SeeLevel display isn't working

[HikingDog]

I was filling my fresh water tank this morning in preparation for our journey in Hull 804, and the SeeLevel display wasn't working when I went inside to check levels.  The 15amp fuse appeared fine, as both the cell booster and wifi booster on the same circuit had power.  I removed the fuse, and then replaced it hoping cutting power would "reboot" the display.  No luck.  The circuit board behind the display didn't show any sign of damage, and the connector was secure.  The co-located pump switch worked fine.  Am I missing finding another fuse that might specific to the tank sensors/display circuit?  We will be at the Oliver rally... and starting our journey towards there tomorrow! 

[SeaDawg]

Are you getting no (dark) display, on all the guages on the seelevel?

 

[HikingDog]

Seadawg,

And Voila!  It's working!  Showing all tank levels and battery charge level now.  Let's see:

Since the discovery of this problem,

1. I finished mowing the lawn

2. I put out the awning, and turned on the awning and curb lights to aid packing

3. I turned on the LP to start cooling the frig

I checked the SeeLevel.  Now I have to figure which one of the above corrected the problem.  I'm leaning toward a propane-powered display panel. I'm now not sure if I'm happy it's working, or....

But seriously, I had emptied all three tanks after our last trip a few weeks ago.  Are the sensors internal, and at least one needs to sense liquid as a feedback to enable the display?  The display was dark after filling fresh water, and was when i checked an hour later.  I tried the battery + gray buttons for 5 seconds in case it was a display issue, but got nothing on the display.  Next time I'll wait until the next day before asking y’all for help!  Unless I smell something burning...

[ScubaRx]

The sensors are sonic and read through the tank walls. They are not internal. They are only accurate to about 10%. That said, if the display was completely dark, I would say it was not getting power. I doubt that finishing mowing the yard had anything to do with the miraculous recovery. Unfortunately, I don’t see a correlation with your other two scenarios either. 
 

I would begin by searching for where power to the panel might be being interrupted. 

[topgun2]

Another possibility is that the "roped deer" was just getting even for what some dumb farmer did to him?

Or, like ScubaRx says - look at ALL the connections on your tank sensors and power to the display.

Bill

[Trainman]

I will say here that travel trailers, RV's in general are always needing some type of repair, I don't care if it's an Oliver, or other RV's. We camp with others that have different brands of RV's and it always something that needs attention, it's just the nature of the beast. I feel the RV's mechanical features in general are not top quality components, not anything close that auto manufactures put into there vehicles. My 2 1/2 old Oliver to date has had to have the MaxFan, Progressive voltage regulator, Hot Water heater electronic controller, plus other small things replaced due to electronic failures. I will say that Oliver took care of the problems and they were not manufactured by Oliver, but it just the poor quality of mechanical features being manufactured today. The Oliver trailer itself has been perfect, great quality, and exceptional design and function, I guess that's what we are paying for. I personally think that anyone buying an RV and not being mechanical minded, be prepared to be visiting an RV service center probably more then you want to.

trainman

[ScubaRx]

The forces on a travel trailer going down the road is like a 6.0 earthquake being towed thru a hurricane. It's little wonder that things rattle loose.

[Steph and Dud B]

Agree with @Trainman. Most American RVs, and virtually all of their appliances/components, are built to last barely longer than their warranty period. Yes, they do get bounced around a lot, but my truck doesn't need a new radio or navi system every 18 months because it goes down the road. The real problem is us. As long as Americans will keep paying top dollar for a rolling do-it-yourself project, they'll keep making them. I am hoping the Oliver design and construction holds up to our expectations. Bad enough when the gadgets break, much worse when you're dealing with roof leaks, broken spring hangers, and cracked frames.

[John E Davies]

Check the fuse for the tank gauge, the little brass ““ears” that grip the fuse terminals are easily sprung out of position, they are a really soft material. You can carefully squeeze them back together with a mini needle nose pliers. Just don’t short something! Zap! Use the pliers to place the fuse back in straight, do not let it cock sideways or you are back to square 1…. Check all the fuses while you are lying sideways under the dinette table saying bad words. You may find other loose ones.  The fuse section of the converter is definitely a low budget item.

John Davies

Spokane WA

[SeaDawg]

21 hours ago, HikingDog said:

I removed the fuse, and then replaced it hoping cutting power would "reboot" the display.  No luck. 

There's not much info for troubleshooting a blank display. What you did - removing the fuse to cut power and reboot- is about it, and checking connection at the panel and power source. 

I "think" if you have a loose connection at one of the sensors, you would normally show an error signal instead of digits, not a blank display. (Opn or sht/open or short) 

A blank display would probably indicate no power, because of a loose connection to the power source , or the panel, or a blown fuse. Or a bad or failing panel. (Or a tiny gremlin inside your panel, tugging at the wire and reseating it while you mowed the lawn, put out the awning, and started up the fridge... 🤣 🧟‍♂️)

Outside possibility that your continued punching of the buttons knocked out a tiny bit of corrosion or debris that limited contact, and you'll be just fine in the future... (remember how we used to "fix" touch tone phone buttons that wouldn't work by holding down the hook at the phone, and pushing the buttons repeatedly till they once again made contact?)

We actually like our seelevel, enough that we installed the same seelevel system on the boat when we installed new tanks. Among those available,  it has great reviews,  and many people consider it an upgrade to other cheaper systems, and it was a relatively simple install and calibration. Used to be made in Canada, and probably still is.

15th season with the trailer, and fingers crossed that I didn't gump us by saying we liked the seelevel, and its reliability...

 

[HikingDog]

Thanks for the suggestions, the display has been working perfectly after 350+ miles traveled since malfunction.  I'll ask about it at the rally.  The only thing I ruled out was the fuse and it's connection in my cursory examination by noting the cell booster and wifi powering up  trying two different 15amp fuses, which the manual says these components share the same fuse circuit as the seelevel.  I quickly tried to disconnect the connector at the display to meter voltage to the display, but the release wasn't obvious and I was afraid I'd break it in the process, and I had a yard to mow before we left... so I'll never know unless that gremlin comes back.