Fresh Water Auto Fill Not Working

[Rick Vyncke]

Took delivery of our 2004 Marquis this past week.  Fresh Water Auto Fill not working.  Would return to dealer but that's about 1,500 miles away.

Aladdin shows fresh water 23% and 23 gallons.  There is no fresh water in system -- I've dumped the fresh.

I've hooked up city water, turned it on, ensured the pump is off and then turned on the Autoflill switch in the galley.  No solenoid click is heard.  Aladdin blinks AF in green for about five minutes and then turns red.

Selling dealer says that he installed a fresh water autofill solenoid behind the panel in the compartment that sits next to the water control panel.  That valve looks new but don't know whether it is nor do I know whether or not that is the Autofill valve.

Questions:
1) Is there a way to manually fill?
2) Is the solenoid that is located next to the water pump behind the panel in the compartment next to the water control panel the Autofill valve?
  2a) If not, where is the Autofill valve/solenoid located?
3) Is there a way to jump the wires to see whether it engages?

Maybe I've asked too many questions.... Have any ideas how to diagnose or fix?

Thhanks

[Gerald Farris]

Rick,
1.The 2004 Marquis was originally plumbed so that there was no way to manually fill the fresh water tank.
2.The electric fill valve is located in the compartment with the water pump.
3.You can disconnect the wires from the electric solenoid valve and connect them to 12V to operate the valve manually.

The coach was designed to fill the tank and turn off the fill valve when the tank is filled, even if the switch is left on. However the switch should never be left on unless you are filling the tank because the valve can overheat and fail under some conditions. For the same reason, you should be very careful not to overheat the valve by manually wiring it to 12V for an extended period of time. Also there is the potential to damage the tank if the tank is overfilled and the vent is partially restricted to allow the tank to become pressurized, but that is very rare.

The highest probability for the cause of your problem is that the electronics that are designed to turn off the fill valve when your tank is full are not functioning properly. Therefore when you turn on the switch, the fill valve never receives the signal to fill the tank. I believe that the Aladdin system controls that function on your coach. I am no expert on the Aladdin system (I have always owned a Silverleaf system), but I would start in diagnosing the system by determining way the system is reading the wrong volume in the fresh water tank, after I determined that the fill valve is functional.

Aladdin is out of business, but there are several BAC members on this forum who are very familiar with the system and there are a few parts that are still available. There is always the option of installing a Silverleaf system if you can not repair the Aladdin but it is pricey. However, if the auto-fill valve is the only problem, you can always run wires from the switch to the valve and bypass the automatic shutoff, or install a manual valve.

Gerald        

[Rick Vyncke]

Based on what I'm reading it sounds like my best option might be to install the SeeLevel that interfaces with Aladdin.  Any thoughts on this?  Anybody have experience doing this?  Do the sensors display on the TV like the Aladdin?  Thnx in advance

[Rick Vyncke]

Forgot to mention that I believe at least part of the problem with the fresh water fill not working is the fact that the Aladdin sensors don't seem to work.  I have to believe that the Autofill is based upon what Aladdin believes is the current level of fresh water.

In any event, I need to either fix the Aladdin system or replace it with something else.

[Forrest King]

Rick i had the sea level instaled on my 2006 montery in the 1st year as i was having problems with the original sensors. I ha it done at Allaliance in wildwood Fla.I had to pay for the sea level but they provided the labor. I belive the systems was around $400.00  

I have had no problem with the system since install. It does read in percentage for the level of the tanks. They mounted them on the grey,black an fresh water tanks. There is no sensor on propane but the alddin still reads it. If you do install the sensors have to be  some distance from a metal suface but it is only 2 or3 inches. Hope this helps

Forrest

[Rick Vyncke]

It does - thank you Forrest.

Do the tank percentages display in the Aladdin screens?  Or only on the SeeLevel display?

[Forrest King]

They display on the aladdin screens an they also have a display out on the panel by the utility compartment. That comes with the sea level replacing the one there. They had to increase the size of the hole the old one fit in but not very much maybe an inch or so.