Maxx Fan

[Honair]

MaxxFan cust service was a very negative guy. He said he would send a new board. A new board arrived in about a week. Today, it was installed by an RV service guy (labor covered by warranty) which did not know how to install it. Fan seems to work now. We will tell later when we actually go out on our next trip.

[Ian and Sue]

Originally Posted by stephen99

I am waiting for my second control board replacement to arrive. When I talked to their tech guy he said they don't like to see anything over 13.5 volts on the card. Trouble is the DC bus routinely goes over that when charging the batteries. They need to beef up their card to handle more than 13.5 volts.

Do we need to add some sort of voltage regulator just prior to the card? Is there something that would fit inside the fan housing?

[stephen99]

Originally Posted by Ian and Sue

Do we need to add some sort of voltage regulator just prior to the card? Is there something that would fit inside the fan housing?

I wondered about that too and asked the question in another thread on this forum and someone posted a link to this regulator. I never did pursue it.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...C9B25845&psc=1

[jkordzi]

Yesterday I installed the motor that activates the hatch. It's just held in by a few screws and has one lead with a quick disconnect. Only took about 10 minutes. I did take apart the old motor and saw that a few of the teeth on one of the steel gears were broken off. Finally the fan and hatch work properly. If this goes out again, I'm going to look for a simpler and more reliable solution.

[jkordzi]

Originally Posted by jkordzi

Yesterday I installed the motor that activates the hatch. It's just held in by a few screws and has one lead with a quick disconnect. Only took about 10 minutes. I did take apart the old motor and saw that a few of the teeth on one of the steel gears were broken off. Finally the fan and hatch work properly. If this goes out again, I'm going to look for a simpler and more reliable solution.

Well, we're on the road and the maxx fan is acting up again on its first outing since being repaired. Same thing as last time - the fan starts beeping at random intervals. Also, after we got back from checking out the Grand Canyon (Spectacular! Recommend Trailer Village RV park), the fan was running with the hatch closed, apparently starting up on its own. At this point, after replacing the circuit board, and the hatch motor, I've concluded that the unit design is basically defective or that it was not intended to be used in this application. Not sure what my options are regarding warranty at this point, but if either the MaxxAir Fan people or ETI won't replace the unit with a more reliable fan that the 7500K, I do it myself.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by jkordzi

Well, we're on the road and the maxx fan is acting up again on its first outing since being repaired. Same thing as last time - the fan starts beeping at random intervals. Also, after we got back from checking out the Grand Canyon (Spectacular! Recommend Trailer Village RV park), the fan was running with the hatch closed, apparently starting up on its own. At this point, after replacing the circuit board, and the hatch motor, I've concluded that the unit design is basically defective or that it was not intended to be used in this application. Not sure what my options are regarding warranty at this point, but if either the MaxxAir Fan people or ETI won't replace the unit with a more reliable fan that the 7500K, I do it myself.

I installed a dc to dc voltage regulator and conformal coated the boards. With a regulated 12.0 volts to the board and somewhat moisture resistant, the fan controls should last longer. It's only been in operation with these changes for a couple of months but I expect that it is now good.

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f8...tor-14667.html

Just replacing failed boards and hoping that will fix the problem - well....

Einstein once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

[jkordzi]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

I installed a dc to dc voltage regulator and conformal coated the boards. With a regulated 12.0 volts to the board and somewhat moisture resistant, the fan controls should last longer. It's only been in operation with these changes for a couple of months but I expect that it is now good.

http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f8...tor-14667.html

Just replacing failed boards and hoping that will fix the problem - well....

Einstein once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

This morning there was quite of condensation dripping from the fan so I'm pretty close to concluding that is a big part of the problem. I was thinking of doing a conformal coating and actually bought some, but called the MaxxAir people about it and they wouldn't even talk to me about considering it. I also saw that some of the non-resister/capacitor components on the board had openings and was afraid the conformal coating wold plug them up and cause a problem. Would you describe how you did the coating? Maybe if it's still alive when we get back to Dallas, I'll coat it. Thanks.

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by jkordzi

Would you describe how you did the coating? Maybe if it's still alive when we get back to Dallas, I'll coat it. Thanks.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Condensation is just part of the problem. The Maxxfan control board really doesn't like voltage over 13.5.

[jkordzi]

Originally Posted by tdf-texas

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Condensation is just part of the problem. The Maxxfan control board really doesn't like voltage over 13.5.

So did you just slather the coating over the whole board, or did you avoid certain areas?

[tdf-texas]

Originally Posted by jkordzi

So did you just slather the coating over the whole board, or did you avoid certain areas?

On the voltage regulator, the only places you want to avoid are the terminal strips, heat sink surfaces, and the voltage adjust pot until it's set. The acrylic conformal can be soldered without removal but realistically, if it failed, a new one is only $10. Not worth repairing. The only failures I've heard so far have been due to corrosion on the terminals - dielectric grease will stop that.

