On 8/9/2017 1:28 PM, justan wrote:
Bill Wrote in message:
Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/8/2017 9:12 PM, justan wrote:
"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 8/8/2017 4:13 PM, justan wrote:
"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:

An elderly friend has a 2013 Keystone Cougar fifth wheel that he and his
wife snowbird to Florida in during the winter. When he came back this
year the main control panel that controls slides, lights, displays
fresh, grey and black water levels, etc. stopped working. Doesn't even
light up like it's supposed to. He asked me if I had any ideas and,
being the friendly, helpful sort I offered to see if I could find the
problem.

Not that simple. For a couple of years Keystone made these panels using
a membrane type switch panel that transmits wirelessly to a "brain" in
one of the forward compartments. Worse, there are no manuals, wiring
diagrams or schematics for the system. Worse yet, they had so many
problems with this system that they no longer make it or support it.
Checked a few places on the Internet in hopes of finding some kind of
documentation and all I found was horror story after horror story of
people with this system. Some failed shortly after they bought the
fifth wheel and never worked again.

I realized it was wireless while checking some voltages. When I checked
in the area of the "brain" my digital meter would initially read
12.something volts but then start slowly climbing to as high as 18
volts. I thought the meter was bad but when checking voltages at the
other end of the fifth wheel where the control panel is, the readings
were rock solid. Then I noticed a strange wire going nowhere that came
out of the "brain" and realized it was an antenna. The whole system
operates wirelessly and my meter was being affected by the RF noise.

The manufacturer of the wireless system is of no help either. No
diagrams available, no schematics, no replacement PC boards (everything
is surface mount). They basically have disowned anything to do with
this system.

My friend contacted a third party supplier who said they can send a
"kit" to replace the main control panel - no wireing diagrams though and
but will not guarantee it will work and no returns. The kit is $500.

I wish I never offered to help him. Now I own the damn problem.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com



Googled
it and came up with dead battery in remote. Also says it
wont work if you stray from front of 5th wheel.
There seems to be a lot of buzz about this problem on the internet.


Yeah, I found the thing about the batteries in the remote and how to
reset the whole system. Put new batteries in it and did the reset
procedure. No luck. Still no power on the control panel. I pulled the
panel out and checked the input voltage. It comes in on four pairs of
terminals and they all read 12.4 volts. There's a PC board in the panel
with a bunch of relays, logic chips and diodes on it. Everything is
double surface mount, so not designed to be worked on ... only replace
the whole board (which isn't made anymore).

The slides work with the remote, so that's most important as well as
some of the interior lights. There's a few more lights and the
redundant slide controls plus the input sensors from the three tanks so
the panel not working doesn't prevent them from using the rig.

Without any wiring diagrams, schematics or documentation of any kind
it's really Easter Egging as far as trying to troubleshoot.


In that case encourage them to trade it or sell it outright


That's my plan. I am going to give it one more try at trying to
determine if anything other than what's on the PC board is preventing
the panel from even turning on. If no luck with that I will recommend
as you suggested. He already bought another camper that mounts in the
bed of his truck. He's been saying that his days of hauling a big fifth
wheel are coming to an end anyway. I'll suggest that he sell the
Cougar disclosing the control panel problem and adjust the selling price
accordingly. A new owner may be willing to invest more into it in terms
of getting it fixed. If the problem was simple that's one thing. But,
unless I stumble on something today, the problem isn't simple, as
evidenced by the experiences of others who have had this system and it's
problems.


The motors for the slides have to be similar to John's or anybody else's
these days. Just the control panel different. Could probably just replace
the panel with a modern one with switches. Tracing the wires might be a
pain, but a $30 tracer from Lowes, etc. should do the job.



The controls might be on a can bus.



I think the problem is on the PC board in the control unit. It's
supposed to turn on, light up blue and display all the membrane switch
areas and labels. It doesn't. Has 12 volts but doesn't turn on,

On 8/9/2017 1:33 PM, justan wrote:
"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 8/9/2017 10:35 AM, Bill wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/8/2017 9:12 PM, justan wrote:
"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 8/8/2017 4:13 PM, justan wrote:
"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:

An elderly friend has a 2013 Keystone Cougar fifth wheel that he and his
wife snowbird to Florida in during the winter. When he came back this
year the main control panel that controls slides, lights, displays
fresh, grey and black water levels, etc. stopped working. Doesn't even
light up like it's supposed to. He asked me if I had any ideas and,
being the friendly, helpful sort I offered to see if I could find the
problem.

