Airxcel Thermostat Troubleshooting and Wiring Diagram (Guide)
Keeping your RV warm or cool is not a difficult task to do when your thermostats or heating/AC units are working like a charm. Just punch in the desired temperature and the system takes care of the rest. Unless you have a problem with the thermostat. Then it is another story.
The Airxcel thermostats come in two models. One model is for cooling only and the other is for those units that do both heating and cooling. The operation manual is the same 2-page booklet that provides a clear wiring diagram for both options.
To learn more about this thermostat and how to troubleshoot any problems, just continue to read our article. It supplies the information you want to know about so you can make sure any difficulties you encounter are solved quickly
Airxcel Thermostat 101
Airxcel thermostat Wiring Diagram
The installation, operation, and application manual for this device is only 2 pages long. Inside those two pages are 3 wiring diagrams. All three will be posted here so you can have a clear look at them before you buy this type of device.
Now for the second diagram for both the heat and the cool systems
If you have any questions about these diagrams you can contact the company directly. Or you can view these diagrams and other information at our go-to manuals website found at this link.
Airxcel Thermostat Troubleshooting
There are roughly 9 issues that you have to look for when your Airxcel thermostat starts to act badly. Here are 5 of those key trouble spots:
1. Defective wiring- you may see this take place when you see the screen go dark without any back lighting. You will have to pull the thermostat from the wall and check those wires. Tighten any loose ones or replace damaged or corroded wires.
2. Thermostat not paired to the App- the operational manual provides instructions on how to make the pairing
3. Blown fuse or circuit breaker- just check your electrical system for these issues and replace any fuse or breaker that has shorted out.
4. The battery has run out of power- this happens a lot and you should keep a schedule of when you replace each battery on all your devices. This helps you replace the current battery before it runs out of power
5. Grime & rust- thermostats are not immune to these issues. Do regular cleaning to make sure everything inside the thermostat is free of dirt, etc., and will continue to operate
Airxcel Thermostat Error Codes
We have checked 2 manuals. The first manual is the operational booklet we linked to above. It does not list any error codes for this model of a thermostat. The closest we got was this chart on page 2 of that manual:
Then we checked the service manual for roof top air conditioners only and that manual provided no error codes for the thermostats in that system. You can check the manual yourself at this link.
We provide this link because that 18-page manual has some excellent diagrams, including wiring diagrams. If you own this system and have that thermostat, this manual should be a great help to you.
Airxcel Thermostat Won't Turn On
This will be a common problem and usually, the source for this issue will be something electrical went wrong. The first place to check would be the battery as those little things do not always last as long as advertised.
Or you may have used it more than you realized and the power is gone. If the battery is okay, then move on to the fuse. We will get to its location a little later in the article. But if it has blown, then you will need to replace it.
If the fuse is okay, check your breaker first. The breaker will save you a lot of work by skipping the check the wires step. If it has tripped, simply turn it off completely and then turn it back on again.
If the breaker trips right away, you know you have a short somewhere in your system. But if the breaker is fine, then you have to go back to your thermostat and check the wiring.
Moisture, dirt, and other elements can get inside and start corroding or damaging wires and connectors. Make sure those items are not bent, broken, or corroded. Any damaged wires and connectors will need to be replaced.
If they are fine, clean off any dirt, grime, rust, or corrosion you find in those areas. If the thermostat still does not turn on, you may have to replace the unit. Talk to a technician when you get to that point as he may have some more suggestions you can try.
Do Airxcel Thermostats Have Batteries?
We reported earlier that it did have a battery but now we are not sure. There looks like there is something that is a battery when you view the opened thermostat but the device just seems to be hardwired into your electrical system.
Plus, the operational manual does not mention a battery so it is possible that there is not one. We apologize if we made a mistake. In looking at the back of the unit you have two spots that can hold a battery each but the batteries were not there.
This is not a surprise as in the operational manual there are no troubleshooting tips or instructions. That means that any failure to mention a battery would be normal.
According to one Amazon product page, no battery is required. We checked other models to make sure and they all said the same thing, no batteries were required.
Airxcel Thermostat Battery
We would like to tell you about what type of battery you will need but that may not be possible. There is no mention of any of the Airxcel thermostats needing a battery. We checked the Coleman store to make sure.
What we will do instead is provide you with the manual’s instructions to wake up the thermostat:
“The display indicates the mode and the room temperature. When the mode button is pressed once, the thermostat will wake. If your thermostat is equipped with a backlight, the backlight will illuminate. When the mode button is pressed again, the mode will change. Press the up or down buttons to wake the thermostat; the set temperature will display and the mode will flash. Press the up or down button again to change the set temperature.
The thermostat will return to sleep mode after 5 seconds if no button is pressed. There is a three minute anti-short cycle for cooling. After the cooling system has been de-energized, the system will not energize again for three minutes, to protect your compressor. To bypass the anti-short cycle, change the mode to OFF.”
Airxcel Thermostat Blank Screen
This will be a case of defective wiring. Something has gone wrong somewhere along the line in the wires and you will have to pull the thermostat off the wall to check for the problem.
The first step is to see if the wires are dirty or corroded. Rust can also form on any metal parts inside so look for that as well. Clean up any of these elements that you find.
