HOW TO: MaxxFan Remove and Service, Preventive Maintenance to Avoid Water Damage

[John E Davies]

My fan was getting erratic in the opening/ closing modes. The upper lid would jerk and chatter. Also, I noticed a small nuisance water leak inside the cabin, even when the rain hood was fully closed. 

FYI: Oliver SEALS the visible edges of the inside trim panel, for a pretty appearance. I had removed mine previously and did not reseal it. Otherwise the water leak would not have been seen - the water would accumulate Inside of the trim until it eventually seeped out around the screws, Trim ring showing where water was pooling:

After removing the outside flange assembly, this is what I saw: A really shoddy installation.

I wanted to run the fan on my workbench, so I could get to everything, inspect all the hidden parts and make sure I got it fixed before reinstalling it on the roof. If you want to service yours, then you can leave it up top if you like, but removing it is not hard at all. I made an adapter to power the fan using an existing DC cable for my external solar panel port. It's a standard plug, internally fused.

More to come.

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited February 29, 2020 by John E Davies

[John E Davies]

Remove the fan:

Remove the 4 mounting screws for the trim ring, and then the knob screw and knob, and the 4 screws for the fan lower assembly: 

Lower it carefully and disconnect the white connectors. If they are stubborn you can use a large flat screwdriver to carefully lever them apart. You can leave the two large power and ground wires intact and let the trim panel hang on the pantry door, or cut the splices and remove it entirely. (If you want to run the fan on the bench, you will need that panel, so cut the wires.) Watch out that you do not short out the power wire (black). Remove the fuse for the fan circuit if you want to. Reinstall the knob so you can manually operate the fan. Open up the fan fully using the knob.

Climb up on the roof and remove the four side screws holding the fan to the mounting flange. Lift off the fan and carry it to a safe place.

 

More

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

Edited February 29, 2020 by John E Davies

[John E Davies]

Inspecting and lubricating. I used silicone spray lube. Most other lubes will attract dirt and get gummy. Tri-Flow or a similar product might be OK, but I think even that attracts gunk.

Remove the two screws holding the rear hinge to the upper cover.

With the hinge disconnected you can run the upper cover up much further, for easy access. Lubricate all moving parts. My rear hinge was very dry and binding. I think that was causing the jerkiness.

NOTE !  : The front hinge is pretty well hidden with the rain shield attached. With it disconnected and the top fully raised up, access is OK. If you want to disconnect the two arms, they simply press outward at the top and disconnect from the tracks. Make sure the two nylon bushings are OK. Obviously, if you are doing this with the fan removed, just flip it over to access the front hinge.

Here is the "Operator" AKA gearbox. It can be disassembled if needed, but it isn't considered to be serviceable.

The sides of the rain shroud attach at this point, the slot needs to be clean and lubed.

More

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

 

Edited February 29, 2020 by John E Davies

[John E Davies]

Removing the mounting flange. MARK THE FRONT OF THE FLANGE SO YOU CAN GET IT BACK EXACTLY THE SAME WAY! Otherwise the holes may not match up.

This is only needed if you suspect a water leak, or there are obvious signs of distress around the edge sealant. I used a thin stainless putty knife and hammer to shear the factory sealant. My shroud was obviously  installed incorrectly, with unsealed screws and plenty of entry points for water and dirt. The sealant should extend all the way to the outside perimeter! Fortunately the Oliver roof structure is robust and can take some water entry without damage. If yours does have water entry, try to blow any trapped water out of the screw holes so it can dry out.

Remove all the old sealant using a putty knife and mild solvent. This will take some time. Try to get it all off! The fan assembly sits down into a channel, with a rubber seal at the bottom. It traps water, so drill small weep holes in each corner (4 places).

Clean the roof and mask off around the fan leaving about about 1/8" to 3/16" gap.

I wanted to use 3M 4000UV marine sealant. It is removable, BUT I really did not want it oozing down into the gap and roof structure. If that should happen, you would never get the flange off again, in one piece! So I used a clay based automotive strip caulk along that area to form a dam.

