Propane Detector Going Off

[Quadron]

Originally Posted by richard5933

There may or may not be ground/negative connections behind each individual light. Some will be wired with a pos & neg wire running to the light, and others will be wired with only a positive wire and the negative connection made to the shell.

Either way, the ground/negative behind the individual lights is likely not the problem. A much more likely source would be a failing common ground/negative connection point like I detailed earlier. I'd start with those.

Something that might help too is to wiggle/jiggle/tug on all the ground/negative connections while the LED lights are on and someone is inside the trailer watching for flickering. If you can reproduce the flicker by doing this you'll have isolated a problem. Even if you can't reproduce it, checking & cleaning all the connections is still a good idea. It should be on everyone' annual maintenance schedule after the trailer gets to be a few years old.

That sounds like a good place to start troubleshooting. I think I found the ground connection under the trailer.

[MrRivet]

If it’s not a wiring issue it could be the “End of Life” alarm activating. We had the same issue with our LP detector in our 2004 International several years back. The detector would alarm in the middle of the night. We found out that the detector had a manufacturer designed “End of life” alarm that would sound to insure that it would be replaced. The only solution was to replace it. We have also found this same “End of Life” alarm in smoke and CO detectors. Our current CO detector recently alarmed its “End of Life” alarm so that is on our list to buy. The only way to stop that alarm was to remove the battery from the CO detector. If you have some basic maintenance skills, the LP detector is an easy change out. Make sure that the power is disconnected to the detector prior to replacing it.

Safe Travels!!

[MrRivet]

If you don’t find any bad wiring or ground connections for the LEDs, it’s possible that the LED light assemblies could be going bad. Depending on quality of the LEDs, they do fail over time. Several years ago, we had converted our lights (38) to LED over several months prior to a 4 month trip. To finish off the conversion, we made a bulk purchase of LEDs from an online vendor. Shortly after we started our trip, the LEDs started to fail just as you described. By the end of the trip we had about 12 of those fail. We assume that we got a bad batch with the bulk purchase. The other LEDs that we had replaced from different vendors have continued to function with no problems. The replacement LEDs for the failed LEDs have continued to function with no flickering. In my troubleshooting I had checked all connections and monitored the voltages to make sure there weren’t any issues. The connections were tight and the DC voltages were within the 12-14 volt range as provided by the system.

Safe Travels!!

[JMynes]

My detector used to go off when the dog slept against it, no flatulence needed.
Maybe she restricted the airflow, or it could have been dander, I don’t know. When I repositioned the dog bed the problem went away.

[AnotherBob]

Originally Posted by JMynes

My detector used to go off when the dog slept against it, no flatulence needed.
Maybe she restricted the airflow, or it could have been dander, I don’t know. When I repositioned the dog bed the problem went away.

Def sounds like an electrical issue. When reconnecting our propane detector after pulling the fuse for the storage season it will sound off for at least a minute and then behave.
Hope this helps
Bob

[suncoasteng]

Does it happen when the AC is on ? Are your windows open?
Try putting a small box fan near the detector and allow it to run all night to see if it occurs with good air movement.

[Rich Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Quadron

I am looking for tips on next best steps to keep my damn propane detector from going off in my 2015 Airstream Classic 30.

The Owners Manual for my 2022 GT indicates the LPG/CO detector has a five-year life. If yours is a 2015, and has never been replaced, I'd start by replacing it since there is a good chance it needs to be changed out anyway.

Quick search yields a typical replacement runs around $100.

https://www.woodlandairstreamparts.c...e-gas-detector

The image below is cut from page 2-3 of my Owners Manual, hopefully yours has similar info on the LPG detector.

[Quadron]

Okay, new developments that have boggled my mine.

The original natural gas detector kept going off, even though the propane had been shut off for several days, so I cut the wires because I thought low voltage was setting it off.

Turns out that wasn't it.

Since the first one was going off when propane was shut off, I decided I should order a replacement detector off amazon that plugs into wall power (USB). I got it in the mail and set it up.

This new alarm went off too! And not just once, but many times now.

So I figured I guess I might actually have a propane leak? So I shut off the propane lines again the first time it went off.

Well, guess what? The freaking alarm keeps going off like 1 out of every 3 nights, even though the propane tanks have been shut off.

This new propane sensor has a gas percentage reading on it, and it starts going off when it detects something at 5% of the air. It gradually goes down once I start airing out the trailer. I'm not sure what gas it is detecting though, because how can it be propane if the tanks have been turned off for like a week? Why would it keep going off night after night? Why does it exclusively only go off at night? Tonight it went off at 1 AM.

What other gases could it be detecting? Could my lithium-ion batteries be going bad and leaking some kind of gas it is detecting? Could something else in the airstream be causing it? And I'm certain it isn't farts. It's more like a burst of whatever it is that is setting it off. I did try moving the sensor around the trailer with the USB cable, and it seemed to detect the 5% in the air all around the cabin, near the floor, near the ceiling--the moment I held the sensor in the open air outside the 5% dropped to less than 1% within about 10 seconds.

Also, I have never smelled any propane smell in the trailer. Whatever it is setting it off seems to be odorless. Any thoughts on what it could be detecting?

I should note that I'm in a spot near the RV parks existing large propane tank--(again though I've never smelled propane). As far as I know, no other RVs alarms are going off, so I don't think the big tank is leaking.

Could the black tank be setting it off somehow? Could it be detecting the CO2 from our breathing (if that was the case, wouldn't it also go off during the day?)? It has never gone off during the daytime, not even once. But at night, it has gone off probably 7 times now. I am at such a loss right now.

Keeping the window open to keep new air circulating seems to be the only way to prevent it from going off.

[Quadron]

Originally Posted by Rich Jenkins

The Owners Manual for my 2022 GT indicates the LPG/CO detector has a five-year life. If yours is a 2015, and has never been replaced, I'd start by replacing it since there is a good chance it needs to be changed out anyway.

Quick search yields a typical replacement runs around $100.

https://www.woodlandairstreamparts.c...e-gas-detector

The image below is cut from page 2-3 of my Owners Manual, hopefully yours has similar info on the LPG detector.

The detector was replaced less than a year ago because the original was going off when there wasn't a leak... so I guess whatever it is has been causing all three detectors to go off most likely.

[Fungus]

Some theories…

Refrigerator leak. Can ammonia set off the alarm? Set your USB-powered detector near the fridge either inside or outside the trailer. Is the exterior vent unobstructed (top and bottom)?

Is it possible that there could be off-gassing of new products (upholstery, fabrics, countertops, glues) in the trailer? Or possibly the use of cleansers that off-gas.

A (not very good) Theory: During the day the concentration of gasses is high but not high enough to set off the alarm. Opening the door clears some of gasses. Your sensor shows the concentration level. Your closed door and your breathing inches the concentration high enough after a few hours to set off the alarm.

Tests:
1. Keep the trailer closed during the day. Visit a couple of local distilleries. Which reminds me…alcohol can set one off.
2. It’s impossible to know what other gasses may be in the trailer. Use only water for household cleaning. No cologne. No spraying of personal products or other products.

[Mollysdad]

On a previous MH, I cleaned some glue off a floor tile using "goof-off" OMG! the propane detector went nuts. Lots of chemicals set off the propane alarm

Febreeze.
Hair spray.
Cooking sprays.
Sunscreen sprays.
Carpet cleaning chemicals.
Human and dog farts (seriously)
Cat litter boxes?

The night alarm is odd, but maybe the air is more still at night and odors puddle near the floor where the propane detector is sniffing. Is the dog sleeping near it???