1988 345... The adventure begins!

[Roby466]

Running the brand new furnace gives out some burning smell at first. The heat exchanger is painted so I suppose the paint is burning off.

Furnace is much quieter than the original and starts right away, every time!!

[Roby466]

Quick question:
The front furnace has the vent going forward by the door steps, the bottom vent goes in the box and comes out the floor vent under the cabinet, but the rear facing vent hose goes behind the cabinetry towards the shower. I can't find where it is supposed to exit. I am suspecting inside the shower area but my shower has been recovered with white acrylic sheets so if it was coming out there, they simply blocked it off.
I am thinking of removing the covering and doing it properly as it is a bit of a bad job but wonder about the vent. Anyone has pictures of where this 3rd heater vent should come out?
Thanks

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by Roby466

Quick question:
The front furnace has the vent going forward by the door steps, the bottom vent goes in the box and comes out the floor vent under the cabinet, but the rear facing vent hose goes behind the cabinetry towards the shower. I can't find where it is supposed to exit. I am suspecting inside the shower area but my shower has been recovered with white acrylic sheets so if it was coming out there, they simply blocked it off.
I am thinking of removing the covering and doing it properly as it is a bit of a bad job but wonder about the vent. Anyone has pictures of where this 3rd heater vent should come out?
Thanks

On a drivers side toilet sink coach, it should go under the floor and exit in the bathroom. This also serves for the heater protecting the bathroom plumbing

[Roby466]

Oh! Ok, The bedroom heater blows in there but it has a vent with two levers, maybe both heaters are connected to it. I will look into this! Thanks!

[Roby466]

Found where the heat goes. Now is it supposed to do that I don’t know.
The third vent from the front furnace (under sink) doesn’t blow to the toilet area. It seems to just blow between the shower and exterior skin where the fresh water pipes travel. Some heat ends up in the closet on the passenger side.
Could it be to simply keep the pipes from freezing?

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by Roby466

Oh! Ok, The bedroom heater blows in there but it has a vent with two levers, maybe both heaters are connected to it. I will look into this! Thanks!

Well, If the rear heater is feeding the bathroom, the front heaters rear hose may just have served to keep the shower plumbing from freezing.
The heating system changed every year

[Roby466]

yeah, I suppose they just sent that in there and left it. I wonder how much of that heat makes it outside the coach through the skin. I guess I'll do a trial this winter
There is a little bit of heat that keeps the bedroom closet nice and warm so I suppose that's a plus

I pulled my suspension air compressor. It builds up to 100psi but barely so new one on order. I could not find any parts to fix the one there. Motor is good, there is just a fair amount of leak by the piston due to age. It seems original so it has done its job I suppose.

[Roby466]

I ordered a VIAIR 400c. Will see how it goes but it looks like it should build some good pressure with good flow.

The one I had now just kept running and never stopped even if there were no leaks. The pressure gauge would just make it to the bottom of the ''green'' zone so it was not enough to trigger the cut off switch.

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by Roby466

I ordered a VIAIR 400c. Will see how it goes but it looks like it should build some good pressure with good flow.

The one I had now just kept running and never stopped even if there were no leaks. The pressure gauge would just make it to the bottom of the ''green'' zone so it was not enough to trigger the cut off switch.

If you have the yellow wire feed for the compressor, it most likely gets it power from the GM fuse panel. Just another brilliant Airstream addition. You would be well advised to use the yellow wire as the signal to a relay to power the compressor with a 10 gauge fused right from the isolator or batteries. If you have a red wire, it will most likely already go to source somewhere. But just like the Heater ducts, this is subject to change year to year.

[Roby466]

Yep, yellow wire from the GM fuse box. Judging by how warm the self-resetting breaker gets on the fuse box, I suppose it is wired directly to that. That self-resetting breaker also feeds the cruise control by the way (and likely many other things )

Better add that to the list of things to do then!

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by Roby466

..

Better add that to the list of things to do then!

Good idea! It took Airstream only 12 years to get that right. Finally in the 91/92 models they wired the compressor correctly by using a relay. In combination with a full air bag dump on the tag axle equipped, it really was a burden and fire hazard on the GM fuse panel.

[chiefair]

When I got mine, I found the GM fuse block melted where the compressor was connected. A previous owner had just powered from another inadequate location under the dash. Amazing it didn't burn it up. Do the relay conversion!

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by Roby466

I ordered a VIAIR 400c. Will see how it goes but it looks like it should build some good pressure with good flow.

