close lighting strike.

rcox

Member
early this morning a storm popped up, lots of rain but we saw a very close strike and it did not affect anything in the house. went to church and it was picnic Sunday so about 3 pm before we returned home. the ac was running on the camper with water dripping on driveway. about 5 pm the wife was taking the dog for a walk and came back in the house and said the furnace was running.Opened the camper and they were both on and the thermostat was flashing E4. i turned it off but it kept running turned the circuit breaker off and the ac quit but the furnace continued to run. i then pulled the fuse for furnace and shut propane off. any one have a clue what would get it going. it also knocked the ac in the garage out and the lawn pump, which after reset for breaker for lawn pump and reset on the cord for ac they are alright.
 

danemayer

Well-known member
Lightning strikes can have an electrostatic charge of immense proportions affecting nearby devices. It's very possible some electronic control boards in your coach were affected - hopefully without permanent damage.
 

Fox

Well-known member
I can not help you with any of this ... but I can offer a solution to mitigate this from happening again.

Purchase an EMS system - NOT to be confused with a surge suppressor.

Units from Progressive Industries are USA MADE and come with a FREE Lifetime warranty. $300 - $400 is well worth the piece of mind.
Available in both portable or internal units - 30A or 50A.

http://www.progressiveindustries.net/our-products
Sold many places for less than retail.

And NO, I have no interest in this business, just a happy camper.
 

Domi

Well-known member
If it were me I would completely power down the trailer and the re-boot it all. It would hopefully reset everything. That would mean pulling the AC as well as disconnecting the battery so it is totally dead. If you happen to have Solar turn that off as well.

Once you power up try everything and hopefully it will be okay.

Might also want remember this in the future if things start "acting wierd". Generally that means they were damaged but not broken by the close strike. Thier life has been shortened but you can never know by how much.

Many years of flying electronics through thunderstorms has taught me this in case anyone is wondering. I have seen a lot of wierd stuff that is fixed by a cold reboot.

Good luck,

John
 

Gary521

Well-known member
I had a lightning strike close to my house and it blew all the satellite boxes, my stereo system, a wall thermostat and the garage door opener. In your case, check everything.
 

wdk450

Well-known member
Just as there is no lock that cannot protect your valuables forever, there is no electromagnetic pulse protection that protects your electronics absolutely. The Progressive EMS system is impressive, I have it, and have heard the protection relay cutting out isolating the trailer from the powerlines when I saw the flash of a nearby lightning hit. Best bet if you can do it, is to unplug the trailer from the AC power when lightning is in the area.

The common point of control of your Air Conditioner and furnace (besides the thermostat) is the control board in the air conditioner. That is where the thermostat is connected, and that circuit board sends a signal to the furnace when furnace heat is needed.

Good luck!!!
 

mlpeloquin

Well-known member
Don't be surprised if the convection/microwave oven and TV(s) fail in six months to a year. Though they are turned off, they still have power for the clock and control board for the microwave and the TV power supply board is also on providing power to the remote control sensor. The electronics may still function, but they have been stressed. May or may not have been stressed to the point of shorting their functional life.
 
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