Upgrading CCC to newer model

[KenEhresman]

our coach has the original COmfort control center 5 button model....

I see there is what appears to be a MUCH more user friendly version like this link:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CXB8BY6/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B00CXB8BY6&pd_rd_wg=XHaBD&pd_rd_r=KQM3FGG2QR5YJ2H1921T&pd_rd_w=IEXAi

Would seem logical that it is possible to update to something that is much more programable and comprehensive.... not sure this one is, but looks fancier anyway...

So what are our upgrade path options? Desired functions would be to be:

Programmable by time of day for all 4 zones, and the ability to auto switch from heat strips to ac on demand for the desired temps....seems pretty basic, but the old 1990's technology CCC leaves a lot to be desired.

I guess I should have posted first, it is a vantare, 2000 XL chassis, with 4 rooftops and aquahot on their own zone old school thermostats...

[KenEhresman]

Duo-therm for button, first I couldn't control zone 3-4 but 1-2 still worked. Every toggle went 1-2-1-2 etc... Now all the sudden I gain toggle all 4 zones but it have every option selectable, stage 2, basement, etc, Somsomethingmismornhas failed.... Reset entire coach no change....inspecting the control panel now but not sure there is much derail I can find on it.... Is there a remote brain box? Chased the black rj11 to the ceiling unit closest to driver and it daisy chains back to the other units. I suspect the main box but don't have a spare... Just back from Michigan. Coach isntnwinterized and it's getting cold. Will probably have to pull in maint bay soon..... Any help appreciated. 2000 vantare

[KenEhresman]

AC number 4 appeared to be leaking causing come corrosion on the RJ-11 Connectors and Butt Connectors.... PLease see pics....

After some research, it appears the CCC unit ( 4 button) probably ??? puts out some type of serial communication data to the units up top.... they are daisy chained control to 1, then out 1 to 2 etc... all the way down the roof to 4.... the fourth unit has an empty slice butt connector that was all corroded and it appears to have recently shunted the signals from one of the 4 pins to another melting plug.... that in turn then went to the next connector and melted that one as well... but stopped there I guess because it probably melted to an open state or near open state... which is why the number 1 and 2 units appear to work, but the back 2 didn't. it also appears maybe the controller handles these in pairs, and although it can control 4 zones, when I unplug from the first unit back I can still control zone 1/2 and once i started messing with the wires, and moved the3rd connector that had also got hot and melted, my zone 3/4 returned walla... so I dug deeper and yes here are pics of the connectors and the crimp connectors were just as bad..... months ago we thought we smelled some plastic getting hot, but searched and searched for days and couldn't locate it ( there is probably a million miles of low and ac wiring right? lol... Will confirm this once I recrimp new RJ-11 and replace these spices ( pretty sure I still have some, somewhere, the somewhere being the problem)

So here in is my questions... Can someone confirm this shoots some control voltages down that 4 wire phone RJ-11 and also some Serial BUS type of data? not seeing how it could control all the functions just using hi/low voltage logic, and want to confirm... a bonus would be a pinout of the RJ-11 so I can nail down which pins melted, and the results for all to document...

Second question, is it appears ( as I cannot find an output wire on that last connector, that it probably was wired from Vantare as a standard best practice to keep allowing daisy chaining for whatever needs, i.e. maybe a 5th rooftop in some cases? curious as I hate seeing stuff without something connected, and would like to label it as such....

thanks, and finally, can I assume, a 5 button or even a newer controller will plug and and work? before I spend 100+ on the newer 12 button style I'd like to know if it will work or not...
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[Gil_J]

You can not just replace the thermostat. The control boards on each unit need to be replaced. Yea, pretty dumb, but it helps sales.

Given their are only 4 wires, the communications must use a data communication protocol. Each unit has dip switches to set their ID, whether they support a heat pump and a few other parameters.

[KenEhresman]

He Gil, I assumed the same... I would bet is is a simple RS232 or RS485 type of communication protocol.... I'll bet further to that end, the actual format of the communication mechanism didn't really change much other than maybe the speed or format of the serial bus communications it is running. If anyone has any inside connections that can funnel out some technical details, I'd be glad to take a run at trying to do a bit of reverse engineering to see what options we really have vs just changing boards. There are a variety of Serial bus speed-format converters I have used throughout the years to adapt older CNC and other controllers to a newer software platform or hardware interface... pretty simple if I can get my hands on what the protocols are, and the speeds they are sending by the board revisions....

Planned obsoleteness is a nasty but essential key to survivability in a lot of industries, and I suspect the RV supply industry is no exception. I think i'll get on all 4 lines and capture some data and see if I can tell what they are doing just for a dust off exercise on my ever rusty skills lol... I know control B+ is one, that should be easy to spot, then I should be able to get a send and receive line and finally a signaling line like a CTS. if I can get that, I'll be able to see the clock signals, measure the speed, look for bus interrupt signals and get an overall format for at least my 4 button model...