and galley tanks increased at the same rate.

In other words, as I filled the freshwater tank, the control panel showed 1/3 full 2/3 full, etc., and all of the tanks showed the same levels at the same time. Well, this is interesting....

I dumped the fresh tank and the levels for all tanks (fresh, grey, black, galley) went back to empty. I then confirmed that ALL tanks were empty by opening each valve.

I filled the FRESH tank to 2/3 full. As I was filling it, I checked the levels of each tank according to the panel. When the FRESH tank reached 1/3, so did all the other tanks. When the FRESH tank reached 2/3, so did all the other tanks.

I stopped filling and opened the valve for the BLACK tank. Nothing.
I opened the LEFT valve for the GREY tank. Nothing.
I opened the RIGHT valve for the GREY tank. Nothing.
The outlet market GALLEY tank does not have a gate valve. When I pour water down the washer/dryer drain in the bedroom coset, the water empties here. There appears to be no Galley tank, just a drain with a cap but no valve.

• Ran the shower for a minute and checked the valves. Water came out with the LEFT, GREY valve.
• Ran the bathroom sink for a minute, water came out with the same LEFT, GREY valve.
• Ran the kitchen sink, water came out with the RIGHT, GREY valve.
• No water with BLACK valve.

Dumped all tanks and refilled the FRESH tank to 2/3. (According to the panel, all tanks "filled" at the same rate until stopping at 2/3).

With the waste tanks empty but the panel showing 2/3 on all tanks, I turned on the kitchen sink and let it run until the fresh tank level on the panel dropped to 1/3. As the water in the kitchen sink was running I was constantly checking the tank levels for all tanks on the panel. Just BEFORE the FRESH tank dropped from 2/3 to 1/3, the levels for all of the other tanks (black, grey, galley) dropped to 1/3. When the FRESH tank level dropped to 1/3, I turned off the water in the kitchen sink and check the levels again:

• Fresh 1/3
• Black 1/3
• Grey 1/3
• Galley 1/3 with 2/3 flashing

I went outside and opened the BLACK valve. Nothing. Opened the LEFT, GREY valve. Nothing. Opened the RIGHT, GREY valve. Water, as expected.

I know this must be a shock to all of you, but my panel lights are not showing the correct tank levels!!! LOL

Clearly there are some wires crossed here. Any thoughts on how to address this weird panel behavior?

I am also unsure about the washer drain being labeled GALLEY and the presence of two GREY valves unrelated to the GALLEY outlet. I can only assume that the kitchen sink goes to its own (galley) tank connected to the right, grey valve and and the galley button on the panel, but the galley label on the outside of the TT is just an error. (shocking, I know).

Thoughts?
Thanks!

 

[kenandterry]

Your testing for tank level indicators was very methodical and detailed. Great job.

My $0.02 is…..

During assembly, someone bridged ALL the sensor wires (usually red, yellow, green, and white) together. This way all indicators would be identical.

The only way to prove this…..from your garden hose, pour a good amount of water directly into the toilet (with the flapper open) and see what readings you get. Then completely empty, and compare readings.

From your garden hose, pour a good amount of water directly into the kitchen sink (with the drain open) and see what readings you get. Then completely empty, and compare readings.

Let us know. This is quality assurance at its worst.

 

[lostinmerica]

So, at the moment I am parked in a spot with no access to water via hose. I've also just installed a compost toilet. Anyway, I confirmed that ALL tanks were empty by opening each valve, and then using a bucket, I poured water down the bathroom sink until I got a 1/3 full reading. Surprisingly, ONLY the GREY tank is showing 1/3 full. All of the other tanks (accurately) show empty. So with the fresh tank empty, the grey tank gauge seems to be accurate.

I guess my next step will be to fill the fresh tank to 1/3 and see if filling the grey/black/galley tanks to 2/3 will result in an accurate reading.

Hmmmm...