2011 Journey Express 34Y No power to zone 1 Heat/AC unit

[Jamp]

I have a 2011 Winnie Journey Express (34Y). About a month ago the zone 1 (front) heat pump stopped working. If I call for heat it reverts to propane heat as it should, but when I call for cool nothing happens. I have tested all 3 capacitors in both zone 1 and zone 2 and they test good. I tested both soft start controllers (aftermarket installation) and they tested good. The thermostat also appears to be working. The circuit breaker is not tripped. I ran power directly to the unit and it appears to be functioning fine, so, there must be a problem associated with getting power to the unit. I have pulled the wiring diagrams but they don't tell me a lot. Is there a solenoid somewhere that the thermostat controls that sends power to the unit? If so where is it? Has anyone experienced anything like this. Hoping for ideas.

[Morich]

Not my best field but I will throw in a tiny bit and maybe others will know more!
There will be some form of relay to put the 110AC power through to the air. The wiring for the thermostat will be low voltage and small wires. Those small wires then control a relay that puts the 110AC voltage through when operated by the small wires.
Pretty close to what happens in a house if familiar with that?

On an RV, I would expect that relay to be on the unit itself. If you pull the hood off the unit, there are likely to be obvious big wires for the AC power and that point likely has smaller control wires from the thermostat. Find the big ones (Romex?) and small may be next to them?
Sorry, the drawings are my main source and the air is not well drawn up- as it is not considered part of the Winnebago but an added part whcih we may need to go to the AC builder info to get indepth stuff!

[Jamp]

Another clue to my dilemma is the fact that the system works, in that if electric heat fails the system fails over to propane heat as it should. The question I have is where/what is the device that has the "brains" to make that decision? Does the thermostat do that or is there some other smart device in the system that makes that choice? I have been to two RV service places and nobody has a clue.

[Morich]

Without going to the roof to look, do you have any of the manuals for the air conditioning units? It would be good to have an exact brand and model number to do a search for info on that specific unit.

Checking the interactive parts list here:
https://catalog3d.winnebagoind.com/menu/Parts.htm

It does not give me a brand nor model but it does list a small item that might lead somewhere as I do find an old discussion of near the same item number???

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f101/mac...ed-296152.html

As I understand the system (without evrr using one!!) the roof units are just heat pump without any propane function. When you say the propane comes on, do you mean the normal furnace which puts out air from the floor ducts?
I think that works as a "standby" type function whihc lets the heat pump work as long as the outsider temp is right and it can keep up butthen if more heat is needed the normal propane floor unit kicks in.

Shaky understanding at best but I believe that the top units are something that cools and when heat is needed the work "in reverse"?
There is the control unitl mentioned in the post but then also I see a "reversing valve in the parts listings.
NO experience but it does sort of imply that the control unit or possible the reverse valve might be the problem?

Really shaky thinking, so be alert!
Good luck in the chase!

[Jamp]

I was reading on the internet about this problem I have and it alluded to a control box that is between the thermostat and the roof units? I went through the schematics and cannot find anything like that. Has anyone ever heard of a control box for the heat-pumps/propane heat?

[DancinCampers]

I believe that the control box is in the roof unit. You will need to remove the sheet metal panel over the indoor coil to access it. Check your tstat LED that it indeed does show cooling as an option when the tstat switch is set to cool for zone 1. Switch your mode button to see what is available. Can you change fan speeds? Comms to the front unit may be compromised. Your tstat, I believe, uses a data link to control the 2 roof units. It is daisy chained from one to the other.

[Joeantolik32]

Not sure what your issue is but do want to let you know that the propane will come on if there is a 10 degree difference between the temp set on the thermostat and the temp in the RV. Even if you think you turned on the roof unit.

There are (not sure of number) at least 6 relays inside the AC unit in the metal box. They control all operation for the roof unit fan operation, heating, cooling.

[Jamp]

So I wound up replacing the thermostat, which was an easy process but figuring out what to replace it with was like pulling teeth. But I did replace it and most functions are back, actually all functions are back except for the zone 1 AC. We hard wired power directly to the AC unit and it fired up, so that leaves the mysterious control box. Any ideas on how to get info for that, either testing info or replacing it? FYI, the thermostat in my 2011 Journey express was a ComfortZC 8000 series. I am not sure of any other part number since there isn't a part number on the unit. I replaced it with a ASY-354-C from Micro Air. The heat pump/AC/Heat is a coleman Mach and the model number is 49023A879