How to test power to Fantastic Fan

**TREXHUNTERS** · 03-25-2013, 10:17 AM

My ceiling vent fan is not working and I'm trying to debug the problem but I'm having trouble getting to leads to test voltage, etc. Where they enter the motor casing on top they are encased in caulk. The only other way I can see to get to them is to remove the entire frame.

Does anyone have any experience troubleshooting these things? I must be missing something just trying to get to a lead.

thanks

03-25-2013, 12:35 PM

Check to make sure the vent open switch is not stuck.

**Bill** · 03-25-2013, 01:05 PM

The blue binder that came with my TM doesn't have a folder for the fan, so no help there. And my TM is closed up in the garage, so I can't check. But I'm quite sure that a connector is accessible once you remove the screen from below.

Once you have a model number, a visit to the fan manufacturer' web site should pull up what you need in a hurry.

Bill

**ShrimpBurrito** · 03-25-2013, 02:13 PM

You probably have already checked, but check the fuses to the fan -- I don't have my TM open, but there should be a fuse for it at the distribution panel next to the converter. I also seem to recall there is a fuse mounted on the fan itself.....a round black thru-mounted cylinder that is unscrewed to access the fuse.

Dave

**TREXHUNTERS** · 03-25-2013, 05:33 PM

Before I found a spot to test the fan started to work again. It had been intermittent for a couple of years but for the last two it was solidly dead.

I did have to take off the screen and inner vent housing to get to a lead that led to the motor so next time it flakes out I can test it within a few minutes.

I had looked at the hood switch and fuses today and before and they seemed o.k. Thanks for the inputs.

I sure would like to know if the issue is in the motor or in the wiring leading to it but I guess I'll have to wait. A visual and finger inspection of the wiring didn't reveal any flaky connections.

On to the next problem, the intermittent outside lights... yeehaaa!

03-25-2013, 06:04 PM

Outside lights are usually fixed by cleaning the ground connections. TM uses the aluminum skin as gnd and many times the screws used for the ground cause corrosion and a poor connection . Clean the effected connection . I usually add a little anti-corrosion paste.

**TREXHUNTERS** · 03-26-2013, 09:10 AM

I temporarily fixed the outside lights the same way I fixed the fan.....by touching them...

I guess I do have some ground issues I need to resolve.

I tried the "Midas" approach with a plumbing issue where I have a leak at the diverter on the outside shower but it didn't work. The leak did get smaller though!

cheers

**B_and_D** · 03-26-2013, 08:56 PM

Sometimes leaves, dirt, dust, bugs, etc. get stuck inside the little tube that encases the vent open switch and can prevent it from popping up when the vent is opened. Maybe try some compressed air into it to blow out any debris?

Ours has an inline fuse in the ceiling next to the fan. We replaced it a couple of years ago. The new one is reversible, that's nice to have.

fourteener · 06-03-2013, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rumbleweed

Check to make sure the vent open switch is not stuck.

I had that very same problem with the 'vent open switch', but it did not appear to be stuck. Here's how I went about tracing the problem.

I pulled the fuse assembly out and everything looked good. But, just to double check, I bypassed the fuse,,,,and nothing. So then I took the 5 philips head screws out around the frame (on the square part, not the screen) and the vent raising/lowering knob. Once removed I could get to almost all wire connections. So I bypassed the switch, nothing. Then I hooked my test light to the black wire coming into the fan, and the white wire coming in and the light lit up?? So after reading a few forum cases about fantastic fans I started wondering if it was the pressure switch. This is the button switch that keeps the fan circuit broken when the vent is closed (when the switch is depressed). This switch resemble the ones on late model car door jams that activates the dome light. Anyway, on the input side of the switch my test light lit, but on the output side of my switch, nothing. So I stuck my fingers up through the fan (fan disconnected and switch in off position of course :-), and worked the switch, approx 15-20 times (my DW was just on top of the camper the weekend before and pushed it like 8-12 times, we thought we had ruled it out). And guess what, my test light came on. Shot that switch full of dry aerosol silicone spray, and worked it 15-20 more times and reassembled the fan. I even ran the vent lid up and down a few times on each speed, and it works like new.