Black and gray tanks always read zero

[obingv]

We have a 2016 View 24J which we bought about a year ago. The seller did not mention that the tank level indicators always read zero, and the propane level is way off. When it was reading 1/2, I took the rig to fill the propane and it took just one gallon. Any ideas? A new circuit board is $315!

[be happy]

As for the propane, where you reading it from a inside display or gauge on the tank? I know mine does not read true on the inside display, I check the gauge on the tank every so often to get a true reading.

As for the holding tanks my experience is just frustration for years and years. Its to the point with me I have just learn to live with it. My grey tank will show full very fast and the black will show almost nothing.

[Bones2003]

I'm not familiar with the specific tank display panel on your model but it could be you have some loose connections or a corroded ground wire connection. Are you familiar at all with electronics that you could look at the circuit board and identify a poor solder connection, broken circuit trace, or a burned part?

[obingv]

I am not an electronics guy but I have a local freelance RV guy who pulled the board and looked at it, he did not see any issues. I am pursuing the possibility of broken or chewed wires from the tank sensors to the control board. Thanks for your input!

[Bones2003]

You probably already know this but you can get somewhat helpful wiring diagrams and use the 3D parts lookup tool for your RV through the links on the right hand side of this webpage. The wiring diagrams are not as detailed as the schematic diagrams that Winnebago used to provide but it is what it is. The 3D tool is great for finding where things are located.

https://www.winnebago.com/owners/owner-resources

[obingv]

Yesterday I slid under the RV near the back and found the tank sensors for both the black and the gray tanks. All wiring seemed to be intact, and the wires themselves appeared to go over the tops of the tanks, making them very difficult to examine or for a critter to chew on. All exposed wiring is protected by wire loom, and I saw none that had been chewed on. I will examine the circuit board again today, hoping that is the problem and can be fixed with a new $315 board.

[TerryMA]

I have had a micro Minnie 2106FSB for three years now! At first I thought the gauges were unreliable and in fact they were because they get clogged up with crap… literally … and TP. The solution I have found is never stay hooked up with the holding tanks draining… they are designed to drain from a more or less full status. Everything flows faster and the sides of the tanks don’t get to dry out. My solution has been never leave them completely empty. If you drain them immediately put a gallon or more of water, a detergent puck and let that slosh around as you are driving. When you do drain the tank immediately fill the tank at least once and drain it again! More than once if necessary! This all helps immensely!

[golden13]

Spend a little time on this forum and you will learn that black, grey, and sometimes fresh water tank sensors are notorious for being totally inaccurate and unreliable. In the sewage tanks, the sensors are kind of like little nails that stick into the tank and measure the difference between two currents to see if liquid is touching it or not. Unfortunately the combination of human waste, various chemicals and TP tend to form something not unlike concrete. This fouls the sensors causing them to read "full" all the time.
There have been various attempts made to improve this technology, but I don't know of anything that works better than the standard OEM stuff. Best thing is to just develop a sense for it. A full grey tank will show up as a sink or shower that won't drain. A full black tank will start emitting odors into your bathroom, and ultimately the toilet will fill up and overflow. I have a ten dollar meter that measures how many gallons I am putting into fresh water and I avoid overflowing it in that way.


I wish you well.

[AlanO]

I too have a 2016 View J and my issue has always been with the propane reading on the display panel which is notoriously inaccurate. I bought and installed an electronic fuel gauge mounted next to the display panel which reads the fuel level from the tank sending unit and is extremely accurate. By installing a double throw switch I am able to read my gauge without getting an error message and the entire setup cost me less than $50.

[Ray,IN]

these are low voltage connections, it doesn't take much corrosion on unused terminals and connections to insulate them. Try removing each connection and cleaning it with an electronic cleaner or a pencil eraser.

Often the simple act of unplugging and reconnecting each terminal wipes off enough corrosion to regain continuity.

[obingv]

Just heard back from Winnebago Customer Care via email, they recommend resetting the OnePlace Monitor Panel, and sent me instructions on how to do that. I checked the documentation that came with the RV and could not find any info on doing this reset. I will try it this weekend and post on the success or failure of the fix.

[Morich]

Originally Posted by obingv

Just heard back from Winnebago Customer Care via email, they recommend resetting the OnePlace Monitor Panel, and sent me instructions on how to do that. I checked the documentation that came with the RV and could not find any info on doing this reset. I will try it this weekend and post on the success or failure of the fix.

Much of the info you have been getting is not correct for your RV as it doesn't have contacts that go into the tank and get fouled or corrode. New designs that work better!

If you had contacts in the tank that were getting fouled, that will often make them give false readings showing more content than is there but that would not be prone to happen to the pads which don't penetrate the tank walls.
A reading of nothing in the tank sounds more like an open circuit or other type failure rather than a sensor fouling.

This is the drawing for your setup and it shows diodes inline, so if the reset is not the solution, I might go next to checking the contacts on the connections for the wiring as they are somewhat exposed to various moisture and may be corroded or open. Also diodes are small little things that are prone to going open,so may need checking.
https://www.winnebago.com/Files/File...ire_152594.pdf

Testing diodes with a multimeter is pretty simple but it does take some care to do it right, so do look online for some diode tests---if you get to that point!

They are still prone to getting things like paper stuck on the inside wall and then may read 2/3 full when you just emptied but they seem to work much better and a good cleaning of the tank that gets the paper off that spot will often clear the problem of false readings.

Not a perfect system but few things are!!!

[obingv]

I parked the RV in my driveway and filled the gray and black tanks to half full with plain water. Then I did the reset of the OnePlace panel - push Pump, Tank, and Battery for six seconds, new screen appears, then push Pump, then Battery to return to normal. I then pushed Tank, and the gray tank showed 1/3 full, the propane 1/2 full (was 1/4), but the black tank still showed empty. I used my tank-cleaning attachment on the black tank, but still showed empty. I will pursue it as a wiring problem.

[Morich]

Sounds like progress and some thought on the levels may help make it look better for reading 1/3 full when the tank is half full.
Some miss that the levels are 1/3, 2/3, and full. When we have 1/2 tank, the last level pad reading will be 1/3, until it reaches 2/3! So that sounds like a good reading at this point!

The black tank reading empty does sound like an open more than tank debris. I find debris will cause a reading like 2/3 when the tank is empty if there is something like paper on the spot where the pad takes the reading. But if we fill the tank to full, then the reading changes to full. It just never says below 2/3 until we get that gunk off that spot!

If this is a new game to play with the Winnebago products, there may be some info that "might" help if you get into checking the wiring. They stamp wire ID on the wire sides.


If you can get to the plug where the tank wiring meets the main RV wiring and find the ID label, then you can go to this list to "decode" that info to get where that wire comes "from" and goes "to" as well as it often tells us if it is power or ground!

https://www.winnebago.com/Files/File...ical_guide.pdf

Example? Click to get a better view!


Not the full blown story of where each wire goes but maybe some help on chasing the problem!

[obingv]

Additional investigation while lying on my back under the black tank sensors revealed the cause of the problem. I ran my hand up along the sensors, a very tight fit, then found the wire going upward from the top sensor. It seemed loose, so I gave it a little tug and it was either broken or chewed about 10 inches past the sensor. Definitely an open circuit, now the question is how to correct the problem. My approach would be to run another wiring pair (in wire loom of course) over to where the tank sensor wires run up to the OnePlace panel, then identify and tap into the black tank wires.