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08-29-2021, 12:09 AM
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#1
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Port Moody, British Columbia
Trailer: 2019 17B
Posts: 39
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SeeLevel II install in 2019 17B
Hi all,
I recently went through installing a SeeLevel II system in our 2019 17B and thought it would be worthwhile to share the experience.
I talked with both ETI and Garnet before ordering the parts and here is the finalized list. I had to order direct from Garnet.
- 1 x 709-HP3W SeeLeveL II Tank Monitor $143.597
- 1 x 709-HP3W_6P_PT Pigtail $0.00
- 1 x 709-HP3W_7P_PT Pigtail $0.00
- 3 x 710-JS Junior Sender $240.75
- 1 x 215-709_FILLER Filler Panel, 709 $7.95
Total with shipping (to BC) and taxes came to $440.43. All prices in CAD.
In addition to the above, I also used the following which I either had on hand or got from a local hardware/automotive parts store:
- a bunch of 14-16 AWG (blue) butt crimp connectors.
- some 1/4" or 3/8" cable loom (not sure, had it on hand).
- some zip-ties.
- a roll of gorilla tape.
- a can of rubberized rocker-guard spray paint.
- 4 #6 screws for mounting the new panel.
- some adhesive good for plastics (I used RTV silicone).
I'll break the install into a few separate posts for my own sanity.
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08-29-2021, 12:38 AM
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#2
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Port Moody, British Columbia
Trailer: 2019 17B
Posts: 39
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Removing the old panel.
Step 0: Disconnect power via the battery shut-off switch under the rear dinette!
The first major thing to do was to remove the old panel and figure out the wiring. It was not what I'd call pretty back there. The old panel comes out easily enough with a screwdriver.
I'm going to give a disclaimer here that this info is for my particular escape. It seems the person doing the wiring was pretty happy to just grab whatever colour was closest so I can't say for sure that anyone else's Escape will have the same colouring.
In the attached picture, I traced the following (referencing wires attached directly to the panel):
- White = ground.
- Red = 12V.
- Purple = switched 12V to pump.
- Light Grey = switched 12V to water heater ignition.
- Pink = water heater DSI LED anode.
- Brown/Blue/Grey = tank sensors.
Note: I started tracing the tank sensor wires to the tanks and confirmed that blue was for fresh (intuitive!). I never did trace the grey/brown wires as I realized, after a while, that those three wires are going to be connected together for the SeeLevel II monitor so there was no point.
Once I figured out the wires, I just cut the wires to make my life easy. Many of the wires change colour via butt-splice shortly after leaving the rear of the panel. I ended up attaching most of the new wires via new butt connectors so it wasn't too important where I made the cut. That said...
If you're following this post in your own trailer, do not cut the pink wire for the DSI LED close to the LED/panel. Cut it at the other end of the pink wire (where it was butt-spliced to a blue wire in my case). We're going to re-use this LED in the new panel!
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08-29-2021, 01:16 AM
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#3
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Port Moody, British Columbia
Trailer: 2019 17B
Posts: 39
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New panel preparation.
Next, I needed to prepare the opening for the SeeLevel II panel. There were three main steps here:
- Remove the DSI LED from the KIB panel.
- Drill holes in the filler panel from Garnet that align with the old holes in the Escape for the KIB panel.
- Make the opening in the Escape a little bigger to accommodate the new panel.
The DSI LED was attached very well to the KIB panel with some adhesive that was very strong but had a little give to it. I was able to work it free from the panel with a screwdriver, needle-nose pliers and patience. Once free of the panel, I removed any adhesive that was still stuck to the LED to get it ready for the new panel.
For the filler panel mounting holes, I simply used the KIB panel as a template over the filler panel from Garnet. I don't recall the drill size I used but I just used the KIB panel to measure drill bits until I found the right one. I am somewhat anal so I used a centre-finding pin vise to drill pilot holes in the filler panel.