Not that simple. For a couple of years Keystone made these panels using
a membrane type switch panel that transmits wirelessly to a "brain" in
one of the forward compartments. Worse, there are no manuals, wiring
diagrams or schematics for the system. Worse yet, they had so many
problems with this system that they no longer make it or support it.
Checked a few places on the Internet in hopes of finding some kind of
documentation and all I found was horror story after horror story of
people with this system. Some failed shortly after they bought the
fifth wheel and never worked again.

I realized it was wireless while checking some voltages. When I checked
in the area of the "brain" my digital meter would initially read
12.something volts but then start slowly climbing to as high as 18
volts. I thought the meter was bad but when checking voltages at the
other end of the fifth wheel where the control panel is, the readings
were rock solid. Then I noticed a strange wire going nowhere that came
out of the "brain" and realized it was an antenna. The whole system
operates wirelessly and my meter was being affected by the RF noise.

The manufacturer of the wireless system is of no help either. No
diagrams available, no schematics, no replacement PC boards (everything
is surface mount). They basically have disowned anything to do with
this system.

My friend contacted a third party supplier who said they can send a
"kit" to replace the main control panel - no wireing diagrams though and
but will not guarantee it will work and no returns. The kit is $500.

I wish I never offered to help him. Now I own the damn problem.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com



Googled
it and came up with dead battery in remote. Also says it
wont work if you stray from front of 5th wheel.
There seems to be a lot of buzz about this problem on the internet.


Yeah, I found the thing about the batteries in the remote and how to
reset the whole system. Put new batteries in it and did the reset
procedure. No luck. Still no power on the control panel. I pulled the
panel out and checked the input voltage. It comes in on four pairs of
terminals and they all read 12.4 volts. There's a PC board in the panel
with a bunch of relays, logic chips and diodes on it. Everything is
double surface mount, so not designed to be worked on ... only replace
the whole board (which isn't made anymore).

The slides work with the remote, so that's most important as well as
some of the interior lights. There's a few more lights and the
redundant slide controls plus the input sensors from the three tanks so
the panel not working doesn't prevent them from using the rig.

Without any wiring diagrams, schematics or documentation of any kind
it's really Easter Egging as far as trying to troubleshoot.


In that case encourage them to trade it or sell it outright


That's my plan. I am going to give it one more try at trying to
determine if anything other than what's on the PC board is preventing
the panel from even turning on. If no luck with that I will recommend
as you suggested. He already bought another camper that mounts in the
bed of his truck. He's been saying that his days of hauling a big fifth
wheel are coming to an end anyway. I'll suggest that he sell the
Cougar disclosing the control panel problem and adjust the selling price
accordingly. A new owner may be willing to invest more into it in terms
of getting it fixed. If the problem was simple that's one thing. But,
unless I stumble on something today, the problem isn't simple, as
evidenced by the experiences of others who have had this system and it's
problems.


The motors for the slides have to be similar to John's or anybody else's
these days. Just the control panel different. Could probably just replace
the panel with a modern one with switches. Tracing the wires might be a
pain, but a $30 tracer from Lowes, etc. should do the job.


He can operate the slides with the remote control. It's just some
lights, maybe a roof fan and the displays for the three tanks that don't
work.




Lights may be burned out. Fan might have a blown fuse. Mmight be
broken wire/s on tank sensors. I f you are going to work this out
choose one problem at a
time to solve. But you know that.
;-)



All the fuses are good (pulled every single one of them and even checked
for continuity with a meter). Overhead fan works if you turn it on
manually at the fan. If I could get the control panel to light up at
least I'd have a start.

On Wed, 9 Aug 2017 13:50:30 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I think the problem is on the PC board in the control unit. It's
supposed to turn on, light up blue and display all the membrane switch
areas and labels. It doesn't. Has 12 volts but doesn't turn on,

===

It sounds like the control panel in our Searay runabout. There's a
multi-function touch panel which interfaces to a controller board with
relays and solit state circuitry. It's almost impossible to debug and
we ended up replacing the whole thing.