Apply the sealant in two fat beads, and use the putty knife to flatten it evenly. Any excess will ooze out to be removed later. Most importantly - this seals the screw holes and screws!

CAREFULLY install the flange. Drive in the screws gradually to bring down the flange fully and let the sealant move around. When they are fully seated, lay a bead around the perimeter if needed:

Smooth out the sealant with a rubber gloved finger.

Remove all masking tape:

Clean up any minor messes with solvent before the sealant hardens.

More.

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

 

 

Edited February 29, 2020 by John E Davies

[John E Davies]

Water protection. There are LOTS of places where water can either enter or pool up. We need to drill a bunch of drain holes and seal some places.

Circuit board: Remove the three screws and lift it out of the way. If your board is corroded, you will need to clean or replace it. See the YouTube video. Mine was fine.

Drill a tiny drain hole in the bottom of the clear plastic "bubble". This prevents pooling around the IR sensor. Then reinstall the board.

Lower panel: This can trap water. Drill three holes; the area around the CB does not need one.

Detail pic:

Lower trim bezel: Drill 4 holes in corners.:

Fan mounting flange on roof, all four corners in case you did not already do it in the previous section:

More.

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited February 29, 2020 by John E Davies

[John E Davies]

Sealing holes.

The four screws holding the fan assembly to the shroud are open to the weather, and lead straight into the trailer. Make sure the shroud is raised for access (in the normal open position). Remove screws one at a time, apply some clear RTV silicone sealant to each hole AND each screw and reinstall. This will stop wind driven rain from entering, but the sealant will not make it hard to remove the fan for service. Silicone sealant doesn't bond to stainless very well, but it is adequate unless the screw is retightened or disturbed.

The inside of this area, showing sealant:

Notice in the above pic, the Oliver outer hull roof and inner cabin ceiling are bonded together here, with spacers and an air gap. Notice the fiberglass honeycomb construction. It won't trap or be damaged by water (unless it freezes and turns to ice.) How cool is that!

The wire harness above the circuit board - squirt that cavity full. Prevents seepage onto board. This does NOT stop condensation.

 

 

Edited February 29, 2020 by John E Davies

[John E Davies]

More tech info. These are generic pics, not specific to your fan. If somebody has an Illustrated Parts Breakdown for this series, please let me know, so I can update this.

MaxxFan Operator Replacement

YouTube Condensation fix

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited February 29, 2020 by John E Davies

[John E Davies]

Reassembly.

I installed Andersen connectors at the main wires coming out of the ceiling for easy removal in the future.... If you don't want to do that, use a couple of yellow crimp slices. ... Anderson Power Pole Connectors

Connect the wires and reinstall fan circuit fuse if removed.

The fan should come awake with a beep. Test the operator with the remote and the built in switches. If everything is good, reinstall the fan, lower panel and trim panel. 

Done.

John Davies

Spokane WA

 

Edited February 29, 2020 by John E Davies

[John E Davies]

Some videos that I made when testing the operation:

Normal operation after lubricating. This shows the range of motion with the rain shroud attached. It moves much further with the shroud disconnected at the rear hinge.

2017 MaxxFan 7000K with rain shroud attached, full cycle bench test, 13.2 volts DC.

Rear hinge binding and squeaking. This was causing the jerky operation.

2017 MaxxFan 7000K squeaky and binding rain door hinge

Normal play in rain shroud when partially open:

2017 MaxxFan 7000K sloppy at part open

***** NOTE ***** The ONLY positions where the rain shroud is not loose are at full closed or full open. At ANY intermediate position, the entire assembly will flop around in the wind. NOT GOOD - never leave your fan part way open using the black knob, especially in gusty winds or when towing. It can damage the parts.

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited February 29, 2020 by John E Davies

[Mike and Carol]

John, nice write up.  I wish I had this when I removed my fan!    Mike

[Patriot]

Yes, excellent write up and repair John. Well done!

[mossemi]

Thanks, JD.  Excellent write up and pictures.

Mossey

[jo79RI]

Are all fans do labor intensive? Not encouraged.

[Mike and Carol]

3 hours ago, jo79RI said:

Are all fans do labor intensive? Not encouraged.

