Southwind by Fleetwood – sporting its new paint job
I rarely use my generator more that a couple times a year and I don’t believe in starting it if it sits for long periods of time. One of the problems with carburated engines that sit for long periods of time, the fuel inside the carb bowl evaporates and leaves Continue reading Add a fuel shutoff valve Onan 5500 generator
This was a preventative replacement. The original alternator was working. but since it’s 23 years old with 86,000 miles on it, I’d rather replace the alternator at home in my driveway where I can work on it at my leisure, rather than on the side of the road, when its Continue reading F53 Alternator Replacement
UPDATE (Jan 20, 2023) : I’m working on an optional control module so I can control the heat pumps reversing valve with my Waiter ECC system. I have a prototype version installed and using it to develop the software. If there’s enough interest, I may offer this option to the Continue reading A/C Unit Replacement
Many later model 30 amp Fleetwood class A’s are set up to have two Automatic Change Over (ACO) relays/solenoids. A quick way to tell is to look at the generator, if it has two output circuit breakers, 30 and 20 amp, you probably have two ACOs, one for the MAIN Continue reading Replace main 120 volt Automatic Change Over solenoid
Last year I was having all kinds of weird problems with my furnaces and air conditioners. The furnaces would come on even when they were turned off. I’d get clicking sounds coming from the Intellitec control module. Every now and then I noticed weird buzzing sounds from the A/C unit, Continue reading Replaced failed Intellitec dual thermostat ECC with Waiter ECC thermostat
Last spring on our trip home, the levelers started acting weird. I’d press the power button, it would work, but as soon as I tried to put levelers down it acted like the system was resetting. I re-seated all the connectors on the leveler controller and control pad. I cleaned Continue reading Loose fuse-holder in BCC causes weird electrical issues
Last year I upgraded my single stage converter to a four stage unit, PowerMax PM4-55. My original converter put out a constant 13.6 volts. The new three stage converter would provide faster charging of batteries with higher voltage (14.6 volts), yet not boil the batteries when the unit switched to Continue reading Low voltage from 3 stage converter causes problems
Jodie got a new Amazon Echo for Christmas to use at home. Since we’re traveling on the road for the next few months, I decided to look into what it would take to add some “smart home” technology to the 20 year old Southwind. Off the shelf smart home controlled Continue reading Alexa: Turn the kitchen light ON
Jodie got a new Amazon Echo Dot for Christmas to use at home. Since we’re traveling on the road for the next few months, I decided to look into what it would take to add some “smart home” technology to the 20 year old Southwind. The first thing I needed Continue reading Inexpensive wifi network for the Southwind
UPDATE – March 1st, 2021 – Sadly, we received a notice that Orby has shut down operations as of March 1st, 2021. To bad, we really enjoyed the service. They set up a deal with Dish, so I’ll call them when we get back home. We were Dish customers for Continue reading Orby Satellite TV