The one I had now just kept running and never stopped even if there were no leaks. The pressure gauge would just make it to the bottom of the ''green'' zone so it was not enough to trigger the cut off switch.

did you read the specs on the 400c ? – Max. 12V Amp Draw: 30-Amps
Sounds to me like a sure way to fry that yellow wire and melt your gm fuse panel. If I recall correctly, I always used the Viair 450C

[Roby466]

Originally Posted by PeterH-350LE

did you read the specs on the 400c ? – Max. 12V Amp Draw: 30-Amps
Sounds to me like a sure way to fry that yellow wire and melt your gm fuse panel. If I recall correctly, I always used the Viair 450C

Yeah, I noticed that... $234 CDN for the 400c VS $438 CDN for the 450c over here. Not sure why the bigger one is cheaper but that's part of the reason for chosing this one. I'll do the relay option, that should sort this out.

Thanks!

[Roby466]

Those of you who have done the relay mod, where did you get your power from? Did you add a self reseting breaker from the panel in the galley (house power) or did you start from the car or house battery directly?

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by Roby466

Those of you who have done the relay mod, where did you get your power from? Did you add a self reseting breaker from the panel in the galley (house power) or did you start from the car or house battery directly?

I have done both, short wire from the battery to a 30 amp breaker and onward to the compressor and on a 87 345, I added a 30 amp breaker to the existing by the isolator.

The relay can be right at the compressor, with the existing yellow wire serving as the ignition activated signal wire. On my old 1983 310, I even created a whole new small power panel close to the compressor, to add whatever else I wanted in the rear at a later time.
But as with so many things the location of the compressor has changed just about every year.

[Roby466]

Originally Posted by PeterH-350LE

I have done both, short wire from the battery to a 30 amp breaker and onward to the compressor and on a 87 345, I added a 30 amp breaker to the existing by the isolator.

The relay can be right at the compressor, with the existing yellow wire serving as the ignition activated signal wire. On my old 1983 310, I even created a whole new small power panel close to the compressor, to add whatever else I wanted in the rear at a later time.
But as with so many things the location of the compressor has changed just about every year.

Thanks Peter, I was wondering if it was better to get from the car battery or the house battery. I suppose the house battery would still charge just as much with the isolator so it might be a better thing as it would not draw from the car battery while cranking the engine...

I wonder if there is already a huge wire that makes it to the house breaker box. I'll bring a flashlight and go digging under there next time I'm at the airstream.

The plan is to use the yellow wire that has gone through the pressure switch to trigger the relay as you mentioned.

Cheers

[PeterH-350LE]

Originally Posted by Roby466

Thanks Peter, I was wondering if it was better to get from the car battery or the house battery. I suppose the house battery would still charge just as much with the isolator so it might be a better thing as it would not draw from the car battery while cranking the engine...

I wonder if there is already a huge wire that makes it to the house breaker box. I'll bring a flashlight and go digging under there next time I'm at the airstream.

The plan is to use the yellow wire that has gone through the pressure switch to trigger the relay as you mentioned.

Cheers

Ignition on, start and run allow different things to run. The 350 only allowed the air compressor to come on in ign on and run, but not in start. If thats the case in your 345 , your cranking the engine consideration is irrelevant.
However, I also moved several things to the coach batteries, since I always knew their state and wanted to take the burden of the crank battery.
For the inexperienced owner, all of the chassis/motor function typically are powered by the engine battery and the alternator. A bad isolator is a perfect example why things may not be as they seem (as in, yes, but I have 12v coach Power when I am plugged in....)

[mayco]

I have no idea how many years Airstream used the same wiring configuration to power the compressor but it seems to me it was the same for quite a few years through different models of the Classics. My ‘82 310 has a 12ga yellow wire running all the way from the ignition sw to the compressor location. Nearly the entire length of the Coach. Way under sized to do much other than be used as a trigger switch for your relay. The OEM compressor was quite a bit smaller and less powerful than the upgraded V-air unit that I installed in the same way Peter described. I ended up powering the new unit straight off the
House batteries using 8ga wire with an inline circuit breaker near the compressor.

[Roby466]

Thanks. Makes sense. I’ll see if the gauge of the wire going to the 12V house breaker box can take another 30A. If it can I’ll start from there with an additional 30A breaker and 6 gauge wire to the compressor relay so it’s a cleaner install. That little compressor will pump up these airbags like there is no tomorrow .
New airbags are next once weather warms up in the Spring!!