12v ceiling fan troubleshooting

[RawFaith]

Hello to everyone!
Just became proud owners of our first Heartland!
Will be around here a lot since our intention is Fulltiming
Noticed that the Ceiling fan "tends to quit" . Starts fine at any speeds but decides to take a brake after few minutes. Just replaced the wall remote control. And after few minutes the fan decides to quits, the remote in the wall gets really warm/hot.
Any tests that can be performed? Fuses are good and good voltage is going to the remote.
If there is good voltage to the fan, does it means the fan is dead?
We are talking about a 05 Grand Canyon, and the wall remote for the fan looks like this:

 

[jimtoo]

Hi RawFaith,

Welcome to the Heartland Owners Forum and to the family. We have a great bunch of folks here with lots of information and all willing to share their knowledge when needed.

If you talking about the big 42" ceiling fan with light fixture on it,,,, I am pretty sure that is 120v. Please check to make sure what your dealing with.

Be sure and check out our Heartland Owners Club. Join us at a rally when you can and meet lots of the great folks here and make friends for a lifetime.

Enjoy the forum and your new to you unit.

Jim M

Also you need to make a couple more post before the system will let you post a picture.

 

[RawFaith]

Hi Jim,
thanks for the fast response!
Our fan does not have lights, a plain small fan, with no manual options for reverse not speeds.
Also a little if homework regarding the remote shows in the direction of 12v
Didnt open it yet, since I'm have bigger fishes to fry at the moment
thanks for the heads up about the pictures. So far I'm recoating the roof and treating the soobfloor to waterproof it and wanted to post as much as we can with pics but the system would not let us :-(
So I guess I need more interaction before pics? any idea how many posts?
I believe that pics on troubleshooting this would help 😜

 

[cookie]

Rawfaith, go ahead and post your pictures now.

Peace
Dave

 

[RawFaith]

Rawfaith, go ahead and post your pictures now.

Peace
Dave

will do,
thanks!👍

- - - Updated - - -

well, here is a picture of what we have...
any clues about troubleshooting this?
thanks in advance

 

[danemayer]

The fan probably runs off 120V AC and has a receiver for the remote. The receiver may have a loose wire or maybe is flaky.

On the remote, check the orientation of the batteries. Maybe they're in backwards.

 

[wdk450]

If this is an infrared (not radio signal) remote, you can check if it is sending out a signal by aiming it at a cellphone (or other digital) camera and pressing buttons on the remote, A good IR remote will produce IR light flashes visible on a digital camera.

 

[RawFaith]

ooooops!
Just swifted my focus of the fan to the belly pan, noticed some things and I will be focus on that for the next few days and then back to the fan😁
Thanks for the quick replies and guidance, I will be in profound need of more counseling once I'm starting to take the fan and the controller at part, so please give me a couple of days and wish me luck with the findings at the basement area 😳

 

[RawFaith]

well, back to to ceiling fan.
we are parked in full sun and with the 2 Acs running the best we get is 80F.
So, I hope there is someone there that went thru this before and could point us in the right direction to troubleshoot it and not just going and buying a new one. Plus don't really want to buy a new one if there is an issue somewhere that will cause to "burn" the new one.
So here we go!

 

[RawFaith]

Let's start with the switch.
For what I saw online in theory is a 12v fan controller, but we are about to find that out

- - - Updated - - -

Tester is reading 14.2 V ( Is that normal or the converter was "in charging mode"?) for supply and when activating the switch also sends 14.2V
So I tend to believe that we are indeed talking about a 12V ceiling fan...

- - - Updated - - -

So let's go to the fan now and see what we have...
Need a
#2 screw driver
#17 socket

 

[RawFaith]

The fan probably runs off 120V AC and has a receiver for the remote. The receiver may have a loose wire or maybe is flaky.

On the remote, check the orientation of the batteries. Maybe they're in backwards.

apparently is a 12v remote and fan, and it looks all factory pre-wired, hopes this is normal...;-)

 

[RawFaith]

If this is an infrared (not radio signal) remote, you can check if it is sending out a signal by aiming it at a cellphone (or other digital) camera and pressing buttons on the remote, A good IR remote will produce IR light flashes visible on a digital camera.

No IR remote, apparently a simple 12V reversible switch wired from the converter to the fan....sounds familiar?

 

[RawFaith]

a 12V fan!!!

it is indeed a 12V fan!
now, something that I noticed is that the fan doesn't spin very freely by hand like the ones at home.
wondering if something is going on inside....

 

[RawFaith]

this is out of my league....

14.2V also getting to the fan.
Reversible option from the remote works fine ( only reverse the polarity going to the fan )
Removed and opened the fan...this is way out of my league....anyone nows how to test the fan it self?

 

[danemayer]

Maybe this article will help.

If the fan motor shaft doesn't turn pretty freely, that may be the entire problem. If there's a little different in the resistance going one way, it might work in one direction but not the other.

Lubrication?

 

[RawFaith]

Maybe this article will help.

If the fan motor shaft doesn't turn pretty freely, that may be the entire problem. If there's a little different in the resistance going one way, it might work in one direction but not the other.

Lubrication?

thanks for the fast response!
Once I opened the fan it looked more like an alternator than a ceiling fan LOL, it reminded me of the good old days when "rewiring " the alternator was a common practice, now days: replace it!
looks like this is apparently the fate of this little guy...?
I really don't see anything to lube...

 

[danemayer]

Picture 2 seems to show a shaft going through a bearing. Hows the bearing feel? Is there another bearing on the other end? If the fan doesn't turn freely, I'd start there.

 

[RawFaith]

Picture 2 seems to show a shaft going through a bearing. Hows the bearing feel? Is there another bearing on the other end? If the fan doesn't turn freely, I'd start there.

bearings seems smooth, no clue here...
I left the remote switch ON and it didn't get warm at all like it used to before....something is going on with the fan it self i guess but can't figure what...(frustrating...)
just pulled the trigger and order a bigger one! the one we had was a 32 and ordered a 42 ( couldn't find anything bigger on 12v). Should be here in about a week to 10 days.
Will get back to you guys with some updated pics of the installation and to report any results.
BTW did the "tent mod" and closed the vent in the bathroom: WOW!!! what a difference in airflow!!! still want to add 2 more vents on the living room area: any ideas about the "cut size and the ouster diameter? what's the best source for the vents? will like to match the existing ones if possible...

 

[Bob&Patty]

Looking at the fan and controller...I'm not sure that it was installed by HL....but maybe. Call HL service, have your VIN# handy and ask them. BTW, be careful on how large the fan blades are. If there is a slide or 2 where the fan is...the slide when pulled in might wipe out the blades. The height from the ceiling to the top of the slides could be an issue also.

 

[mlpeloquin]

Stater and rotor seem fine and the brushes should be ok. The problem may be that just one wire in the stater needs to be shorted to another to muck it up. Replacing it would be the best answer. Make sure the longer blades can clear any slides in that space.