On the Maxxfan control board, the only things to avoid are just the plug in connectors and if you want to waterproof them, use dielectric grease.

https://www.amazon.com/Permatex-2205...A9297VVY64VFF1

[dfandrews]

(Alert: meandering idea; I'll get to the point at the end!!)

I have been wondering about all the problems that seem to be showing up with control boards and other electronics, in fans, furnaces, frigs., etc.

My 2015 escape has always worked perfectly well, and for a long time after I first started reading this forum (2014) I read little/almost nothing about such problems.
I know from other experiences that bad or poor grounding is tough on electrical equipment, and is horrendous on electronic equipment. Some of the most obscure gremlins I've encountered have been grounding issues.
When we toured the Escape factory (Nov. 2014) after placing our order, one of the questions I asked was about wired grounds versus chassis-only grounds. I was assured, and also shown, the large gauge wired grounding throughout.
Now I am wondering if that has changed, and whether many of the issues with control boards and other electronics, and also more extreme voltages, could be a result of poor grounding.

Some possibles: Higher resistance grounding paths due to chassis-only paths or to poor connections, or intermittent connections again due to connection methods and quality.
Your thoughts?

[cpaharley2008]

Great thoughts, out of the box, which maybe what is needed.....I'll defer to the experts.

[suncoastdancers]

Originally Posted by jkordzi

This morning there was quite of condensation dripping from the fan so I'm pretty close to concluding that is a big part of the problem. I was thinking of doing a conformal coating and actually bought some, but called the MaxxAir people about it and they wouldn't even talk to me about considering it. I also saw that some of the non-resister/capacitor components on the board had openings and was afraid the conformal coating wold plug them up and cause a problem. Would you describe how you did the coating? Maybe if it's still alive when we get back to Dallas, I'll coat it. Thanks.

I don't believe the Maxxfan circuit boards are properly shielded from condensation. I had to replace a board under warranty that had clear water damage. Condensation coalesced under the lid to pool on the board. Damage shown in attached pics. I had a similar issue with my Atwood furnace (not on an Escape), where the circuit boards are exposed to condensation forming inside the unit, just from sitting in storage during our damp Northwestern winters.

[Greg A]

I have to agree with Don’s thoughts. I have a 2015 19 that from an electrical and appliance standpoint has been rock solid. Having been on the forum for a long time it seems that the issues have definitely ramped up in the last year or two with the current models. ETI is producing a higher # of trailers each year with the new facility, so the greater # of issues being discussed could just be related to a volume correlation.
Of course without any hard data of how many trailers are experiencing these issues vs how many total trailers produced we can’t tell if it is a real problem or a small vocal group. IE the frameless window issue. Apparently ETI made the decision to move away from those windows based on data they were tracking. If they are tracking the furnace and fan issues and move away from those products then we can assume it is based on an unacceptable failure rate.

[gbaglo]

And, it's rare for anybody to post, out of the blue, that they have an appliance and it has no issues. Sometimes as rare as reading the manual.

[ThomasG]

Originally Posted by dfandrews

My 2015 escape has always worked perfectly well, and for a long time after I first started reading this forum (2014) I read little/almost nothing about such problems.

We have a 2017 5.0TA with a MaxxFan 7000k without any electrical problems with any of the appliances during our approximately 5 total months of camping. We almost always run the MaxxFan with a window open at least a little unless we were running the air conditioner. This includes using the 10% setting when it was cold outside (slightly below freezing). We have mostly camped with shore power, but sometimes dry camped with battery/solar power. However, I now have voltage regulators and conformal coating on my to do list.

[padlin]

Nothing to do with the circuit bd, but I just ordered a replacement lid as the original has cracks at the hinge (2014). When I mentioned the web site says Limited Lifetime Warranty on the lid they dropped the 2 year warranty and are shipping one out, easy enough.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by padlin

Nothing to do with the circuit bd, but I just ordered a replacement lid as the original has cracks at the hinge (2014). When I mentioned the web site says Limited Lifetime Warranty on the lid they dropped the 2 year warranty and are shipping one out, easy enough.

Bob just saw your post and took a picture of our Vent lid that also was cracked and I taped it on the outside . Can you give me any information on how to get a replacement too . Thankyou . Pat

[padlin]

call tech support @ 316-832-4357, think it was option 2 then 1. you need the serial #, which on mine was under the removable screen. just don't tell them you hit a tree branch.

[Patandlinda]

Originally Posted by padlin

call tech support @ 316-832-4357, think it was option 2 then 1. you need the serial #, which on mine was under the removable screen. just don't tell them you hit a tree branch.

Thank you Bob . I really don't remember hitting a tree branch . Mine looks like yours . I think it just is stress on the hinge . Maybe a breeze kicks up and moved it around especially when we were sleeping . Is it hard to change out ? Pat