Trane Mini-Split Remote Hieroglyphs

This summer I had Trane Mini-Split units installed in my new garage/shop/office building (see link in signature).

These have performed well as air-conditioners during the summer but one of them - serving the upstairs room - is acting a bit weird in the Heat mode.

I'm trying to figure out if this weirdness is a malfunction or operator error.

At this particular time let's not worry about the symptoms that describe the weirdness but instead concentrate on the Remote Control that tells these units what to do. I am hoping that if I truly understand the Remote Control that I will be able to determine if the weirdness is operator error.






I apparently have a Trane TREMOTE2AHANDA Remote Controller which has a small monochrome display to indicate what the device is doing.

Unfortunately the double-sided 8-1/4" x 22-1/2" sheet of paper that serves as a Owner's Guide is incomplete and written by someone that wasn't blessed with English as their original language.






Fortunately the Owner's Guide is available as an Acrobat file (PDF) and that document can be enlarged enough to view a decent picture of all the Hieroglyphs.

I have been unable to find a document that individually describes each of the symbols shown above. Does anyone have a source that would provide that information? The User Guide describes most but, in my opinion, not all of them.

The User's Guide discusses the Timer On button - as well as the Timer OFF button - but I couldn't determine what the Timer was timing.

On the picture of my remote (above), the display shows what looks like a house at the lower left side of the numerical temperature display. I can find no reference to his symbol in my User Guide.

Any Trane Mini-Split Remote Controller Guru's out there that can help me out?


Scott

That appears to display a mercury thermometer outside, or inside the house icon. I would guess that's for viewing outside or inside temp.

This is somewhat reminiscent of the remote on my Mitsubishi mini split heat pump in the garage. On the far left column, top to bottom, beginning with the three arrows in a circle:

Recirculate
A/C mode (someone's idea of a snowflake)
Dehumidify
Fan Only (fan symbol in next column probably determines speed)
Heat (someone's idea of the sun)

Looks like the Trane Icon Department had a contest to see how many symbols they could cram into an LCD screen and then drop the ball on the owner's manual.

Some of the others remind me of the symbols on the inside of Lone Star Beer bottle caps that make up common phrases. Welcome to Texas!

http://thismatters.net/hobbies/lonestar/puzzleview.php

I have a Gree minisplit it has the same display and I believe Gree makes the Trane units. Maybe the documentation over at Gree is better.

What I found is that there are fairly good descriptions of the functions, but there is inconsistency between documents on whether a particular model actually has that function. For example a low temp no freeze function, etc. On that little house symbol, it is for inside/ outside temp indication, which I believe most models do not have (the outside display).

We have one in our guest house.....I tell guests "do NOT touch ANYTHING on the remote except the plus, or minus, signs to adjust the temp."

I have the get the instructions out (available to OP on the web) every time someone jacks with it and gets it screwed up. Literally, not a thing about that remote makes any sense....

PWC Repair said:

That appears to display a mercury thermometer outside, or inside the house icon. I would guess that's for viewing outside or inside temp.

Click to expand...

Radix2 said:

I have a Gree minisplit it has the same display and I believe Gree makes the Trane units. Maybe the documentation over at Gree is better.

What I found is that there are fairly good descriptions of the functions, but there is inconsistency between documents on whether a particular model actually has that function. For example a low temp no freeze function, etc. On that little house symbol, it is for inside/ outside temp indication, which I believe most models do not have (the outside display).

Click to expand...

PWC Repair & Radix2,

Thanks for your help!

I just went out to my building to try to influence that icon. It appears that the TEMP button makes this icon change.

When the TEMP button is pushed repeatedly that icon cycles through displays as follows:

Empty House
House with thermometer inside
House with thermometer outside
No house or thermometer (blank in that area)

Repeat cycle.

The temperature display didn't change as I cycled through these icons. However, I must point out that I wasn't pointing the remote control at the inside unit - I was playing with the remote in a location where it couldn't "talk" to the inside unit. Since I seem to have eliminated the "weirdness" I was referring to in my original post I'm trying not to induce any changes at this time.

With all of the above information digested I just looked at the Owner's Guide and the TEMP button is described as follows:

Press this button to toggle between a display of the indoor set point, indoor room temperature and outdoor temperature (outdoor temperature is only available on select models). Once the unit is turned on, the indoor set point is the default temperature displayed.

So I think I've got that icon figured out now. I'm pretty sure my units will not display outside temperature.

Best regards,

Scott

bmw57isetta said:

This is somewhat reminiscent of the remote on my Mitsubishi mini split heat pump in the garage. On the far left column, top to bottom, beginning with the three arrows in a circle:

Recirculate
A/C mode (someone's idea of a snowflake)
Dehumidify
Fan Only (fan symbol in next column probably determines speed)
Heat (someone's idea of the sun)

Looks like the Trane Icon Department had a contest to see how many symbols they could cram into an LCD screen and then drop the ball on the owner's manual.

