| Re: [GMCnet] Well, at least the smoke detector worked. [message #324262] |
Sat, 23 September 2017 07:26 |
Sandra Price
Messages: 709
Registered: May 2006
Karma: 1
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Senior Member |
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Thank goodness for the working smoke detector! And your tenacity.
Things just happen.
Sandra and Bob
On Sep 23, 2017 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!!!!!
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. Still have the first a 76 that will be rebodied into
an art deco car hauler.
http://www.bdub.net/pinkerton/
'03 Fleetwood Discovery 39L
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