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Fan-Tastic Fan Vent Problems
We had a house full of company over the Thanksgiving holiday so Cathie and I stayed in the coach overnight.
After taking showers on Thursday or Friday morning I turned on the “Shower Fan” to clear the humidity out. After a while the Fan-Tastic Fan Vent did its job and I pressed the Sunmulon switch to cycle the fan/vent “OFF”. The sound changed from the whirring fan to the familiar deeper tone of the the vent cover closing and we left the coach for the day. After returning in the evening I realized the motor was still running making that “opening/closing” sound. Pushing the Sunmulon switch didn’t do anything. I then started flipping 120 volt breakers thinking the Fan-Tastic devices were 120volt and wired to one of the outlet circuits but the thing didn’t quit running.
So I broke out some tools and removed the decorative cover that Liberty put over the Fan-Tastic device could see the bottom side of the device. In the corner of the device I found a twist knob switch with settings O-1-2-3, I think it was on “1” so I switched it to “O” and the motor stopped. I couldn’t see the vent standing open from the ground, so I left it until the company left. Today I borrowed an 8′ foot step ladder from the neighbor and sure enough, the vent was closed, but I could pull it up with no resistance. It wasn’t being held down. Moved the ladder over to the other side of the coach where the toilet room Fan-Tastic vent is located and found that vent was being firmly held down.
I pulled the Fan-Tastic information sheet that Liberty had placed in the two large binders of installation/operating manuals in the coach. It was hard to follow. Perused the Fan-Tastic website and couldn’t get smart.
It looks like there is a way to disengage the raise/lower motor and using a four-lobe knob manually open or close the vent cover. I tried that. The slide switch seemed to “disengage” something. The four-lobe knob turned with no resistance in both directions. Turning the four-lobe knob in either direction for a long time didn’t do anything to restrict how far the vent cover would move between fully closed and what I presume is fully open (about 45*).
Then I opened the vent cover all the way and futzed with the arm that moves it up and down. Next thing I know, I’m holding the arm in my hand. I suspect the arm is held on a shaft and somehow whatever holds the arm to the shaft fell off.
I don’t think I can drive it like it is as airflow will make the vent cover pound itself to death. I’m also concerned that if we get rain or snow blowing from the back of the coach while parked, it will end up inside the coach.
Can I take this thing apart without climbing on the roof? Is it serviceable from the underside? I’m reluctant to start taking it apart and find its a job beyond my skill level. Anyone else face this challenge?
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20 Replies
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You can, you may need to remove the fan which is held in with the screws in each corner. If the fan itself is bad, Fantastic has upgrade kits that will install in the old fan’s place.The kits come with everything except the cover.
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Thanks! I’ll tackle that.
Let’s see … standing on a chair, leaning over the sink into a alcove, looking straight up at something not in the focal length of my bifocals with poor light, … should be exciting!
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Dick,
Welcome to the Old farts Club. But, you forgot to mention that just as soon as you get semi comfortable standing on your head and get the item you are working on barely in view and in focus with your bifocals or trifocals, you will discover you need to go to the potty really bad.
Been there … done that.
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Also note that you need to rebuild what is there instead of replace…sounds like the arm is broken…pull the motor and then you can get the linkage from motor to the lid..check it to see if it is broken…check the splines on the motor and linkage as well…
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Dick,
Sounds to me as if a gear has been stripped on the motor. The fan motor is likely one that shuts off when sufficient resistance is applied, i.e. when the vent hood while closing impacts the housing.
Not sure since I don’t have a Liberty with all this features.
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Had 2 on my old coach. Had the same problem with both and fixed one years ago with a new arm from fantastic at no charge and replaced one recently with a Maxx Fan 4500. It has 2 lift arms, fantastic has one, and seems like it’s quicker opening and closing and Has a remote control if you like that feature. You can still control from fan also. Fits in the same opening.
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If it’s winter in Wisconsin (just a guess) and the coach is outside and you can’t fix from inside ( I think you can, though)…duct tape is your friend.
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My fantastic fan’s exterior cover (located in my shower) gets “stuck” when opening, most likely due to getting stuck if it’s hot outside, which warms the dicor self-leveling caulk around the exterior.
I’ll be following what you do Dick in replacing your fan, just in case I need to replace mine in the future.
Post pics if possible …
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Thanks for the tip Joe. I race, so we have some pretty stout tape.
Tim: That’s my plan. Like they say on the Garage Journal Forum … “If there aren’t pictures, it never happened!”
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Tim,
With the cover open, spray some silicone on the edge where the cover sits on the bottom. It will eliminate the stuck cover and open smoothly.
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I replaced the fan and motor with a new assembly from Fantastic Fan. Pretty straight forward. On mine I had to replace the fan from the top. The rheostat on the control does not work quite as well as the old fan, though.
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Good tip Tom!
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As a follow-up, my bus came with a cover for my Fantastic Fan. I kept it on for a while, but then removed it since I noticed that no Prevost buses use these covers.
However, many of the SOB motorhomes keep them on.
I can see that the bus looks better without the cover, but you can keep your vent open while running down the road with the cover on.
Any good reason to keep the cover on vs. taking them off?
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A cover will allow the fan to operate in the rain. My fantastic fans would close if it started raining.
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Jon said, “A cover will allow the fan to operate in the rain.”
Actually, when I had my cover on, during any rain outside, the sensor somehow sensed the moisture and closed … but maybe it stays open longer than without the cover.
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