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Oh, the Alde questions

AlanAlan Member Posts: 120
in Heating/Plumbing & Winterizing
hot water and electric heat are not working. All fuses appear to be fine. ( I hope it would be obvious if not) propane heat and hot water were working fine. I just notice an electric cord with male plug not plugged into the outlet in the Alde compartment. Should it be plugged in? Of course, now the circulating pump has stopped humming and gurgling??? Any diagnostic steps to attempt?
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  • VernaVerna Member Posts: 6,878
    Yes, the Alde should be plugged into the electrical outlet. Plug it in and see if that fixes your problem. 
    Verna, Columbus, IN
    2021 T@B 320S  Boondock “The T@B”
    Towed by a white 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 Supercab, 3.5L V6 Ecoboost “The Truck”
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  • AlanAlan Member Posts: 120
    Will do. However the sudden loss of the circulating pump sound is a new bother. Thanks Verna. Apparently the service guy who replaced the reservoir forgot to plug the Alde in. 
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  • AlanAlan Member Posts: 120
    And it gets worse. Now,  not even the propane system is working!!? No ignition no pump ...total silence. The two fuses in the Alde and the one in the converter and the breaker in the convert are good. Is there a master breaker elsewhere that I'm missing? All other electrical system seem to be ok. Geez. 
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  • VernaVerna Member Posts: 6,878
    Alan, if you are familiar with a volt ohm meter, you can use it to confirm if the tiny glass fuses are blown. A complete short says the fuse is good, and an open will tell you they are blown. 

    Verify that hat you have changed your thermostat to electric (if you are on shore power).

    If you are on battery power, not shore power, then your battery must have enough voltage to start the Alde, otherwise it will not start. In this case your thermostat should be set to gas (the only choices are gas or electric).
    Verna, Columbus, IN
    2021 T@B 320S  Boondock “The T@B”
    Towed by a white 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 Supercab, 3.5L V6 Ecoboost “The Truck”
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  • AlanAlan Member Posts: 120
    A fuse checking device shows the three involved are good. I am befuddled and disappointed and a long way from anyone trained to help
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  • ChanWChanW Member Posts: 3,161
    edited March 2016
    Be sure before you plug that Alde power plug, or the shore-power plug, into the supply, that the Alde controls are in the 'off' position. I've noticed that applying the AC power when the Alde controller is switched On tends to blow the fuses inside the Alde.

    If any fuses are blown, your circulating pump will stop.

    You can try calling Little Guy for tech support.
    Chan  -  near Buffalo NY
    2014 S Maxx
    2011 Tacoma 4cyl ... edit: 2022 Tacoma 6cyl - oh yeah! 

     A_Little_T@b'll_Do_Ya
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  • ChanWChanW Member Posts: 3,161
    So Alan, if you plugged in the Alde after you checked the fuses, and that's also when the circulating pump stopped working, you might need to check those fuses again for the reason I mentioned above...

    Good luck, and keep us posted.
    Chan  -  near Buffalo NY
    2014 S Maxx
    2011 Tacoma 4cyl ... edit: 2022 Tacoma 6cyl - oh yeah! 

     A_Little_T@b'll_Do_Ya
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  • AlanAlan Member Posts: 120
    I will check the Alde fuses again just to be sure. However, the current hypothesis, suggested by Ed in Pleasant Valley, is that the circuit board has blown?! 
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  • Michigan_MikeMichigan_Mike Member Posts: 2,861
    Is the main fuse at the trailer battery, next to the propane tank blown?  And are you doing the tests with your trailer plugged into shore power?  
    Mike - Elmira, Mi / 2019 T@B 400 / 2021 Chevy Silverado LTZ
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  • AlanAlan Member Posts: 120
    I am testing with house power plugged in. Wouldn't the Main fuse blowing shut down everything? And is this main fuse easy to see? I haven't looked for it.
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  • VernaVerna Member Posts: 6,878
    Alan said:
    I am testing with house power plugged in. Wouldn't the Main fuse blowing shut down everything? And is this main fuse easy to see? I haven't looked for it.
    The main fuse on the battery's positive lead (wire), will shut down all 12V capabilities. If you were trying to to use propane before, it still needed a 12V spark to ignite the propane. The fuse will be in a little flat black holder on the wire coming from the positive (+) side of the battery. It should be a 30 amp fuse. If it looks OK, please still verify with your tester whether it is good or not. If it is blown, replace it with a 30 amp fuse. (Keep a few extras on hand.)

