Welcome Back Light

[LMC3]

Does anyone know how to turn on the automatic Welcome Back Light feature?

Our 2014 Heartland Landmark Key Largo came with an automatic Welcome Back Light. This allowed the interior aisle light at the door to momentarily come on when the door is opened.

We took our RV back to Camping World for numerous warranty issues and when we got it back, this feature no longer worked. CW is clueless that the feature even exists (a whole forum thread in itself).

I found an abstract on this site called "Heartland RV Feature - Explained Welcome Back Light" dated 6/17/10 which explains the feature now uses a hidden magnetic switch but it only addresses that it exists and to control it with the interior switch.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[danemayer]

Hi LMC3,

For the Welcome Back Light, the switch on the light fixture (if there is one) must be ON and the lamp must be working. You can test this by going to the panel with all your switches and turning the Aisle Light ON. That must be OFF for the welcome back feature to work.

I've attached a draft document that explains the feature in more detail. Keep in mind that this is a draft and all details have not been verified.

 

[LMC3]

Thank you for the document. Perfect!! I'll try checking the hidden switch. We've had problems with the wires and Coax cables coming loose so possible that's the answer. Now that I know where the switch is located, I will try error checking then post the solution.

 

[danemayer]

You might find it easier to start at the wall switch to see if there's power. Then gently pull the wires to see if you can locate where the hot wire from the fuse box is connected to the other wires to see if something has come loose.

I would think the under-door switch and control module are low odds of being the problem.

 

[Toy1Ton]

so if the door is latched open let say for fresh air to come in the light well stay on?

 

[danemayer]

so if the door is latched open let say for fresh air to come in the light well stay on?

It's probably supposed to time out, but mine stays on indefinitely. Our door stays open most of the time so I switch the light off.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[LMC3]

so if the door is latched open let say for fresh air to come in the light well stay on?

No, it stays on for about 30 seconds then turns off. There is also a switch to disable feature.

Our hidden magnetic switch in the doorway had gone bad. Camping World refused to repair, citing unit did not come with the feature. We had to prove their own advertisement showed the feature, the owners manual showed the feature and pointed out the magnetic trip on the door. They then said they couldn't figure out how to repair. We took unit to a non-Heartland dealer , Runaway RV in Dothan, AL and they were able to fix. Now works great.

 

[Toy1Ton]

how are you switching it off?

 

[LMC3]

how are you switching it off?

Let me correct, There there is a light switch along with the other main switches that turns it ON, not off. My mistake.

The lights turns on when door opens; immediately turns off when door closes; times off in about 10 seconds when the door is left open.

 

[Toy1Ton]

Wow there must be something wrong with mine I left the door open for 15 minutes and the light stayed on

 

[danemayer]

I think the control module is programmed such that when the door opens, a ground path is established and the module passes power to the light fixture. In the intended operation, the door is then closed, breaking the ground. The module starts a countdown and continues to apply power to the light for somewhere between 30 seconds and 3 minutes. At the end of the countdown, power to the light is interrupted.

Based on my experience with the one unit that we have, if the door stays open, the ground path never breaks and the module never starts the countdown to turn the light off.

My light fixture has an on/off switch on the fixture, which is how I turn it off. If I think we may be coming back after dark, I turn on the over counter light in the kitchen.

So - should the module time out even if the door is left open? That would make sense. Does anyone have a LM that works that way?

 

[LMC3]

I bet it's the magnetic switch. Ours was sticking the stuck off. They replaced it with a mechanical switch and all works fine now. The wires are accessible under the steps but not the switch. I'll try to get a pic of the wiring when I get a chance an it stops raining and post.

 

[jmgratz]

Our Landmark San Antonio has the welcome back light. If you open the door the light over the inside entry comes on. After you close the door the light will stay on for about 45 sec to 1 min. If you prop open the front door and leave the screen closed the light will stay on for about 3 minutes but will eventually go off. Hope this helps