It’s not that difficult.  I did it with no instructions, just paid attention to how it fits together as I took it apart.  If I had not chopped up a bunch of beetles with I would not have needed to remove it.  

[John E Davies]

3 hours ago, jo79RI said:

Are all fans do labor intensive? Not encouraged.

I am not quite sure I understand what you are asking. These are “full featured” fans with reversible motor, variable speed, thermostatic control, rain shield, etc. There are LOTS of parts, relatively speaking. .... https://www.maxxair.com/products/maxxfan/maxxfan_deluxe.php..... The hole in the roof is a standard size, you could easily replace your MaxxFan with a manual vent. There isn’t much that could go wrong with this that a squirt of lubricant every few years couldn’t fix.

All RV appliances are made to low standards and are essentially disposable, meaning many people just use one until it fails and then they buy a brand new one to replace it. But if you are willing to do preventative maintenance it will last a whole lot longer, and hopefully remain working correctly.

Owning an RV is a lot of work, no doubt about it. A lot of owners brand new to this world do not appreciate how much work there is.....

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited March 1, 2020 by John E Davies

[Nan]

John, if you could make a list of a maintenance schedule (what and how often), I would greatly appreciate it. 

Thank you,  Nan

[jo79RI]

Great request!

[John E Davies]

I already started one here..... If there are not enough items listed, for your particular equipment, for example, you can always add them. You need to have either Numbers (IOS or Mac) or Excel (Windoze) for these files to work - they are interactive.

https://olivertraveltrailers.com/forums/topic/2774-how-to-davies-rv-travel-log-service-inventory-spreadsheet-excel-numbers/

The Oliver factory really needs to do a maintenance sheet or checklist, and post it at Oliver University. Unless it is already there, they keep adding stuff all the time. And I may not know much about some of the equipment anyway, if  don’t have it.....

Please let’s not drift too far off topic in this thread. You can always start a new thread or PM me,

John Davies

Spokane WA

Edited March 1, 2020 by John E Davies

[In Pursuit]

John Great Job and description of the project. Thanks,

 

[Geronimo John]

QUESTION FOR LUBRICATION OF UPPER COVER HINGE:

John Davies:

Since I will be replacing the Operator Mechanism I'll be well into our Max Fan. So I'll also be coating the mother board and adding weeps as you have suggested.

I suspect it was my upper cover jerky hinge that damaged the mechanical operator.    

It appears that it where it is located, it is not highly visible.  Since, at least in my eyes, it is really important to keep it lubricated, and spray lubes have a relatively short life span, and getting to it to properly lube it is a small PITA, why not use CV-2 on it? 

GJ  

[John E Davies]

32 minutes ago, Geronimo John said:

QUESTION FOR LUBRICATION OF UPPER COVER HINGE:

I suspect it was my upper cover jerky hinge that damaged the mechanical operator.    

It appears that it where it is located, it is not highly visible.  Since, at least in my eyes, it is really important to keep it lubricated, and spray lubes have a relatively short life span, and getting to it to properly lube it is a small PITA, why not use CV-2 on it? 

GJ  

 

I don’t see how you would get CV-2 to penetrate properly. Daubing it on the outside wouldn’t work, I suggest this product.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wurth-HHS-K-HHS-Plus-High-Pressure-Lubricant-Aerospray-Can-500ml-16-9-fl-oz/181460891693?pageci=b47ef188-0d0e-40d3-8ef3-c8f45fe1838f&redirect=mobile

https://www.wurthusa.com/Chemical-Product/Lubricants/Multipurpose/HHS-Plus-500-ml-(aerosol)/p/0893106026

It goes on runny, penetrates well, then changes to a tenacious solid film. It is pretty amazing, I once has a Trek with a nightmare Nexus 8 speed internal geared hub, I tried the factory lube, all the Internet forum recipes, and none worked worth a flip until I completely degreased it, soaked it in the Wurth lube, and put it back together. It worked like magic with precise lovely “snick snick” gear changes. Thank goodness that bike is gone!! - but I also use it for car door hinges, etc. Really good stuff. I think it would be great on the fan parts.

John Davies

Spokane  WA