Help, thermostat cord is inside wall

[az-streamer]

Help,

The cord to the dometic thermostat disconnected from the unit and is now inside the wall. How do I retrieve it?

There is no access and the shower is on the other side!

[sfranklin]

Not entirely familiar with your layout. If you can't somehow fish it out, most are on the same wall as the fridge and may require you to pull the fridge partly or all the way out to get the cable.

Here is a tool that might help get it without pulling the fridge if it hasn't dropped to the bottom of the cavity.

https://www.amazon.com/CRAFTSMAN-CMM...KIKX0DER&gQT=1

*Edit* just looked at your floorplan on the AS site. That's a tough one.... if the wood panel can be removed that may be the easiest, not sure how fun it would be to remove part of the shower enclosure. Suggest you contact Aistream support if you can't get a hold of it with that grabby tool.

[az-streamer]

Yeah, unfortunately the shower is on the other side and no way to access the cord. The gripper tool would probably need to be longer to get the detached cord. Lousy design by Airstream.

[ITSNO60]

If you have an electrical supply or a construction supply near you try and get a piece of ceiling grid wire, you can bend a hook onto the end and fish it down the wall. Another option is to buy a set of flexible electrician's fish sticks that come with attachments and screw a hook onto the end. The thinner the better.
A regular fish tape may work but those are made for inserting into conduit and are hard to manage when loose in a wall.

[az-streamer]

Thanks guys for the suggestions. I think the best course of action is to buy an endoscope with a gripper. Available on Amazon for less the $50.

Will be interesting.

[nelsonh]

Originally Posted by az-streamer

Thanks guys for the suggestions. I think the best course of action is to buy an endoscope with a gripper. Available on Amazon for less the $50.

That was going to be my suggestion... I have a cheap one that works with the iPhone, it's come in very handy over the years for a variety of household and camper situations, worth investing in!

[Keys Dave]

Depending on how far down the wire dropped you may be able to reach it with a combination of the endoscope and a homemade fish tape. Sometimes something as simple as a coat hanger might work. You might have to open up the hole or drill a second one nearby, all covered up by the thermostat. A roto tool with a wood cutter bit can allow you to cut a very controlled opening without going to deep. There's about 1 inch between the fiberglass shower and the plywood on my unit which is just a couple of years newer. I also have an access panel at the bottom to check the shower drain? Good luck.

[az-streamer]

Going with this one.

We'll see .

Will also bring a spare RJ22 connector in case it needs replacement

[Turkeybaster]

Or run a new thermostat wire and let the old one lay inside the wall for the rest of time.

[az-streamer]

Turkeybaster,
I like you thinking. Where exactly does the other end of the wire connect? Does it connect to the a/c
Inside the AS? How/where would you run the new wire?
Thanks,
Jon
AZSTREAMER

[az-streamer]

UPDATE:

I bought the scope mentioned in a previous post.

It came with an attachable hook but I decided not to use it since I was worried that the hook would snag on something and come off or the the scope would get snagged.

Using the scope I located the loose thermostat cord coiled up about half way down the wall cavity.

I used a length of copper wire (thick enough to hold a bend) that I had bent at the tip.

After a bit of manipulation I managed to snag the cord and pull it up and put of the small access hold.

The connector was in good shape so I plugged it into the new thermostat. I made sure to secure the connection with electrical tape to avoid a repeat disconnect.

Thermostat/ AC started right up.

So, it can be done by an owner with a bit of time and the rights tools.

[sfranklin]

Nicely done!!

[Overstreet]

When running wires they should have fastened it to structure. It may not have fallen all the way down the wall.

[Ragoodsp]

On my 25 rbt the Domectic is in the bedroom wall tgat backs up to the shower. There is abd access panel under the twin bed. One should be able to fish up the wall. Nit surewhat floorplan you have so this may not work for you

[MSDeneen]

Which thermostat did you choose?

Cheers!
Mark

[az-streamer]

I decided to go with the exact replacement model Dometic thermostat. I didn't want to mess around ta different model or have to change any of the wiring / connector.

[TLowe43q]

SKYBASIC Industrial Endoscope... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BV98JZ22...p_mob_ap_share
This comes with a hook to clip on tip