Toe kick heaters, Marathon

The previous threads are very old!

The bathroom 110 volt heater is getting no power. This is a heater with its own manual control. There is no A/C voltage at the heater. I bench tested this heater and it works fine on the bench.

The bedroom heater is controlled by the SMX unit. I can hear the relay behind the A/C panel when the thermostat calls for heat, but the unit won't operate. Because of the way this one is installed, its a major project to remove and bench test it.

I'm thinking (probably incorrectly) that the both heaters get their power from the same supply. Can anyone suggest where I might find that supply other than the 110 volt circuit breaker boxes in the bedroom? All breakers are on and the 110 Volt heat is selected.

The electric heater in the galley works fine.

Thanks!

Do you have an SMX unit or Sypder controls?

The heaters have a circuit breaker in the panel, if it is on and the thermostat is calling for heat on the heater itself. Be sure the button on the control panel is pushed, if it is a Spyder panel it will turn red. If that control is on then check the main panel for the control buttons, both for voltage coming to it and leaving it. From what you are saying it sounds like the Spyder or SMX unit is not functioning.

Mikee

Did you get your black tank sensor working?

Mikee

The black tank is now reading empty which is correct. It seems to go to full for a day or two after emptying it completely, then it settles back to normal.

Do you have any suggestions for the toe kick heater power supply problem? We are headed to Tucson next week for a month which is not necessarily a smart thing to do in the winter from Florida. but my mother lives there and I never miss her birthday (12/20). It will be very cold while there and from the west side of TX on. The Webasto works well, but I prefer to burn the RV parks electric than my diesel. :)

As a backup you could run 3 of those little ceramic heaters, there pretty effective.

Naw... I'd rather fix the OEM installation! If not, I'll run the Webasto rather than using add-on equipment. Thanks anyway for the suggestion!

Grizz,

Somewhere there is a control relay that applies 120V to the heaters when the SMX control calls for electric heat. It's anyones guess as to where it is. The easy way to figure it out would be to call Marathon. You could also have someone toggle a working toe kick heater while you move around the coach listening for the relay. There's a good chance where one is you'll find the others. CC, for example, puts all of the 120V relays in the same location under a cabinet panel behind the main circuit breaker panel.

Good Luck,

Thanks Gil:

I can hear the relay behind the CB panel when heat is called for, but there must be an open from the relay forward. The washer and dryer are right behind the panel so I'll have to figure a way to pull the panel forward. Oh joy!

Grizz,

I didn't hear you make mention of the bath heat switch located on your light switch panel in the bath. That controls the toe kick heater in my 01 Marathon.

Switch it on. What a novel idea! Duh! Okay, thanks for letting me know about that. One inpo heater is now operating!

Thanks so very much!

Don't feel bad Grizz. I had a 93 several years ago, and I stayed on the phone with Marathon for over 30 minutes troubleshooting the same heater. After removing the heater, the Tech finally asked me to flip the wall switch again. That was the first time I knew the switch existed. I didn't realize the 01 was like my 93 or I would have mentioned this earlier.

Thanks for the encouragement!

Any idea how to 'flip the switch' for the bedroom heater? I checked all the wall switches. The relay behind the electrical panel energizes when the SMX calls for heat, but the heater doesn't come on. Could be a defective heater I suppose!