---
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On Wed, 9 Aug 2017 13:50:30 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I think the problem is on the PC board in the control unit. It's
supposed to turn on, light up blue and display all the membrane switch
areas and labels. It doesn't. Has 12 volts but doesn't turn on,


That is the problem with most new things. Everything is on a single
board that may only cost a few bucks to produce in some 3d world
country but sells for hundreds of dollars. They seldom/never provide
any documentation about what is on that board. With a little knowledge
of what usually goes wrong, you might get lucky and find a bad part
you can replace on the board but they are bad about using parts with
no helpful markings on them.
I would start with the most rudimentary thing that is not working and
trace back to the 12v ... like those back lights. It may just be a
diode or regulator on the front end. (the actual controls may be 5v)
Are there any burned traces? Parts that look like they got hot?
I usually try to draw out what I see going along the traces and hope
it is not a multilayered board.
I got into this trying to fix gate controller boards. Fixed a few,
tossed a bunch. The chip that seemed to be the failing part on most
was not documented and the manufacturer was no help.

John H wrote:
On Wed, 9 Aug 2017 14:35:52 -0000 (UTC), Bill wrote:

Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/8/2017 9:12 PM, justan wrote:
"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 8/8/2017 4:13 PM, justan wrote:
"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:

An elderly friend has a 2013 Keystone Cougar fifth wheel that he and his
wife snowbird to Florida in during the winter. When he came back this
year the main control panel that controls slides, lights, displays
fresh, grey and black water levels, etc. stopped working. Doesn't even
light up like it's supposed to. He asked me if I had any ideas and,
being the friendly, helpful sort I offered to see if I could find the
problem.

Not that simple. For a couple of years Keystone made these panels using
a membrane type switch panel that transmits wirelessly to a "brain" in
one of the forward compartments. Worse, there are no manuals, wiring
diagrams or schematics for the system. Worse yet, they had so many
problems with this system that they no longer make it or support it.
Checked a few places on the Internet in hopes of finding some kind of
documentation and all I found was horror story after horror story of
people with this system. Some failed shortly after they bought the
fifth wheel and never worked again.

I realized it was wireless while checking some voltages. When I checked
in the area of the "brain" my digital meter would initially read
12.something volts but then start slowly climbing to as high as 18
volts. I thought the meter was bad but when checking voltages at the
other end of the fifth wheel where the control panel is, the readings
were rock solid. Then I noticed a strange wire going nowhere that came
out of the "brain" and realized it was an antenna. The whole system
operates wirelessly and my meter was being affected by the RF noise.

The manufacturer of the wireless system is of no help either. No
diagrams available, no schematics, no replacement PC boards (everything
is surface mount). They basically have disowned anything to do with
this system.

My friend contacted a third party supplier who said they can send a
"kit" to replace the main control panel - no wireing diagrams though and
but will not guarantee it will work and no returns. The kit is $500.

I wish I never offered to help him. Now I own the damn problem.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com



Googled
it and came up with dead battery in remote. Also says it
wont work if you stray from front of 5th wheel.
There seems to be a lot of buzz about this problem on the internet.


Yeah, I found the thing about the batteries in the remote and how to
reset the whole system. Put new batteries in it and did the reset
procedure. No luck. Still no power on the control panel. I pulled the
panel out and checked the input voltage. It comes in on four pairs of
terminals and they all read 12.4 volts. There's a PC board in the panel
with a bunch of relays, logic chips and diodes on it. Everything is
double surface mount, so not designed to be worked on ... only replace
the whole board (which isn't made anymore).

The slides work with the remote, so that's most important as well as
some of the interior lights. There's a few more lights and the
redundant slide controls plus the input sensors from the three tanks so
the panel not working doesn't prevent them from using the rig.

Without any wiring diagrams, schematics or documentation of any kind
it's really Easter Egging as far as trying to troubleshoot.


In that case encourage them to trade it or sell it outright


That's my plan. I am going to give it one more try at trying to
determine if anything other than what's on the PC board is preventing
the panel from even turning on. If no luck with that I will recommend
as you suggested. He already bought another camper that mounts in the
bed of his truck. He's been saying that his days of hauling a big fifth
wheel are coming to an end anyway. I'll suggest that he sell the
Cougar disclosing the control panel problem and adjust the selling price
accordingly. A new owner may be willing to invest more into it in terms
of getting it fixed. If the problem was simple that's one thing. But,
unless I stumble on something today, the problem isn't simple, as
evidenced by the experiences of others who have had this system and it's
problems.


