MicroPulse System not Working

[SeeMore]

I hope your efforts are rewarded! Please post your experience. I might be energized to move beyond eyeballing the crapper and being responsible for announcing "time to dump."

[Bruce B]

Originally Posted by SeeMore

I hope your efforts are rewarded! Please post your experience. I might be energized to move beyond eyeballing the crapper and being responsible for announcing "time to dump."

Just make sure you turn off the vent fan before you stick your face over the toilet for a look see...

I have it on order. Should be a next weekend project. I will take pictures and post something here.
Bruce

[tkowalyk]

Originally Posted by Bruce B

I have decided to chanje out the Catcom system for one made made by Garnet Instruments. SeeLeveL Gauges by Garnet Instruments Ltd. - Model 709-P3

The sensors attach to the outside of the tanks and should not be impacted by the same issues standard sensors are.

I am purchasing the system directly from the manufacturer and it should be here next week. I will post pictures of the installation and report back here on my success or failure.

Wish me luck!
Bruce

Bruce,

Can't wait to see the results.

Thanks,

Tom

[rperrym]

Can anyone tell me how to get access to the tank sensors in my 2012 Eddie Bauer? The dealer claims you have to cut an access hole to replace them. Then they fabricate a cover with similar material and seal it back. Does this sound correct. I am tempted to not repair it.
Thanks,
Rick

[Silver Goose]

This is what the sensor looks like. I haven't put an eyeball on one yet. They should be threaded into a fitting on the side near the bottom of each tank presumably near the drain pipes for the GW and BW tanks. They could also be fitted into to the bottom of the drain pipes between the tanks and the dump valves. I think the dealer was correct and hopefully they know their locations or it would be a hit or miss affair cutting holes to find them. I believe many of the late model trailers have an access plate near the FW tank drain valve, that sensor may be accessible through it. I'm sure some one out here has been in there and can provide better details.

[SStar]

Originally Posted by SeeMore

Interesting dilemma and one I would find somewhat encouraging. Our monitoring system hasn't worked at all during our ownership despite having tried everything short of complete removal. I've come to believe they are just decoration units for the wall.

Same with our 2004 Classic. The system has never worked since we bought the trailer, after owning SOBs with never a problem on the monitor systems. I figured it would be an easy fix. Checked everything, has power to operate the water pump but no lights on the tank levels. I have never been able to get Catcon on the phone.
After reading about all of the problems with the same system in later model Airstreams makes me wander why Airstream continues to put this kind of crap in an otherwise pretty good product.

[Bruce B]

Originally Posted by SStar

Same with our 2004 Classic. The system has never worked since we bought the trailer, after owning SOBs with never a problem on the monitor systems. I figured it would be an easy fix. Checked everything, has power to operate the water pump but no lights on the tank levels. I have never been able to get Catcon on the phone.
After reading about all of the problems with the same system in later model Airstreams makes me wander why Airstream continues to put this kind of crap in an otherwise pretty good product.

Word is, they are in the process of changing from this to something else, probably for 2014 model year trailer production.
We'll have to wait and see what they choose...
Bruce

[dlb435]

Originally Posted by rperrym

Can anyone tell me how to get access to the tank sensors in my 2012 Eddie Bauer? The dealer claims you have to cut an access hole to replace them. Then they fabricate a cover with similar material and seal it back. Does this sound correct. I am tempted to not repair it.
Thanks,
Rick

This is only true for the fresh water tank. You can get to the other sensors but it is not easy. Some times it's easier to cut an access hole than it is to remove parts to get to the sensor. If your fresh water tank level is working; this is the only sensor you really need. If you don't use your fresh water system too often it might be better to just do without it.
Black water is easy to see.
Grey water is full when the shower quiets draining.
Battery level is easy to check with a meter of some type or when the lights start to dim.
If you spend enough time in the trailer you get a feel of just how full tanks are without even looking.

FYI - one bad Micro Pulse sensor will disable the system. The one that most often fails is the black water sensor. Unplug the sensors one at a time. Restart the panel each time to see if it works.

[Bruce B]

Originally Posted by dlb435

.....

FYI - one bad Micro Pulse sensor will disable the system. The one that most often fails is the black water sensor. Unplug the sensors one at a time. Restart the panel each time to see if it works.

On our Airstream the rest of system will work just fine with a single sensor failure. If you get a bad wire or an electrical disconnect within the sensor it will just fail to illuminate the affected bar graph on the monitor. When a sensor plugs on the black water tank the monitor just tends to read incorrectly....
Bruce

[rperrym]

Well, the dealer had to cut an access hole to get to the grey water tank sensor. The tech said the sensor came out in two pieces. He replaced it and covered the opening with material like the outside of the trailer. I can see it was caulked and riveted in place. Looks like a good job, but not what I wanted on my new trailer. I should have told them not to replace it but I was not aware of the repair plan. So it goes.
Also they replaced the transfer switch. The factory sent a new one so I hope it lasts, but I am not sure it is any different.
Thanks for the replies.
Rick

[tkowalyk]

Our Black tank sensor did not work on our first trip with the new AS Classic. It only registered empty.

I followed the instructions on how to calibrate a single sensor. I had ro read and re-read the instructions a couple of times. The manual was pretty clear and showed the LED location for calibration.

After resetting and calibrating the black sensor (first for empty, then full) the sensor is working perfectly.

We had problems with the black tank sensor on our 2006 Safari -- after replacing the black tank sensor (and sealing the connector with silicone) we had 6 years of trouble free use.

