Motor Aid Coach Heater - Page 2

emmmw · 01-15-2009, 06:32 PM

We love ours and it has worked great so far.

hamguy · 01-16-2009, 12:12 PM

Thanks for the responses. I am surprized at how many do not have any bearing on the original question.

DancinCampers · 01-17-2009, 09:28 AM

Hamguy,

Mine is behind the water heater, under the passenger seat. Some folks have been able to remove them without removing the water heater, but I was unable to. My first try was to remove the water pump and then the board which it attaches to. This gave me better access to the aux heater. I removed and plugged the coolant hoses attached to the unit, under the right wheel well.

There are 3 screws which attach the unit to the floor, which I was able to remove.

My problem came in trying to remove the electrical connector. It is located on the side of the houseing, facing the firewall. I did not have enough slack in the cable to get my hand in position over the top to release it.

So I removed the water heater. The hardest part I found in removing the water heater was separating the lip from the coach body, really sticky stuff. I used a putty knife & pliers to work my way around. I had to remove the hot & cold lines and one coolant line, in addition to the propane fitting.

My pump mounting board has a light attached, so I had to cut the wires & add barrell connectors when I replaced it. I removed all the water pipe mounting screws & was able to move the pipes to the left side.

While I had the water heater removed, I took the AC switch out & spliced the wires. The switch had melted.

Hope this helps.

Beabop · 01-17-2009, 05:19 PM

On our 2000, the fan motor froze up as soon as it went out of warranty. I missed it but taking the water heater out to fix it was not an option.

SSpanky · 01-19-2009, 06:36 PM

I guess I'mhaving this problem too. I tried to use the heater and immediately after hitting the button I lost my b.u. camera and no fan noise. I can't seem to find where the fuse is, can someone lead me to that first?

DAN L · 01-19-2009, 11:22 PM

ss...
you should put more info about your moho in the signature portion of your profile.
on my moho the fuse is under the flip up dash to the left of the steering wheel.
on my moho, it is the 15 amp fuse on the right of the top row.

SSpanky · 01-20-2009, 01:32 PM

I thought about that just after I hit the post button! Thanks for the help!
I looked there and even took a test light to all of the fuses(just in case) but I couldn't find any bad fuses there.
My ride is a 2001 winnie brave 33v with the ford chassis.

SSpanky · 04-20-2009, 10:43 PM

Ok, took the m/h outta storage this weekend and today tackled the fuse-found it! replaced it and verified that the fan is inoperable.bummer!
Sounds like the next step is gonna involve dismantling the HWH to gain access.
My question for those who have fixed this, is the replacement part quieter than the origional equiptment?
And is the new part an in stock item or should I try to order it before I tear apart the coach and hope it turns out to be the right part?

mrschwarz · 04-21-2009, 04:20 AM

I have an 01 32v and I had to replace the motor because the bearings were bad. The replacement unit is almost inaudible.

DancinCampers · 04-21-2009, 07:01 AM

I have removed mine twice to fix the motor. If you are going to be in one place for awhile I would wait until you get the unit out to order parts. I was able to fix my motor, but then had to replace the resistor pack for low speed.

The largest cost in repairing these units is labor.

Hikerdogs · 04-21-2009, 10:20 AM

We had the same problem with the motor aid heater in our 01 Adventurer. I'm sure it was due to lack of use. As mentioned earlier a little excersize will go a long way as far as keeping it operational when it's needed. It would have been nice to have working last December when we drove non stop from Atlanta to Madison WI. trying to stay ahead of a storm.

We had our unit replaced earlier this year at Forest City. The whole unit costs $240.00. The motor and fan alone were about $190.00 and the labor to replace them would have been more than a complete unit. We were lucky (so to speak) since we also needed some work done on the water heater. The labor to replace the Motor aid was only an additional hour beyond removing and repairing the water heater.

I saved the old motor aid unit to install on my end loader. It'll be nice to have heat in it on cold winter days plowing snow.

DAN L · 04-22-2009, 02:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SSpanky

Ok, took the m/h outta storage this weekend and today tackled the fuse-found it! replaced it and verified that the fan is inoperable.bummer!
Sounds like the next step is gonna involve dismantling the HWH to gain access.
My question for those who have fixed this, is the replacement part quieter than the origional equiptment?
And is the new part an in stock item or should I try to order it before I tear apart the coach and hope it turns out to be the right part?

use the search function of this forum.
there used to be a lot of info available about the motoraid.
it seems that the major problem has been the basket blower migrates on the motor shaft. then the blower hits the housing and makes a lot of noise before ieither blowing the fuse if you are lucky or burning up the motor if you are not so lucky. there is a fix if the motor is still ok. if memory serves, there are some parts sources mentioned in the archives. i hope that the new, improved?, irv2 has not deleted this valuable resource.

Hikerdogs · 04-22-2009, 07:49 AM

New units are in stock at Forest City, but I doubt you can buy directly from them. You'll probably have to order from a dealer in your area.

As mentioned earlier you might be able to repair your unit. The factory or dealers are hesitant to attempt repairs since they have to gaurantee the work. It's more cost effective for them to replace the entire unit.

Your coach is the same size as ours. To access our motor aid heater you have to remove the water heater. I've had the water heater out before and it's not that difficult. The hardest thing is clamping off the coolant hoses from the engine to keep the antifreeze contained. Some of the newer coaches have an access panel on the front or bottom of the compartment. If you're lucky enough to have one replacing or repairing the unit should be fairly easy.

We took ours to the factory thinking the water heater needed replacement. It turned out to only have a broken wire. While they were in there they replaced the motor aid.

DancinCampers · 04-22-2009, 10:45 AM

When I took mine out, I used the really fat sharpie pens to plug the coolant lines.

Also, when I was back at GNR last year they had several units in the surplus store. They were all different case configurations (none looked like mine). If you order a complete new unit you need to be sure it is the same configuration.