I've shown a picture of the opening modifications I did. I just used a utility knife to repeatedly score the board until it broke free. This is a nice and dust-free way to cut the wood but I'm sure it's not the quickest. The hole is widened to fit the additional width of the SeeLevel II and the little notch at the top left is to fit the DSI LED in its new location. It's up quite high as it has to clear the front panel of the SeeLevel II which is larger than the opening.
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08-29-2021, 01:45 AM
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#4
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Port Moody, British Columbia
Trailer: 2019 17B
Posts: 39
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New panel wire connections.
The new panel wire connections were fairly straightforward. The summary of connections is below. Note that, for some of them, I cut off the old butt-splice connector and made the connection to the (possibly different coloured) wire coming from behind the wood paneling.
Pigtail A:
- Red (+12V power input to monitor)
- to red that was on KIB panel.
- to pigtail B yellow.
- to pigtail B grey.
- Black (Ground)
- to white that was on KIB panel.
- to pigtail B orange.
- to DSI LED white.
- Blue (Tank senders)
- to blue/grey/brown that were on KIB panel, all connected together.
- White (Pump indicator)
- to pigtail B purple.
- to purple that was on KIB panel.
- White/Blue (Heater indicator)
- to pigtail B green/yellow.
- to light grey that was on KIB panel.
- Green (LPG tank)
Pigtail B
- Orange (3 way pump switch terminal 1)
- Purple (3 way pump switch common)
- Yellow (3 way pump switch terminal 2)
- Grey (Heater in)
- Green/Yellow (Heater out)
In addition to the above, the DSI LED needs to be reconnected as it was before, LED pink wire back to where it was and the other white wire back with the rest of the ground wires (pigtail A black).
Note: At this point, I also drilled a hole in the Garnet filler panel for the DSI LED and fixed the LED in place on the panel with some RTV silicone.
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08-29-2021, 01:50 AM
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#5
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Port Moody, British Columbia
Trailer: 2019 17B
Posts: 39
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Install panel.
Note the DSI LED above the heater switch. Nice!
I think at this point I had to run to the hardware store to get some #6 screws as Garnet didn't provide any.
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08-29-2021, 02:00 AM
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#6
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Port Moody, British Columbia
Trailer: 2019 17B
Posts: 39
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Install sensors (temporarily!).
The next step is to install the tank sensors in a temporary fashion to allow for testing of placement before making things permanent. I just used painter's tape for that purpose.
Note: Make sure you cut the appropriate tabs on the sensor for the black and grey tank sensors before mounting.
The wiring is quite easy. Disconnect the old sensor circuit and connect up the Garnet sensor, black to black and blue to red.
The fresh and grey water sensors are easy enough to find under the trailer. The black tank sensor is actually accessed through a panel that is located on a wooden enclosure underneath the front dinette seat.
The hole under the panel is just barely big enough to get your hand in so I made it a little bigger to make things easier. The black water tank is also not as high as the other two so I had to cut off one sensor section from the bottom of the senor. I just used a utility knife for this and scored the circuit board until the bottom sensor snapped off easily.
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08-29-2021, 02:08 AM
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#7
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Port Moody, British Columbia
Trailer: 2019 17B
Posts: 39
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Test the system.
Now you can try everything out.
The SeeLevel II manual goes through some diagnostic checks to show the signal level for each sensor. The manual says sensor signal power is typically 50-60% and should be at least 20%. What they neglect to mention (and is actually an important piece of information) is that a signal value of 100% is displayed as 00. Thank you Garnet tech support for letting me in on that secret, I was really starting to think I was going crazy until I called them.
Mine were all reading 00 (100%).
I filled each tank with some water and watched the levels rise to make sure things were working OK. For the black tank, I filled it until it would be getting scary in the bathroom if it was actually black water and noted the %-full indication on the panel (95%).
This is the time to make any sensor position adjustments if you feel they could be positioned better.
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08-29-2021, 02:22 AM
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#8
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Port Moody, British Columbia
Trailer: 2019 17B
Posts: 39
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Finish up the sensor install.