The motors for the slides have to be similar to John's or anybody else's
these days. Just the control panel different. Could probably just replace
the panel with a modern one with switches. Tracing the wires might be a
pain, but a $30 tracer from Lowes, etc. should do the job.

Probably different from mine. The Open Range has a cable slide system.
The motors are on top of the
slides, operate a couple chains which pull cables back and forth to open/close the slide.

just motors and controlling the motors. Wire a switch to the fans. Get
a premade switch panel for a boat.

On 8/9/2017 2:15 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 9 Aug 2017 13:50:30 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I think the problem is on the PC board in the control unit. It's
supposed to turn on, light up blue and display all the membrane switch
areas and labels. It doesn't. Has 12 volts but doesn't turn on,


That is the problem with most new things. Everything is on a single
board that may only cost a few bucks to produce in some 3d world
country but sells for hundreds of dollars. They seldom/never provide
any documentation about what is on that board. With a little knowledge
of what usually goes wrong, you might get lucky and find a bad part
you can replace on the board but they are bad about using parts with
no helpful markings on them.
I would start with the most rudimentary thing that is not working and
trace back to the 12v ... like those back lights. It may just be a
diode or regulator on the front end. (the actual controls may be 5v)
Are there any burned traces? Parts that look like they got hot?
I usually try to draw out what I see going along the traces and hope
it is not a multilayered board.
I got into this trying to fix gate controller boards. Fixed a few,
tossed a bunch. The chip that seemed to be the failing part on most
was not documented and the manufacturer was no help.



So far I have only seen one side of the control panel board. I plan to
remove it completely and inspect it. There are a bunch of tiny diodes
on it that are about the only things I can check (forward and reverse
bias) if I scrape away some of the conformal coating but nothing else is
testable that I can see so far. I think the problem *is* on the PC
board but a replacement is not available.



---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com

On 8/9/2017 3:32 PM, justan wrote:
"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 8/9/2017 1:33 PM, justan wrote:
"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 8/9/2017 10:35 AM, Bill wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/8/2017 9:12 PM, justan wrote:
"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:
On 8/8/2017 4:13 PM, justan wrote:
"Mr. Luddite" Wrote in message:

An elderly friend has a 2013 Keystone Cougar fifth wheel that he and his
wife snowbird to Florida in during the winter. When he came back this
year the main control panel that controls slides, lights, displays
fresh, grey and black water levels, etc. stopped working. Doesn't even
light up like it's supposed to. He asked me if I had any ideas and,
being the friendly, helpful sort I offered to see if I could find the
problem.

Not that simple. For a couple of years Keystone made these panels using
a membrane type switch panel that transmits wirelessly to a "brain" in
one of the forward compartments. Worse, there are no manuals, wiring
diagrams or schematics for the system. Worse yet, they had so many
problems with this system that they no longer make it or support it.
Checked a few places on the Internet in hopes of finding some kind of
documentation and all I found was horror story after horror story of
people with this system. Some failed shortly after they bought the
fifth wheel and never worked again.

I realized it was wireless while checking some voltages. When I checked
in the area of the "brain" my digital meter would initially read
12.something volts but then start slowly climbing to as high as 18
volts. I thought the meter was bad but when checking voltages at the
other end of the fifth wheel where the control panel is, the readings
were rock solid. Then I noticed a strange wire going nowhere that came
out of the "brain" and realized it was an antenna. The whole system
operates wirelessly and my meter was being affected by the RF noise.

The manufacturer of the wireless system is of no help either. No
diagrams available, no schematics, no replacement PC boards (everything
is surface mount). They basically have disowned anything to do with
this system.

My friend contacted a third party supplier who said they can send a
"kit" to replace the main control panel - no wireing diagrams though and
but will not guarantee it will work and no returns. The kit is $500.

I wish I never offered to help him. Now I own the damn problem.

---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
http://www.avg.com



Googled
it and came up with dead battery in remote. Also says it
wont work if you stray from front of 5th wheel.
There seems to be a lot of buzz about this problem on the internet.