Next, check the wires to see if they are loose or damaged in some way. If they are, you will either have to tighten them or replace those damaged wires. There is not a lot of room to work with once you pull the thermostat off the wall.
You may want to defer to a skilled electrician to handle the diagnosis as well as the rewiring of the unit. That would be the best way to go when you are unfamiliar with electronics and wiring.
Also, if you get a blank screen, check your power sources. Fuses, breakers, and battery to make sure they are not blown or tripped, etc.
Airxcel Thermostat Blinking
This problem may be telling you that the system is short cycling. All short cycling is that the system is turning from warm to cool faster than it should. A normal cycle may be between 12 and 20 minutes.
But if the thermostat keeps on blinking in your RV, you may have a short or other problem in your system. The fix would be to call a technician and have them come out and look at the problem.
The causes for short cycling are not that many. One is that you have a faulty thermostat and it would need to be replaced. Another would be that some of the components inside the system are damaged and need to be repaired.
Or, your AC/heating unit is too big for the space it is working in. The technician should be able to narrow down these options to just one in a short time.
Airxcel Thermostat Heat Flashing
According to the service manual, you may have to bypass the thermostat and go right to the ducted control box to handle this problem. According to the service manual, this is where you will be able to diagnose any problem and find its location in a matter of minutes.
When you are there, you should be able to determine if the problem is in the Thermostat, the Printed Circuit Board, or the Upper Unit. Once you find the location of the problem, you should be able to make the repair.
There are several flow charts in the service manual that can help you out. Unfortunately, those flow charts are not able to be transferred to here. The link under the table above will take you to the service manual.
If you are still confused as to what to do, call your local technician and have him help you out.
Airxcel Thermostat Reading The Wrong Temperature
This may happen from time to time and when it does, you can try resetting the thermostat. The exact process is not mentioned in the operational manual that comes with this thermostat. You may just have to disconnect the thermostat from any power source.
Another problem would be that the thermostat is failing and it can no longer read the signals or the ambient temperature. In this case, you would have to replace the thermostat.
You can check the wires to make sure they are hooked up correctly. Sometimes when people do their own installation one wire can be put in the wrong spot. When that happens you just have to pull the thermostat off the wall again and check those wires.
Make sure they are all in the right place before calling a technician. If the wires are okay, then the problem may only be diagnosed by a technician.
Airxcel Thermostat Calibration
To do this step, you would have to enter the calibration screen on your thermostat. Entering this stage is different for different brands of thermostats but usually, you have to just press the up and down buttons after turning the thermostat off.
Other thermostats may only need to have their mode or menu buttons pressed to find the right calibration screen. Once in, you just have to follow the instructions.
However, if any of these steps fail to illuminate the calibration screen, it means you need a technician to handle the work. If you do get to enter the calibration screen you must know the difference in degrees between the thermostat setting and what the thermometer says.
Inside the screen, you should be able to press only the up or down buttons to complete the calibration. Unfortunately, this information is not in the manuals so you may be forced to call a technician to do the work.
Airxcel Thermostat Fuse
There is a fuse in this thermostat model. We mentioned it earlier as it could be one of the sources for your thermostat not turning on when you wake it up. The fuse location is very simple and easy to find.
You will have to remove the thermostat from the wall to access it. The fuse should be easy to see and it is either at the top or bottom of the back of the unit. Then just pull it out if it is bad.
Sometimes fuses look good but have blown so use a meter to double-check their status. Also, check the fuse holder. There have been occasions where those little metal wings have loosened up and do not hold the fuse in place very well.
If they are loose, simply squeeze them together so the wings will hold the fuse tighter.
Airxcel Thermostat Stuck on Celsius
The mode button is the button responsible for indicating either Celsius or Fahrenheit. To make the switch, you just hold it down for 5 seconds and the thermostat will automatically display one or the other temperature scale.
Unless the thermostat is failing, there is no other process to use to change this setting. This happened to one owner and pressing the mode button did the trick for him.
These thermostats seem to be very simple to operate devices and the instructions are short and easy to follow. If the unit does not make the change after 5 seconds, check the thermostat for problems.
You may need to replace it if it does not respond to this step. To verify that the thermostat is failing, call in a technician to investigate. He will know what to look for.
How To Remove an Airxcel Thermostat
Generally, thermostats come in two parts. There is the part that attaches to the wall and then the part that has the display and controls. The first step would be to pry the latter part off the former part.
They usually just snap together and should be easy to pry off. Just be careful not to pull too hard on the display section as there are some connecting wires that need to remain in place.
Once the display section is off, look for the two screws holding the base to the wall. Unscrew those and pull them from the wall gently. There are quite a few wires attached to it so do not jerk the base off the wall.
Once you can see the back of the thermostat, you will need to remove the wires. If you are replacing the old thermostat with a new one, make sure to mark the wires so you know where they go on the new unit.
Some Additional Words
When it comes to thermostats, very little can go wrong with them. They have few parts that can go bad or be damaged. Most of the repair work will lie in other areas of your heating or cooling system.
The best thing to do is to call a technician skilled in Airxcel thermostats. The reason we say that is because the service and operational manuals are not a lot of help when it comes to troubleshooting these units.
