Blt for 2, mysterious switch

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KathyH

Blt for 2, mysterious switch

Post by KathyH »

Well, mysterious to me anyway! There are 3 switches located beneath the sink.

One is for the light in the bathroom (black in the middle). Another is a white switch plate (on the right facing the sink) and is labelled water heater. It has a switch and a reset button.

The third is the mystery switch. it is a regular type switch and lights up red but there is no label and I can't find any info in the manual or in my notes.

I'm sure it's perfectly logical but I worry about it being red!

(the water pump swtich is over on the panel with the monitor switch).

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Kathy
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bcope01
Posts: 1290
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:55 pm

Post by bcope01 »

I only have the two you mentioned plus the generator switch in our 2004 BFT. What year is yours? Are you the original owner? It may be the battery disconnect, if you haven't already identified one just inside the rear door for that purpose.

Bill
Last edited by bcope01 on Thu May 04, 2006 9:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Barb & Bill
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo

Escondido, CA
KathyH

Post by KathyH »

The generator control stuff is down lower.

This is a 2005 and we're the original owners.

Thanks!

Kathy
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bcope01
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Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:55 pm

Re: RED LIGHT rocker-switch

Post by bcope01 »

Sam Ryan wrote:That switch is likely the on-off switch for the hot water heater.
Sam:

If you re-read Kathy's post, you'll see that she has already identified the switch for the hot water heater. If it isn't the battery disconnect that I mentioned in my post above, it may be a switch to control one of the overhead thinlites. Probably the best bet is to give Kim a call at the factory.

Bill
Last edited by bcope01 on Thu May 04, 2006 1:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Barb & Bill
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo

Escondido, CA
KathyH

Post by KathyH »

Called Kim. The switch that lights up red is the water heater when you're running it of AC electric or the generator.

The water heater switch over by the monitor is when you're running it off of the propane tank.

Kathy
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bcope01
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Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:55 pm

Post by bcope01 »

Sam:

I apologize. You were right!

Bill
Barb & Bill
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo

Escondido, CA
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bcope01
Posts: 1290
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:55 pm

Post by bcope01 »

Wouldn't it be nice if the factory labeled ALL switches? Most on our BFT are labeled, but there are some that are not. I've used a DYMO Manual Labelmaker (the type that embosses plastic tape, <$10) to identify these and indicate the on/off position for each.

Bill
Barb & Bill
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo

Escondido, CA
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bcope01
Posts: 1290
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:55 pm

Re: Rocker Arm Switch labeling

Post by bcope01 »

Sam Ryan wrote:...the previous owner, he pointed out that he labelled the wood in :shock: "ink pen," with -- Off & On...
Makes me smile. :) My dad, bless his dearly departed soul, used my mother's red fingernail polish to mark everything - 55mph on the speedo, the engine dip stick, settings on thermostats, on/off positions, remote controls, anything he wanted to highlight - it was on everything. As a teenager, I had to hide my car from him in order to keep him from "customizing" it for me. :D

Bill
Barb & Bill
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo

Escondido, CA
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Mike Jean Bandfield
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Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2005 3:43 pm

Mystery Switch

Post by Mike Jean Bandfield »

Kathy,

Your water heater uses dual heat sources; it is both gas and electric. When you are hooked up to shore power use the house sized switch with the red on/off lever. When you don't have electric power this switch has no affect. (When using the generator, turn the electric water heater off and use propane. Using the generator to power the water heater would be very inefficient compared to propane.) The smaller switch turns on the propane burner. The little red light next to the small switch only comes on when the igniter is trying to light the gas burner. When using either the propane burner or electric heating element the water heater automatically turns on and off as needed to keep the water hot - just like at home.

Mike
Mike & Jean
2005 26' RSS Diesel
Trisha

Post by Trisha »

I hope Kim is reading this. I HAVE TOLD THEM they need to label that switch. I didn't know what it was either and had to ask. got the same multi-responses.

It is an unlabeled switch that lights up red when turned on, until the electric element heats the water then it shuts off. Separate switch for lp gas. Nice to have a choice. Even nicer if they would label it.

If you remember, I included photos of it last time. i'll try to attach it here now.

I ASKED born free to make up labels (removable) for some of these mystery items for newbies. When we know what they are, we can take the labels off. What can it hurt?

i have ideas, but I don't think anyone's listening. But my solutions would solve some of these recurring problems.
Attachments
switch labeling example Born Free.jpg
switch labeling example Born Free.jpg (52.69 KiB) Viewed 18337 times
Trisha

Post by Trisha »

Or absent of labelling the items in the rigs, one could make ONE manual with photos like this IN THE MANUAL so that we could look it up.

I seem to already have the annotated photos on hand....and I used to make catalogs (they know that) so it would be piece of cake.

I'm begging for a independent contractor job.

I still haven't submitted a formal proposal but anyone think it could hurt if I brought one down in June?

Patricia
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bcope01
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Post by bcope01 »

Patricia:

That picture is worth a thousand words (or a complete thread with 15 some odd postings over a 2-day span).

I think you ought to approach the factory folks and pitch your product. I'm behind you 100%. Even something web-based would be invaluable.

Bill
Barb & Bill
2004 Born Free 22' Built for Two (Sold)
no longer towing a 2008 Smart ForTwo

Escondido, CA
Trisha

Post by Trisha »

Thanks. I'll point them to this thread.

I do know how to make it into a web-based thing too, but someone's already doint that I think.

Duplicate soures of information is not necessarily a bad thing. I can do it on paper and pdf it.

I will write something up.

Thanks for the encouragement.
KathyH

Post by KathyH »

Thanks to all of you who wrote! I now understand the two switches, have written all the info down in the notebook I am keeping and will start labelling things for myself!

Thanks again!

Kathy--not quite as clueless as before
Dave&JanPotter

Post by Dave&JanPotter »

KathyH wrote:Thanks to all of you who wrote! I now understand the two switches, have written all the info down in the notebook I am keeping and will start labelling things for myself!

Thanks again!

Kathy--not quite as clueless as before
Your notebook idea is a solid one. You've started a good habit that the professionals use. Its a bit of work at first but saves a lot of effort in the long run. When I was chief engineer on a 100,000 horsepower ship before the advent of personal computers, we religously wrote everything down in a log. I keep 3 logs on my BFT, one that lists things we do, places we visited, mileage and fuel consumption, a second one that lists all modifications and maintenance done to the coach and a third which lists all of the maintenance done to the Ford chassis. I also keep copies of all the instruction books in a central place and use check off lists for getting underway and securing, but that is fodder for another thread.
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