Hope this helps.

[SStar]

Originally Posted by rperrym

Well, the dealer had to cut an access hole to get to the grey water tank sensor. The tech said the sensor came out in two pieces. He replaced it and covered the opening with material like the outside of the trailer. I can see it was caulked and riveted in place. Looks like a good job, but not what I wanted on my new trailer. I should have told them not to replace it but I was not aware of the repair plan. So it goes.
Also they replaced the transfer switch. The factory sent a new one so I hope it lasts, but I am not sure it is any different.
Thanks for the replies.
Rick

Did they actually cut a hole in the side of your basically new Airstream? A picture would be very interesting to see.

[Bruce B]

Originally Posted by tkowalyk

Our Black tank sensor did not work on our first trip with the new AS Classic. It only registered empty.

I followed the instructions on how to calibrate a single sensor. I had ro read and re-read the instructions a couple of times. The manual was pretty clear and showed the LED location for calibration.

After resetting and calibrating the black sensor (first for empty, then full) the sensor is working perfectly.

We had problems with the black tank sensor on our 2006 Safari -- after replacing the black tank sensor (and sealing the connector with silicone) we had 6 years of trouble free use.

Hope this helps.

I am certain that the system can work well. In my case I am just frustrated by the lack of reliability of our system after a lot of time spent on my part trying to get it to a point of reliability. I honestly have no idea what I might be doing wrong here. I replaced sensors, wiring and even the panel (that had a fault that was easily duplicated so I know it was not correct). Our system was fine on the black tank for the best part of one year (for the most part....), I had no unreasonable expectations about the accuracy of the system I just wanted a general idea of when I needed to dump (perhaps all the more important on our trailer as the black and grey water tanks are combined so when your shower backs up.....).

We had full tanks reading empty, out of the blue after weeks of everything working just fine. We had empty tanks reading full, then empty, then full again. We lost sensor connection, we lost calibration, the system just drove me batty! I even used a voltage over time recording feature on a test tool to see if somehow the systems power was getting corrupted while towing. I checked for stray a/c voltage, I looked for everything I could think of! Finally I just gave up! Far too many other Airstreamers with this system just laughed at me when I asked "does yours work?".

Anyway, the new SeeLevel system came in last week and I am in the process of installing it. I had to make a bezel for the monitor panel as the Micropulse panel is bigger. Today I will wire it up and install sensors.
Reports later....
Bruce

[tkowalyk]

Originally Posted by Bruce B

Anyway, the new SeeLevel system came in last week and I am in the process of installing it. I had to make a bezel for the monitor panel as the Micropulse panel is bigger. Today I will wire it up and install sensors.
Reports later....
Bruce

Bruce,

Thanks. I am looking forward to the pictures and the long term report on the SeeLevel system.

Good Luck!

[rperrym]

No, the hole was cut in the bottom enclosure which I assume houses the grey water tank. So, it is not visible unless you crawl under the trailer. They also closed it up and sealed it.
Glad to hear from someone in Midland. I grew up there many years ago.
Rick

[Bruce B]

I decided to create a new post about my monitor replacement. Here is the link for anyone who is curious...
Bruce

http://www.airforums.com/forums/f163...ml#post1280175

[Snaken49]

Folks,

I've had problems with incorrect black water tank readings on my 2010 FC 28' since 4 or 5 trips after new purchase. The tank always read empty (green) even when full. I went through the re-calibrate deal a couple of times w/o success. Then finally on one trip the monitor began flashing and grew warm to the touch!

The CATCON factory is in Fort Worth, TX so I paid them a visit. They were extremely helpful and very much aware of the issues. As it turns out the symptoms I experienced were well known and documented (see attached pdf.) They also furnished a new sensor free of charge.

I removed the black sensor lead and found it totally corroded as well as the black sensor contact points as seen in the pic below. I followed the instructions from CATCON on replacing the sensor, coating the RJ11 plug and pot with automotive dielectric grease and sealing the cap with a generous amount of silicon sealant. This job is very easy with the most complicated part is replacing the RJ11 plug with a new one. Radio Shack has the plug and the crimping tool.

The problem with the black tank sensor was directly caused by water intruding from road spray into the RJ11 connector at the sensor head. As you can see in the pics below it is installed along with grey tank sensor directly behind the roadside trailer wheels. I also treated the grey plug and cap with with silicon sealant and dielectric grease as a precaution.

If you are experiencing similar problems with your tank monitoring system and own an AS model mention in the PDF, I strongly recommend that you inspect the RJ11 connector before wasting time in trying to calibrate the tanks.

In the end this issue could have been prevented by taking these steps at the AS factory installation of the Micro Pulse system. Hope this helps!

Thanks!

[KJRitchie]

I've got a 2008 Classic 25fb and the holding tanks are fully enclosed and the dump valves go into the enclosure. One drain pipe comes out. Can't see how to find access to any of the holding tank sensors without dropping the sheet metal pan for the waste and the Rotocast enclosure for the water tank.

Kelvin

[Snaken49]

Kelvin,

I would recommend sending a note to tech support at AS factory and ask theme the easiest way to access the sensors. They should be able to furnish the drawings and instruction by the serial number of your AS. Hope that helps!

[KJRitchie]

I sent AS a request for more information. Hopefully, they will respond. I also asked them if they have a flat rate labor charge for this procedure to remove/replace a waste tank sensor so I can compare what an RV shop charges for labor.

Kelvin