Once the sensor positions were figured out, I attached them to the tanks with the built-in adhesive on the back of each sensor.
I used cable loom to cover the exposed wiring and zip ties to keep the new (and old) wires from bouncing around.
Although not mentioned in the Garnet manual, the tech support person I talked to earlier recommended taping across the top of each sensor with Gorilla tape as a bit of a strain relief for the wires coming from the sensor.
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08-29-2021, 02:25 AM
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#9
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Port Moody, British Columbia
Trailer: 2019 17B
Posts: 39
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Spray coating for debris protection.
Finally, to protect the outside sensors against road debris, I sprayed them over with rubberized rock guard paint.
Done.
I have one trip now with the SeeLevel II and I have to say it offers a lot of peace of mind when camping for an extended time without full hookups.
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08-29-2021, 08:42 AM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: East of Austin, Texas
Trailer: 2021 Escape 5.0 / 2022 F150 SuperCab
Posts: 2,866
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Nice write-up, thanks for sharing
Can you post the "rubberized rock guard paint" product brand / name / number that you used in the final step?
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08-29-2021, 09:38 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: Dallas, Texas
Trailer: 2019 E19
Posts: 265
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Nice work and excellent DIY article. I'm sure a lot of others will benefit from this information. My plans have been to get the trailer with the standard sensor setup and possibly upgrade at some point down the road.
I'm a bit baffled as to why the See Level capacitive sensor boards aren't potted on the component side or dipped in a heavy conformal coating from the manufacturer. Its hard to tell from the pics did they at least have a clear conformal coating sprayed on them covering the surface mount components and the board? I would hope so if Garnet planned on them being installed in an exterior application.
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08-29-2021, 10:23 AM
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#12
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Port Moody, British Columbia
Trailer: 2019 17B
Posts: 39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Centex
Can you post the "rubberized rock guard paint" product brand / name / number that you used in the final step?
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Rust Check Stone Shield Premium Rubberized Rocker Guard.
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08-29-2021, 10:30 AM
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#13
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Member
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Port Moody, British Columbia
Trailer: 2019 17B
Posts: 39
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chamberman
I'm a bit baffled as to why the See Level capacitive sensor boards aren't potted on the component side or dipped in a heavy conformal coating from the manufacturer. Its hard to tell from the pics did they at least have a clear conformal coating sprayed on them covering the surface mount components and the board? I would hope so if Garnet planned on them being installed in an exterior application.
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There didn't appear to be any conformal coating at all on the sensors as supplied. Perhaps the original market was bigger rigs with tanks fully inside the RV? Also, if they did, it would have be a clear coating so that the sensor could still be configured and resized easily (or the coating would require some printing on it for the tabs and cut points). Would need to be very flexible too.
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08-29-2021, 11:51 AM
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#14
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: East of Austin, Texas
Trailer: 2021 Escape 5.0 / 2022 F150 SuperCab
Posts: 2,866
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chrispy35
Rust Check Stone Shield Premium Rubberized Rocker Guard.
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Thank You
(it's toluene solvent-based, that's what I wanted to check since it worked for you, all good! )
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08-29-2021, 12:22 PM
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#15
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2020
Location: Dallas, Texas
Trailer: 2019 E19
Posts: 265
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chrispy35
There didn't appear to be any conformal coating at all on the sensors as supplied. Perhaps the original market was bigger rigs with tanks fully inside the RV? Also, if they did, it would have be a clear coating so that the sensor could still be configured and resized easily (or the coating would require some printing on it for the tabs and cut points). Would need to be very flexible too.
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Yes you're probably right, designed for the higher end trailers and coaches where the tanks are in an interior location.
There are some insulating sprays that manufacturers will use for boards destined for use in semi-wet or high humidity locations to try and keep the components and solder joints from corroding or worse shorting out. Its generally a clear spray and is shiny so it gives the board & components a "wet" look. In fact its more identifiable on the components than the board due to the fact some board solder masks (the green portion) will be shiny on their own.
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