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General Discussion / Re: Norcold Refridge circulating fan install

« on: July 22, 2019, 10:13:00 pm »

Very interesting. I assumed the light goes out but then again I never tried to do the video with my phone. I do know that if I kept the fridge door open too long the light goes out.

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General Discussion / Re: 2006 Phoenix Cruiser 2551 Detailed and All new graphics

« on: July 22, 2019, 04:47:03 pm »

That looks fantastic!

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General Discussion / Re: Selling our Phoenix Cruiser

« on: July 22, 2019, 03:56:22 pm »

Well, Vandor is gone!  We were sad to see it drive away but I know it’s in great hands.  Congrats to Cathy and Scott, a very cool couple who fell in love with Vandor enough that they want to keep the name alive!  That’s so cool.  By the way, Vandor is the Hungarian word for wanderer!  All the best to Cathy and Scott in their new adventures with Wanderer, I mean Vandor!!

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General Discussion / Re: Selling our Phoenix Cruiser

« on: July 08, 2019, 11:27:18 am »

I did change the converter/charger as part of the battery upgrade. The 15 year old Elixer model was a single stage charger and AGMs require a multi stage charger. Boondocker makes a converter/charger/ distribution panel that is a direct replacement for the Elixer. It works great. I did not change the alternator at all and so far so good there too. I was concerned about alternator compatibility with lithium batteries but given the huge cost of them I chose AGM over lithium.

The battery setup I chose is the Lifeline AGM, Group 27, 12 volt.  Connected in parallel they provide 12 volts and 200 amp hours of power.  So running them down to 50% I have 100 amp hours available. They have performed perfectly so far.

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General Discussion / Re: Selling our Phoenix Cruiser

« on: July 07, 2019, 11:41:03 am »

Yes, that’s the thing to make this upgrade workable. The door to the battery box is a lot smaller than the inside of the box itself. The single battery tray is easily removed by removing the mounting screws. Then there is room for two batteries but not much room to spare. That’s why the conversion works only with sealed batteries such as AGMs or lithium. But it does indeed work!  I used Group 27 Lifeline AGMs and they were the same size as the Interstate flooded battery. As part of this upgrade I also installed a Victron battery monitor so that I can see exactly how the batteries are doing and if you don’t already have one I highly recommend them. The little lights on the monitor panel that PC provides don’t tell you anything about your batteries!

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General Discussion / Re: Changing ac filters

« on: July 06, 2019, 08:41:46 am »

For those owners of older rigs with the Penguin AC unit, there are foam air filters on each side of the ceiling unit. On ours the foam was filthy and was so old it was crumbling. Rather than buying replacement filters I went to a fabric store and bought a dollars worth of foam and cut it to fit the plastic frames. They work great and the AC unit runs much better with clean filters. I have enough foam left over to make several more!

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General Discussion / Selling our Phoenix Cruiser

« on: July 05, 2019, 09:33:12 am »

Cheryl and I have decided to rent a seasonal site and will be selling our 2004 PC 2350. Lots of great upgrades were done this spring. Everything works great. There’s approximately 77,000 miles on it. If you know someone who’s looking for one, pass this along.

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General Discussion / Re: Engine running ruff after a full day of travel any ideas

« on: June 17, 2019, 09:39:30 am »

Volkemon,

Thanks for the reply. Yeah I guess my timeline was a little cloudy!  Last fall the engine would not start. No CEL. When I turned the key to the ON position I could hear the fuel pump turn on. That’s why I replaced the fuel pump module and that solved the no start problem. The CEL P0191 code happened a couple weeks ago on our trip up to Canada. It first came on shortly after refueling. I cleared the code with the Scanguage and got no further codes until another restart after stopping for a lunch break. The engine seems to run fine, no hesitation, easy starting, plenty of power, and good fuel economy. I will check it further as you suggest. Thanks.

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General Discussion / Re: Engine running ruff after a full day of travel any ideas

« on: June 14, 2019, 09:35:14 am »

Volkemon,

I got a P0191 code on my trip up to Canada. It’s a fuel pressure related code. Engine ran fine and fuel mileage was great.  I cleared the code with my Scanguage.  It seemed the code happened after restarting the engine. When I cleared the code the check engine light stayed off until I restarted the engine and after refueling. I replaced the fuel pump module last fall when I couldn’t get the engine started at all and that solved that problem. Any ideas what’s causing it?  Could it be as simple as needing a new gas cap?

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General Discussion / Re: Roof Air Conditioner

« on: June 09, 2019, 09:22:13 am »

TN.... Did you find where the condensate was /is running?

I removed the cover from the AC unit. The coils on the backside were filthy but the coils at the front where the condenser is was clean. I cleaned everything up and made sure the condensate drain was clear. That drain is on the driver side of the unit so now I at least know where to look when it’s running. However right now we are in Port Dover, Ontario with nice breezes blowing off Lake Erie. Highs in the upper 70s and lows in the low 60s with no humidity!  Wonderful weather, so I haven’t had the need to run the AC so far.

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General Discussion / Re: Roof Air Conditioner

« on: June 05, 2019, 10:16:54 am »

Volkemon, thanks for the tips. I will check on the things you suggested. The inside filters are ok. Not perfect but ok!  I wondered if I just need to give it a thorough cleaning, so that’s what I will do first. When I posted this I was on my way from Tennessee to Canada but where we stopped was real humid. The camper trailer in the site behind us had condensate dripping continuously and we had none. Humidity level inside our rig was 74%. We are now in Canada on the shore of Lake Erie and the weather has been very cool and windy so there’s been no need for AC. I need to get working on it so we are ready when we need it.

My next problem is the water heater. It works perfectly on electric but not on gas. Lots of spark from the igniter but it won’t light. Probably also needs cleaning. Any troubleshooting ideas are most appreciated.

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General Discussion / Roof Air Conditioner

« on: June 01, 2019, 10:59:54 am »

The AC unit on the roof appears to be the original Penguin model. It cools well but doesn’t seem to be dehumidifying the air. I can’t see any condensate dripping off the roof outside either. Any ideas on what I should check for would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

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General Discussion / Re: Fresh Water Pump

« on: May 22, 2019, 04:24:11 pm »

Update:

The bathroom aerator and the shower head were both clogged with sediment. So when I dewinterized the water system and refilled the water heater it flushed out the sediment that was in the water heater. That explains why everything worked fine and stopped suddenly!  Everything is cleaned out and working great now. Whew!

Lessons learned on the dewinterizing process!

By the way, replacing the kitchen faucet may sound like a simple project but believe me, it is not.  You’ll have to learn how to work blind!

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General Discussion / Re: Fresh Water Pump

« on: May 22, 2019, 02:04:40 pm »

Ok, so I got my new kitchen faucet installed. I have water at the kitchen faucet when using the fresh water tank and on city water. I have no water at the bathroom sink or shower on either city or water tank. Water to the toilet is fine. Also no apparent leaks anywhere.

Any ideas?

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General Discussion / Re: Fresh Water Pump

« on: May 14, 2019, 02:14:31 pm »

Ok, so I opened the water heater bypass valves so that they are now in the operating positions. Turned the pump on and it ran until it filled the water heater but now when I turn on a faucet the pump won’t start up.