Click to expand...

bmw57isetta,

The symbols that you point out do get described pretty well in the Owners Guide and they are as you indicate.

I'm still trying to figure out what the TIMER ON & TIMER OFF feature is regulating.

Best regards,

Scott

drmarkr said:

We have one in our guest house.....I tell guests "do NOT touch ANYTHING on the remote except the plus, or minus, signs to adjust the temp."

I have the get the instructions out (available to OP on the web) every time someone jacks with it and gets it screwed up. Literally, not a thing about that remote makes any sense....

Click to expand...

drmarkr,

What do you make of the TIMER ON & TIMER OFF buttons. There is a description of how to set ON & OFF time-points but the document seems to be silent on what they are "timing".


Best regards,

Scott

On my Mitsubishi unit it controls whatever function it's set to. For instance, turn on the AC (or heat, recirculate, dehumidify, etc.) at x time, turn it off at y time. Comes in handy during the summer when it's 100 degrees in Austin. The heat function works pretty fast on the other hand.

Sorry to off topic, but how about some info on the Isetta. Feel free to bore us with details, please.

bmw57isetta said:

On my Mitsubishi unit it controls whatever function it's set to. For instance, turn on the AC (or heat, recirculate, dehumidify, etc.) at x time, turn it off at y time. Comes in handy during the summer when it's 100 degrees in Austin. The heat function works pretty fast on the other hand.

Click to expand...

bmw57isetta,

If this is the case. does the Timer's ON/OFF settings completely override the thermostat? (i.e. regardless of the temperature set, the timer overrides it and the unit keeps heating or cooling (depending on mode) until the OFF time is reached)


Best regards,

Scott

sbosecker said:

bmw57isetta,

If this is the case. does the Timer's ON/OFF settings completely override the thermostat? (i.e. regardless of the temperature set, the timer overrides it and the unit keeps heating or cooling (depending on mode) until the OFF time is reached)


Best regards,

Scott

Click to expand...

No, I think the idea is for saving money. You are out of the room at work from 8-5...program it to be off from 8-4...it is back working when you get home but off all day.

On - working and following the thermostat
Off - off

Radix2 said:

No, I think the idea is for saving money. You are out of the room at work from 8-5...program it to be off from 8-4...it is back working when you get home but off all day.

On - working and following the thermostat
Off - off

Click to expand...

Radix2

That makes sense.

Best regards,

Scott

Radix2 pretty well summed it up. In the summertime you can set it to turn the AC on ahead of the time you're going to be in the garage so the place cools down. No sense in running it during the day if you're not going to be out there. You can then have it auto shutdown at, say, midnight when you hit the sack. You don't want that thing running up a utility bill in the early morning hours when you're not out there or you just forget to turn it off before you hit the sack.

And on that first mode with the arrows in a circle. On my unit, and I would think the Trane version, that is not recirculate.

It is "automatic" - as far as I can tell the idea is a one button mode to heat and cool a room without tight regulation - again the idea is to save money.

How it works is in that mode you can't set an exact (or any) thermostat setting- it has some internal limits it follows - I don't recall what they are exactly, but something like heat if below 68 and cooling if above 78 or something like that, in between it doesn't do anything.

I wish this mode was programmable because my only complaint with the Gree crown I have is that the minimum heat setting is 61 and I would prefer a lower temp just to keep the place I have it frost free. If I could I would set this mode up to maintain between 50 and 85 when no one is using it. What is more frustrating is that the manual talks about a no freeze mode, but it is not implemented on my actual unit.

Sbosecker - what is your lowest heat setting ?

Radix2 said:

Sbosecker - what is your lowest heat setting ?

Click to expand...

Radix2,

I just went out and ran the heat in the mezzanine down to its lowest setting.

Looks like 61 degrees F is as far down as it will go.

I think I'm starting to get my arms around the mini-split's Remote Control. Based on my inability to decipher the symbology and the User's Guide, I don't know if it's fair to call my issues "operator error" but they don't seem to have been a malfunction.

I fly big airplanes for a living. Those beasts are pretty automated at this point. We joke that the two most common questions heard in the cockpit are:

How did you get it to do that?
What's it doing now?

In that regard this remote control is familiar territory. Ha!

Best regards,

Scott

sbosecker said:

Radix2,

I just went out and ran the heat in the mezzanine down to its lowest setting.

Looks like 61 degrees F is as far down as it will go.

I think I'm starting to get my arms around the mini-split's Remote Control. Based on my inability to decipher the symbology and the User's Guide, I don't know if it's fair to call my issues "operator error" but they don't seem to have been a malfunction.

I fly big airplanes for a living. Those beasts are pretty automated at this point. We joke that the two most common questions heard in the cockpit are:

How did you get it to do that?
What's it doing now?

In that regard this remote control is familiar territory. Ha!

Best regards,

Scott

Best regards,

Scott

Click to expand...

same 61...hmmm Thanks


oh, so that first symbol with the three arrows?... Autopilot.