Dock Lights and Aux Htr Switch on Winnebago

Vectra Dan · 11-14-2012, 01:44 PM

Hello, I just bought my first "new" motorhome, a 1996 Winnebago Vectra RA. I am still trying to become
familiar with everything.

Can anyone tell me what the dock light switch is for, and also when I put the Aux Htr switch on high, nothing happens. Dealer said that the Aux Htr heats the rear of the coach, and Winnebago said it heats the driver's/passenger compartment, as well as hot water, and I should be able to hear the blower fan with the key on?

RickO · 11-14-2012, 02:19 PM

Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new rig.

The docking lights on my Winnie are two very bright halogen lights mounted in the side of the coach pointed backwards. I think they're intended to light up the rear of the coach to hook up in the dark. Mine won't work with in motion and I don't recall whether or not they work in reverse or just when the key is off.

I'm not familiar with the aux heater you describe. I have a separate gas heater for the rear of the coach which operates off of it's own thermostat located in the "one place" control panel. I can certainly hear the blower working when it's on.

Best of luck.

Rick

FIRE UP · 11-14-2012, 02:54 PM

Vectra Dan,
Congrats on the purchase of your rig. I hope you have a great time with it. Rick O is correct in that the Docking lights are typically mounted in such a way that they face to the rear and the sides. On our '04 Itasca Horizon, they are located real close to the top of the rear tires. I have a Docking light switch and, it only goes into effect when the coach is in reverse. You can turn it on all day while in drive or neutral but, it won't work, only in reverse.

I'm vaguely familiar with your "aux" heater. I was told that some of the Winnes have an auxiliary heater in the rear of the coach that is maybe heated by engine coolant, not sure. I'm kind of guessing here. I'm sure someone with one will chime in here and give you the correct scoop. Keep on learning about that coach. The more you learn, the easier it is to navigate around situations if and when they occur. Good luck.
Scott

corvettec3 · 11-14-2012, 03:29 PM

Dan, welcome to the forum. On our '99 Chieftain the aux heater is mounted in the right front cargo bay. The hot water to heat it comes from the engine. There is a large register in the floor that extends up from that bay. If the engine is not running you should be able to hear the fan.

Clay L · 11-15-2012, 10:43 AM

The aux heater is an option called a MotorAid. The engine coolant is circulated through a metal pipe to a tube welded to the back of the water heater. It acts as a heat exchanger and heats the water while the engine is running
. It continues on to to a small radiator that has a fan behind it and back to the engine. The fan is controlled by the "Rear Htr" heater switch on the dash (that is how mine is labeled).
The fan and radiator are placed in various locations depending on the model. Many are under the bed. Mine is under the refrigerator close to the wall. In many cases the fan can't be heard unless you are pretty close to it.

krautkamper · 11-15-2012, 11:16 AM

Dan,

The Aux heater heats the front and rear of the coach using engine coolant through a heat exchanger as mentioned above. I assume when you say that you do not hear anything when the switch is on hi, that you do hear something when the switch is on low? If this is true you have a bad resitor pack which is located adjacent to the blower motor under the floor behind the hot water heater. If it doesnt work on either speed, check the fuses, wiring, etc. You will definately hear something and you should also feel air coming up through the vents when the unit is on.

Vectra Dan · 11-16-2012, 01:00 PM

Update. I have a friend with a 1996 Vectra Grand Touring, and noticed that I am supposed to have the same bedroom setup as him, but somwhere along the line someone decided to completely "renovate" the bedroom. They moved the head of the bed up against the back of the coach, effectively eliminating the rear aux heat source, as they also put in a new stationary bed frame. In this "renovation" they also took out the nice wardrobe, and tv center that came standard. There are drawers in the base of the bed but they hit the sidewalls when I pull them out! Do I dare call Winnebago to see how much it would cost to get it back to the origianal floor plan? Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestins :-)