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Home » Public Forums » GMCnet » Well, at least the smoke detector worked. (In the SOB but it can happen in your GMC just as easy)
Well, at least the smoke detector worked. [message #324261] Sat, 23 September 2017 07:18 Go to next message
kerry pinkerton is currently offline  kerry pinkerton   United States
Messages: 2565
Registered: July 2012
Location: Harvest, Al
Karma: 15
Senior Member
It is really exciting when the smoke alarm goes off at 3:30 AM and you are jolted awake to the acrid smell of something burning and smoke in the coach, REALLY REALLY exciting!!!!!

We're at my cousin Jim Pinkerton's and were sound asleep when it happened. I jumped up and saw a thin haze of smoke in the kitchen by the light from the microwave light that we use as a nightlight but no obvious source. There did not seem to be an immediate danger of flames so I put on my pants and shoes, grabbed my pocket flashlight and started the hunt for the source. It was a familiar acrid smell, definitely electrical. Carolyn was prepared to go out the escape window but I told her there was no need. She threw some clothes on and I got her and our valuables out of the coach and into the car and had her back it away from the coach. I also called Jim and woke him up a couple hours early. Sometime during all this, I took the battery out of the smoke alarm and turned on both of the exhaust fans. At least with the alarm off, I could think.

By the time Jim got down the hill to where we were parked, I had opened all the doors in the coach inside and checked the basements for the source of the smoke. Nothing. I told Jim that it smelled like a burned out florescent ballast...but I don't have anything but LEDs and I don't know how they smell if they go bad. I've had 10 or so start to flicker and I replaced them but none of them actually smoked or got hot. We felt all the lights (which had been off anyway). Jim climbed up on the roof but the AC units both looked good, were not warm, and the fans were running. Checked all the 120V outlets and they were good, no breakers thrown, lifted the bed, nothing under there, pulled the drawer out so I could check hot water heater and saw nothing but cobwebs. Outside, I pulled the fridge cover off and everything looked good. The Norcold was still cold and no smoke inside.

I was beginning to dread the idea that whatever it was had been short duration and it was over. That would be very bad as the wife would probably never sleep in the coach again until the problem was identified.

About that time, I heard a compressor start and shut off and told Jim it was the start capacitor on the rear AC. I grabbed my little Snap-on electric screwdriver and a flashlight and we went back on the dew covered roof, leaving dirty footprints along the way on my newly washed roof. Pulling the cover off the AC unit I still could not smell anything but as soon as I took the cover off the capacitor compartment, it was obvious the start cap was bad. The whole top was melted and even some of the wiring had burned. I removed the screw that held the restraining strap on and pulled all three caps out. The run cap actually has a hole melted in the side.

As I'm writing this, it's 5am, Jim and Kathy have gone back to their house. When it gets daylight, Jim and I will probably go ahead and replace the two remaining slide out toppers that we didn't do earlier and by then and breakfast, the RV store down the road will be open and I can get new caps. We'll get some Febreze and spray liberally. The coach still has that 'smell' but we've got the door open with the screen shut and several windows open and, of course, the Fantastic Fan's running full blast. We run the air handlers on the AC units at night for air circulation and white noise so, of course, the smoke and smell was throughout the coach. Hopefully the Febreze will take care of it.

The wife was pretty tense and asked if there was a way we could know in advance it was going bad. I told her they were like light bulbs, they worked fine until they didn't.

Could have been a lot, a WHOLE LOT worse!


Kerry Pinkerton - North Alabama Had 5 over the years. Currently have a '06 Fleetwood Discovery 39L
Re: Well, at least the smoke detector worked. [message #324263 is a reply to message #324261] Sat, 23 September 2017 07:45 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Larry is currently offline  Larry   United States
Messages: 2875
Registered: January 2004
Location: Menomonie, WI
Karma: 10
Senior Member
Holy Cow man!! Same thing happened to our coach about 10yrs ago. We were parked in University Hospital Madison parking lot while Lucy was having neck surgery. This was July so I turned on both AC's and went to be with her. When I came back that evening, I saw smoke coming from the front AC and as I approached the coach I could hear a loud buzzing noise. I got into the coach and shut the AC down immediately. If I had not come back when I did, the coach may have burned. A post mortem found the compressor seized. Just pure luck I caught it when I did. Glad to hear you guys are OK.

Larry Smile
78 Royale w/500 Caddy
Menomonie, WI.
Re: [GMCnet] Well, at least the smoke detector worked. [message #324265 is a reply to message #324261] Sat, 23 September 2017 08:15 Go to previous message
Ken Henderson is currently offline  Ken Henderson   United States
Messages: 8726
Registered: March 2004
Location: Americus, GA
Karma: 9
Senior Member
Wow! Glad it didn't get worse! Never had that happen in your GMC's did
you? Maybe Carolyn will insist in going back. :-)

Ken H.


On Sat, Sep 23, 2017 at 8:19 AM, Kerry Pinkerton
wrote:

> It is really exciting when the smoke alarm goes off at 3:30 AM and you are
> jolted awake to the acrid smell of something burning and smoke in the
> coach, REALLY REALLY exciting!!!!!
> ​...
>
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Ken Henderson
Americus, GA
www.gmcwipersetc.com
Large Wiring Diagrams
76 X-Birchaven
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