Floor heat issue

[Magua]

Front and middle floor heat suddenly decided to quit working. Rear zone is fine. Called Silverleaf and they diagnosed that on their side all was fine. All the relays were getting 12v, no120. Red indicator on the Silverleaf panel are showing engaged. Ground faults good. They said call Newmar. Newmar couldn’t find anything either. Said for me to take all the cover plates off and look for a loose wire. But they were unable to locate the schematics for my coach showing which plug ins to check. Was going to MOT for service anyway so I put that on the list too. MOT was unable to find the problem as they conducted their own search with Newmar for over 2 hours. Newmar suggested NIRVC in Lewisville. NIRVC politely told me they were not accepting any new accounts unless I had bought the coach from them or had previous service there. I told them that this is where Newmar suggested I take it to. No help.
So, any ideas before I commence to taking all the electrical face plates off and look for a loose wire?

 

[Magua]

2014 Essex

 

[J&JD]

I would still bet there is a problem with one of the GFI’s. All of the floors are routed through them. I had the same problem and had to change out a GFI that actually acted like it was still working.

 

[redbaron]

Front and middle floor heat suddenly decided to quit working. Rear zone is fine. Called Silverleaf and they diagnosed that on their side all was fine. All the relays were getting 12v, no120. Red indicator on the Silverleaf panel are showing engaged. Ground faults good. They said call Newmar. Newmar couldn’t find anything either. Said for me to take all the cover plates off and look for a loose wire. But they were unable to locate the schematics for my coach showing which plug ins to check. Was going to MOT for service anyway so I put that on the list too. MOT was unable to find the problem as they conducted their own search with Newmar for over 2 hours. Newmar suggested NIRVC in Lewisville. NIRVC politely told me they were not accepting any new accounts unless I had bought the coach from them or had previous service there. I told them that this is where Newmar suggested I take it to. No help.
So, any ideas before I commence to taking all the electrical face plates off and look for a loose wire?

Who did you talk to at NIRVC ? They typically accept all outside service, as they do not care where it was purchased from. Lewisville is a large facility and typically has a 2 week lead time for normal work.

 

[Magua]

I called NIRVC, a pleasant lady answered and I relayed to her my issue. She informed me of their policy and said the service department was extremely busy and they had no place to park additional coaches. I do not remember her name.
Richard

 

[redbaron]

I called NIRVC, a pleasant lady answered and I relayed to her my issue. She informed me of their policy and said the service department was extremely busy and they had no place to park additional coaches. I do not remember her name.
Richard

I just spoke with @Brett Davis , Owner of NIRVC. He is at the Tampa RV show now, but will be reviewing this later tonight. What you are posting is not the normal procedure, and goes against his stated mission of "Customers for Life"

 

[Magua]

I do not have any quarrel with NIRVC. I’m glad they are that busy. Job security. Never been there but I have heard and read where they are outstanding. I’m just looking for any suggestions from Newmar owners on a way to fix the floor heat. Went to bed and they were working, next morning the floors were cold in the middle and front zone. I am leaning on replacing the ground faults even though they say “good”.

 

[J&JD]

I do not have any quarrel with NIRVC. I’m glad they are that busy. Job security. Never been there but I have heard and read where they are outstanding. I’m just looking for any suggestions from Newmar owners on a way to fix the floor heat. Went to bed and they were working, next morning the floors were cold in the middle and front zone. I am leaning on replacing the ground faults even though they say “good”.

Also double check that you have looked for all the GFI’s. Newmar hides them everywhere.

 

[Magua]

So an update. After numerous conversations with Newmar, Silverleaf, and members, I finally discovered where the problem originated. Under the 1/2 bath sink, above the GFI plug, is a metal box. Inside the box is a number of wires and wire connections. On one, the wire connector is melted. Along with about 2 inches of wire. Cut out the connector, re stripped the wire and re connected with a new wire nut. All is good. Except… why did they heat enough to cause the issue. Nothing tripped, no breaker tripped. Interesting.

 

[Just George]

@Magua Glad you found the problem. Regarding why did it happen my guess is a poor electrical connection within the wire nut. From the photo it appears the stranded wire may have had some of the strands cut at the point the insulation was stripped. Less strands making connection = effectively a smaller wire = too much current for the remaining strands = heat = what you see. It could also be a case where there was just a poor connection between the wires within the wire nut. From the photo it appears the stranded wire did not go far enough into the wire nut i.e. it's shorter that the solid wire. Bottom line, poor connection = more resistance = heat= melted parts.

 

[Magua]

@Magua Glad you found the problem. Regarding why did it happen my guess is a poor electrical connection within the wire nut. From the photo it appears the stranded wire may have had some of the strands cut at the point the insulation was stripped. Less strands making connection = effectively a smaller wire = too much current for the remaining strands = heat = what you see. It could also be a case where there was just a poor connection between the wires within the wire nut. From the photo it appears the stranded wire did not go far enough into the wire nut i.e. it's shorter that the solid wire. Bottom line, poor connection = more resistance = heat= melted parts.

Thanks for the reply. Makes sense. I’ll definitely be watching it

 

[Webz]

Maybe consider crimp style connectors. Less chance of vibrations, (driving down the road) making a loose connection.
I wish Newmar used crimp style connectors everywhere.