Fresh Water Auto Fill ??

[0533]

I have 2 locations to turn on my Fresh Water Auto Fill, Button at the dash and one in the water bay. (Marathon XL 99) When I turn on the button, nothing happens, the light lights up, there is plenty of water pressure at the street, but no action. This seemed to happen right after I dumped all the water in the bus, emptied everything, water heaters the whole works, went to refill and nothing. Any ideas on how to trouble shoot this??

[dale farley]

Bruce, I have those two switches in my 99 CC also. I assume that either of the switches activates a solenoid in the water line that opens to divert the water into the tank. I would first check the fuse/breaker, then I would try to locate the solenoid and see if power is reaching it. If power is there, then you have a bad solenoid. Maybe someone with a Marathon can tell you where their solenoid is located. Do you hear the solenoid click when you push the button? I assume you don't. I don't think that power at the switch light is a positive indicator that there is power reaching the solenoid.

[0533]

This is a good point Dale. I do normally hear a noise when I switch the auto fill on when at the water bay, will check both. Thanks

[dale farley]

If you don't hear that click, then you either have a bad solenoid or there is no power reaching it. Hopefully, you just have a bad fuse/breaker, but I don't know how yours is wired. In CC, I would first look to my elctronic control panel, and I would expect to find a blown fuse (automotive type).

[0533]

Thanks dale will report back

[Petervs]

Hi Bruce,

Marathon Auto Fill..... a nice system with a built in design defect.

I suggest you go to the street side water bay, activate the autofill switch there. You should hear a click as the solenoid valve opens. If you hear the click, but no water fills the tank, then there are two possibilities. One, the tank is already full. Two, the manual ball valve on the water fill line is closed. Also, the water faucet must be turned on. ( I only say that in case Jon ever buys a Marathon, he would need to be told that item!).

On the other hand, if you do not hear a click, then the switch that controls this function is not telling the solenoid that the tank needs water, in effect it is saying the tank is already full. Here is the design defect, these switches seem to fail after a few years. And they can not easily be replaced.

The switch is located on top of the fresh water tank, over on the street side water bay. The fresh tank is the lowest tank, you may have to remove the cover panel for access, just a few screws. The tank has 4 or 5 switches molded into the side of it, spaced vertically every couple of inches. Each has two wires coming from it.These drive the tank level lights on the dashboard. The autofill switch is controlled from an identical switch mounted on the top of the tank, just above the row of level switches. This is the one that fails.

You can test to see if this is the cause of the problem by disconnecting the wires that lead to it and jumpering them together and then not to simulate the operation of the switch. That will make and break the contacts, and open and close the autofill solenoid.

If the switch is defective, replacement is problematic. MArathon says you need to have one welded into the polypropylene tank. You would probably have to remove it first. I simply appropriated the highest level switch and wired the autofill to that one. Now my autofill shuts off with 1 inch of empty tank, but otherwise it works like before. Of course my highest level light no longer functions, but who cares. I had already installed a SeeLevel tank monitoring system because it works on the black and gray tanks too, and these same switches had long since failed on the black tank.

If this last autofill switch fails in the future, well, I guess I will have to buy a Liberty.

Hope this helps, let us know how yours turns out.

[0533]

Hello Brian,

This makes sense. I will add this to my list. I have had problems in the past, each was simple but did need to do something each time, turn on water etc.

I will print this out and take to the bus.

Thanks again. It all should be a bit more simple, just wanted to fill the water tanks

[Ray Davis]

Bruce,

Until you have the time to sort it out, you should have a standard gravity fill in the water bay on the passenger side of the coach, opposite the tank side.

At least you can get water in there.

Ray

[Jon Wehrenberg]

Peter he called you Brian just to get back at you for even suggesting I would consider a Marathon. Undoubtedly a fine coach, but not a Liberty.

BTW, now Brian should be mad at Bruce.

[0533]

Sorry Peter, Thanks a lot.

hello Ray, I do have a gravity fill have used it to add bleach and fill and drain would prefer to resolve the problem if possible.

I think this one will be easy com[pared to the other weekend issues I gained at TGO