Maxair fan INOP - Dutchmen Owners
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Old 10-12-2016, 10:03 PM   #1
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Maxair fan INOP

Hi all, I installed a Maxair fan (without remote) in the bathroom of my Kodiak 240BHSL about a year ago. I tapped into the wires that feed the light in the bathroom (black was power and white was ground). It ran fine up until a month ago then stopped working. I recently dropped down the cover to inspect the wires and I'm not sure what is going on. I'm on the road right now so I do not have access to a volt meter which I know would really help!!
Anyway, first I found that my ground wire (white) had come loose at the crimp connector. I repaired that and now when I turn the switch on the fan "chirps" like it powered up but then nothing is there. So it seems to get a little burst of power then it goes away. I also noticed when I fixed the wire that when I turn the light off the light itself is really slow to go dark. I think this may be significant in diagnosing it? I feel I may have a ground problem but Im nor sure. I know I'm shooting in the dark without a voltmeter but thought I'd post here for some idea's.
My next step is to try running a long ground wire to somewhere else and see if that fixes it. Any other idea's?
Thanks,
Randy
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Old 10-12-2016, 10:41 PM   #2
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Randy,

A bad ground can cause all sorts of strange things to happen. I would guess if the ground is the problem, you ave another bad connector upstream of the fan.

If you have a wire long enough to get to a good ground, that's a good place to start. If that is the problem, then trace the circuit to the next fixture and check the connections. Go all the way to the panel if you can, or to a fixture on the circuit that is working.
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Old 10-13-2016, 12:00 AM   #3
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Thanks

Yea, without a volt meter my options are pretty limited , I was hoping with the clue of the light slow in going out when the fan was connected (shut's off fine when fan is not wired in) it would help someone narrow it down as far as power or ground for me.
Anyway, looks like I'll hit the hardware store and buy some wire to extend things to another circuit tomorrow. If that doesn't fix it then I'll be at my inlays in 2 weeks and he'll have a volt meter.
Thanks again,
Randy
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Old 10-13-2016, 02:24 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rcharrette View Post
Yea, without a volt meter my options are pretty limited , I was hoping with the clue of the light slow in going out when the fan was connected (shut's off fine when fan is not wired in) it would help someone narrow it down as far as power or ground for me.
Anyway, looks like I'll hit the hardware store and buy some wire to extend things to another circuit tomorrow. If that doesn't fix it then I'll be at my inlays in 2 weeks and he'll have a volt meter.
Thanks again,
Randy
It sounds like the problem might be with the fan itself. If the light works properly without the fan then that's the potential problem.
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Old 10-13-2016, 03:43 PM   #5
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Harbor Freight has some good (cheap) volt meters & test light to buy. Have one of each in my Rv tool kit. Fact is there nicer test light I bought two. One for the Rv & other for my tool box in the shop.
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