    Tell us what you find, please.  
    Verna, Columbus, IN
    2021 T@B 320S  Boondock “The T@B”
    Towed by a white 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 Supercab, 3.5L V6 Ecoboost “The Truck”
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  • ChanWChanW Member Posts: 3,161
    No Alan, the main fuse on the battery lead will only shut down the 12v supply from the battery, but the 12v supply via the converter from the shore power will still be available, if your fuses in the fuse box and in the Alde are good.
    Alan said:
    I am testing with house power plugged in. Wouldn't the Main fuse blowing shut down everything? And is this main fuse easy to see? I haven't looked for it.

    Chan  -  near Buffalo NY
    2014 S Maxx
    2011 Tacoma 4cyl ... edit: 2022 Tacoma 6cyl - oh yeah! 

     A_Little_T@b'll_Do_Ya
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  • AlanAlan Member Posts: 120
    edited March 2016
    Battery-located fuse is good.
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  • AlanAlan Member Posts: 120
    edited March 2016
    I'm going to the dark side. Tomorrow I will go to Camping World to have them check the electrical system for the Alde and maybe install a new circuit board...Ed at Pleasant Valley suggested they should be able to do that?? What do you think? Has anyone dealt with their service dept...I'm a little nervous
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  • VernaVerna Member Posts: 6,878
    Alan said:
    I'm going to the dark side. Tomorrow I will go to Camping World to have them check the electrical system for the Alde and maybe install a new circuit board...Ed at Pleasant Valley suggested they should be able to do that?? What do you think? Has anyone dealt with their service crept...I'm a little nervous
    If that's what Ed said to do, then you need to go. Obviously he thinks they are capable.
    Verna, Columbus, IN
    2021 T@B 320S  Boondock “The T@B”
    Towed by a white 2019 Ford F-150 4x4 Supercab, 3.5L V6 Ecoboost “The Truck”
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  • ChanWChanW Member Posts: 3,161
    Check the Alde fuses? I wonder if Camping World has had any experience with the Alde, and would know to check them. You'd think it'd be obvious to them, but you never know...
    Chan  -  near Buffalo NY
    2014 S Maxx
    2011 Tacoma 4cyl ... edit: 2022 Tacoma 6cyl - oh yeah! 

     A_Little_T@b'll_Do_Ya
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  • jkjennjkjenn Member Posts: 6,398
     (it was slightAlan said:
    I'm going to the dark side. Tomorrow I will go to Camping World to have them check the electrical system for the Alde and maybe install a new circuit board...Ed at Pleasant Valley suggested they should be able to do that?? What do you think? Has anyone dealt with their service crept...I'm a little nervous
    I had to use the CW service department in Golden, CO on a trip to fix a problem with my trailer lights (turned out to be bad ground.) They were phenomenal. They spent an hour and a half (unscheduled, mind you) on fixing my trailer so I could continue my trip.

    2021 T@b 320 Boondock "Mattie Ross" | 2021 T@b Nights: 239 | Total nights in a T@b 455 | 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L Overland | T@b owner since 2014

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  • Michigan_MikeMichigan_Mike Member Posts: 2,861
    Alan said:
    hot water and electric heat are not working. All fuses appear to be fine. ( I hope it would be obvious if not) propane heat and hot water were working fine. I just notice an electric cord with male plug not plugged into the outlet in the Alde compartment. Should it be plugged in? Of course, now the circulating pump has stopped humming and gurgling??? Any diagnostic steps to attempt?
    Have you in fact checked these fuses on the top of the ALDE unit?  If not and you do find these blown, turn the thermostat off first, replace them and then try to fire up the ALDE unit.

    Attached Image
    Mike - Elmira, Mi / 2019 T@B 400 / 2021 Chevy Silverado LTZ
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  • AlanAlan Member Posts: 120
    I have checked these. This has been quite an adventure, finding fuse, pulling fuses, checking fuses, putting fuses back in...cursing a little, crying uncontrollably and stomping my feet ( not in the T@B of course) But,
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  • AlanAlan Member Posts: 120
    An update/final (I hope) note. We have our T@B back from Camping World with the Alde operating as it should. The wait time had to do with shipping the circuit/control board to NC. The tech at CW spent only a couple of hours in analysis, removal and replacement. And he had never seen one before. Alde was very helpful. So, from us...thumbs up...so far anyway. 
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