Yeah, I found the thing about the batteries in the remote and how to
reset the whole system. Put new batteries in it and did the reset
procedure. No luck. Still no power on the control panel. I pulled the
panel out and checked the input voltage. It comes in on four pairs of
terminals and they all read 12.4 volts. There's a PC board in the panel
with a bunch of relays, logic chips and diodes on it. Everything is
double surface mount, so not designed to be worked on ... only replace
the whole board (which isn't made anymore).

The slides work with the remote, so that's most important as well as
some of the interior lights. There's a few more lights and the
redundant slide controls plus the input sensors from the three tanks so
the panel not working doesn't prevent them from using the rig.

Without any wiring diagrams, schematics or documentation of any kind
it's really Easter Egging as far as trying to troubleshoot.


In that case encourage them to trade it or sell it outright


That's my plan. I am going to give it one more try at trying to
determine if anything other than what's on the PC board is preventing
the panel from even turning on. If no luck with that I will recommend
as you suggested. He already bought another camper that mounts in the
bed of his truck. He's been saying that his days of hauling a big fifth
wheel are coming to an end anyway. I'll suggest that he sell the
Cougar disclosing the control panel problem and adjust the selling price
accordingly. A new owner may be willing to invest more into it in terms
of getting it fixed. If the problem was simple that's one thing. But,
unless I stumble on something today, the problem isn't simple, as
evidenced by the experiences of others who have had this system and it's
problems.


The motors for the slides have to be similar to John's or anybody else's
these days. Just the control panel different. Could probably just replace
the panel with a modern one with switches. Tracing the wires might be a
pain, but a $30 tracer from Lowes, etc. should do the job.


He can operate the slides with the remote control. It's just some
lights, maybe a roof fan and the displays for the three tanks that don't
work.




Lights may be burned out. Fan might have a blown fuse. Mmight be
broken wire/s on tank sensors. I f you are going to work this out
choose one problem at a
time to solve. But you know that.
;-)



All the fuses are good (pulled every single one of them and even checked
for continuity with a meter). Overhead fan works if you turn it on
manually at the fan. If I could get the control panel to light up at
least I'd have a start.




Is there a battery control center box. If there is there could be
up to 50 fuses and other things in it. There is no rhime or
reason as to where they put fuses and stuff in RVs. Finding and
collecting wiring and systems diagrams was the first thing I
did with my last couple of RVs.


The only fuse I found near the batteries was in a pig tail (30 amp)
that powers the landing gear. Looked around for any others and found
none. But, I'll look again.

On Wednesday, August 9, 2017 at 3:59:53 PM UTC-4, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/9/2017 2:15 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 9 Aug 2017 13:50:30 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I think the problem is on the PC board in the control unit. It's
supposed to turn on, light up blue and display all the membrane switch
areas and labels. It doesn't. Has 12 volts but doesn't turn on,


That is the problem with most new things. Everything is on a single
board that may only cost a few bucks to produce in some 3d world
country but sells for hundreds of dollars. They seldom/never provide
any documentation about what is on that board. With a little knowledge
of what usually goes wrong, you might get lucky and find a bad part
you can replace on the board but they are bad about using parts with
no helpful markings on them.
I would start with the most rudimentary thing that is not working and
trace back to the 12v ... like those back lights. It may just be a
diode or regulator on the front end. (the actual controls may be 5v)
Are there any burned traces? Parts that look like they got hot?
I usually try to draw out what I see going along the traces and hope
it is not a multilayered board.
I got into this trying to fix gate controller boards. Fixed a few,
tossed a bunch. The chip that seemed to be the failing part on most
was not documented and the manufacturer was no help.



So far I have only seen one side of the control panel board. I plan to
remove it completely and inspect it. There are a bunch of tiny diodes
on it that are about the only things I can check (forward and reverse
bias) if I scrape away some of the conformal coating but nothing else is
testable that I can see so far. I think the problem *is* on the PC
board but a replacement is not available.


Once you get to where you can see both sides of the PC board, follow the power where it enters the board and look for a fuse onboard. It may not even look like a fuse. There are auto-resetting and one-shot current limit devices. If there is one it should be very close to the wire (or header) where the power attaches. Hopefully the board isn't multi-layer.

