Both Suburban and Atwood. NOT NEW or weird. Been that way for over 25 years. OEM's realized it takes 1 less power wire to run for the AC wall tstat. Remember, just not that switch. Blown fuse for the furnace and you also have no power to the wall tstat. Some OEM's tap off that wire BEFORE that switch. Newmar used to do that and Newmar installed a 5 amp fuse at the furnace(hidden). To protect the AC wall tstat circuit. Your diagnosis tells why a good 12 volt circuit tester or multimeter should be used before replacing parts. LOTS of RVer's replace parts without checking for pos and neg at the appliance. You did and saved money. Doug