Be sure to check for dirty DC coming off the charging section of the inverter. This WILL effect all DC control boards badly. GOod luck and keep us posted.

The dealer informed me yesterday that they are unable to determine the cause of my problem. A Fleetwood rep will be at the dealer on Monday to hopefully make some progress.

Horst

Dealer had informed me that the problem is fixed. We left on 5/3/08 for a 5 week trip from Michigan to Utah. The satellite receiver is unable to keep the satellite. Monday, the rig will get back to the dealer.

Horst

Sorry to hear that, Horst. Question: does it work OK with shore power and generator off? Pure battery power on the DC side should not be "dirty" and the KVH doesn't see any 120VAC from the inverter itself.

It is now June 29. The rig has been with the dealer for a couple of weeks. They are waiting for a new part to arrive - supposedly to fix our problem.

Wait and 'see',

Horst

If your problem occurs only while the coach is in motion with generator off, I suspect the problem is simply low voltage to the KVH dome. My new KVH R4SL will not search for the satellite on battery power alone, even though the voltage is 12.7v. It needs at least 13.3v to provide enough power for the search motors to work. KVH Tech Support confirms that basic battery voltage may not be sufficient and the company has begun to ship an AC/DC power supply with new units, but mine was purchased off the dealer shelf back in April and did not have it. KVH is not sympathetic with my plight - they offered to sell me the extra power supply for $83 + shipping. They won't give one to the dealer either, so I am buying one and the dealer will split the cost with me.

Thank you, Gary, I will keep your reply in a safe place until the next step.

Horst

After adding and replacing several parts, the problem has not been fixed yet. Last week the dealer obtained a totally new satellite dish and dome, installed it, same problem. Yesterday, I heard from the dealer that they are waiting for a return call from KVH. The dealer also mentioned that 'KVH is a nightmare'.

I'll be back,

Horst (8/23/08)

Has a separate power supply been installed? 120V power that goes through a transformer and provides clean 12V power to the dish?

It would be interesting to put a scope on the end of that 12V feed and really look at all this dealer speculation. If it's "trashy" as they say, the easiest fix it to put a nice big electrolytic capacitor at the input to the KVH. It wouldn't be the 1st piece of fussy equipment made.