On 8/9/2017 4:32 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Wednesday, August 9, 2017 at 3:59:53 PM UTC-4, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/9/2017 2:15 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 9 Aug 2017 13:50:30 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I think the problem is on the PC board in the control unit. It's
supposed to turn on, light up blue and display all the membrane switch
areas and labels. It doesn't. Has 12 volts but doesn't turn on,


That is the problem with most new things. Everything is on a single
board that may only cost a few bucks to produce in some 3d world
country but sells for hundreds of dollars. They seldom/never provide
any documentation about what is on that board. With a little knowledge
of what usually goes wrong, you might get lucky and find a bad part
you can replace on the board but they are bad about using parts with
no helpful markings on them.
I would start with the most rudimentary thing that is not working and
trace back to the 12v ... like those back lights. It may just be a
diode or regulator on the front end. (the actual controls may be 5v)
Are there any burned traces? Parts that look like they got hot?
I usually try to draw out what I see going along the traces and hope
it is not a multilayered board.
I got into this trying to fix gate controller boards. Fixed a few,
tossed a bunch. The chip that seemed to be the failing part on most
was not documented and the manufacturer was no help.



So far I have only seen one side of the control panel board. I plan to
remove it completely and inspect it. There are a bunch of tiny diodes
on it that are about the only things I can check (forward and reverse
bias) if I scrape away some of the conformal coating but nothing else is
testable that I can see so far. I think the problem *is* on the PC
board but a replacement is not available.


Once you get to where you can see both sides of the PC board, follow the power where it enters the board and look for a fuse onboard. It may not even look like a fuse. There are auto-resetting and one-shot current limit devices. If there is one it should be very close to the wire (or header) where the power attaches. Hopefully the board isn't multi-layer.



Thanks. I'll look. This panel is supplied with battery voltage in
three different places. All three supplies are good, at least on the
terminal strip before it connects to the board. Don't know what happens
after that and without removing the PC board, I can't see how it
connects. Hopefully I won't spill a handful of membrane switch parts on
the floor. I hate working on "other people's stuff".





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On Wed, 9 Aug 2017 16:46:22 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 8/9/2017 4:32 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Wednesday, August 9, 2017 at 3:59:53 PM UTC-4, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 8/9/2017 2:15 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 9 Aug 2017 13:50:30 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

I think the problem is on the PC board in the control unit. It's
supposed to turn on, light up blue and display all the membrane switch
areas and labels. It doesn't. Has 12 volts but doesn't turn on,


That is the problem with most new things. Everything is on a single
board that may only cost a few bucks to produce in some 3d world
country but sells for hundreds of dollars. They seldom/never provide
any documentation about what is on that board. With a little knowledge
of what usually goes wrong, you might get lucky and find a bad part
you can replace on the board but they are bad about using parts with
no helpful markings on them.
I would start with the most rudimentary thing that is not working and
trace back to the 12v ... like those back lights. It may just be a
diode or regulator on the front end. (the actual controls may be 5v)
Are there any burned traces? Parts that look like they got hot?
I usually try to draw out what I see going along the traces and hope
it is not a multilayered board.
I got into this trying to fix gate controller boards. Fixed a few,
tossed a bunch. The chip that seemed to be the failing part on most
was not documented and the manufacturer was no help.



So far I have only seen one side of the control panel board. I plan to
remove it completely and inspect it. There are a bunch of tiny diodes
on it that are about the only things I can check (forward and reverse
bias) if I scrape away some of the conformal coating but nothing else is
testable that I can see so far. I think the problem *is* on the PC
board but a replacement is not available.


Once you get to where you can see both sides of the PC board, follow the power where it enters the board and look for a fuse onboard. It may not even look like a fuse. There are auto-resetting and one-shot current limit devices. If there is one it should be very close to the wire (or header) where the power attaches. Hopefully the board isn't multi-layer.



Thanks. I'll look. This panel is supplied with battery voltage in
three different places. All three supplies are good, at least on the
terminal strip before it connects to the board. Don't know what happens
after that and without removing the PC board, I can't see how it
connects. Hopefully I won't spill a handful of membrane switch parts on
the floor. I hate working on "other people's stuff".



===

In addition to testing your incoming power connections with a digital
voltmeter, I'd also suggest using a 12 volt test light. Several times
I've been fooled by circuits with a high resistance connection which
looked fine on a DVM but dropped to zero volts with even a small load
applied.

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