Furnace no bueno?

Well thought I had it figured out. I just went out there and it's not working again. Same symptoms. The furnace has been the only thing on. No heaters or anything else.

rooney77 wrote:
I'm guessing that the space heaters were drawing too much power. We unplugged them this morning and now the furnace is warming it up quite nicely. Guess I need a bigger extension cord for plugging it in.

Glad you figured it out. I would imagine that a couple of space heaters (3000 watts) might be pretty close to the limit on the circuit in the garage you plugged into, especially at the end of an extension cord, which they probably tell you not to use. But we all do that.

TXiceman wrote:
Your trailer should have a list of appliance and model numbers somewhere in the documents. The owners manuals should also have a book on the furnace that provides the basic model.

As for the Pilot comment, the newer furnaces do not have a standing pilot. They are DSI or Direct Spark Ignition.

The sequence of operation is for the fan to come on first and run fro about 30 seconds to clear any gas build up in the combustion chamber. Once the sail switch is made or closed, the gas valve will open and the ignition sequence will start. The ignitor will start to spark and you will hear a popping or clicking sound. The burner should light and the thermocouple or flame detector will confirm a flame is present and the burner will continue to burn until the thermostat is satisfied and close the gas valve. The fan will continue to run for a time until the combustion exchanger is cooled.

In the start sequence, if the burner does not ignite, the ignition circuit will shut down and after a period of time, will try igniting again. If the burner does not ignite on the 3rd try, the furnace will lock out and you will have to manually shut off the furnace and reset it by turning off the thermostat.

The owners manual for the furnace should have a small trouble shooting guide and you can find more information online.

Ken

I'll dig out the manuals and go through them. I've been reading the Winnebago manual but haven't made it to any of the others yet. The previous owner kept everything so I've got them all.

When I turned it on a few minutes ago it started putting out some heat pretty quickly. Learned my lesson I guess.

eric1514 wrote:

rooney77 wrote:
I'm plugged into my shop. Could it be I have too many things running and not enough juice to supply it all? I just ran a good heavy gauge extension cord to it. Right now I've got a couple of lights and the TV on and that's it. Still only blowing cold.

FYI, the water heater works insanely well. Probably gonna have to turn it down some.

You might not have enough juice, especially if your converter is trying to charge your very dead battery, but I doubt that's the problem. Just for kicks, turn off the tv and lights.

I'm guessing that the space heaters were drawing too much power. We unplugged them this morning and now the furnace is warming it up quite nicely. Guess I need a bigger extension cord for plugging it in.

Here's a pretty good video about furnaces, there are lots more on You Tube showing some "how to".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPFLDZR9o5g

Your trailer should have a list of appliance and model numbers somewhere in the documents. The owners manuals should also have a book on the furnace that provides the basic model.

As for the Pilot comment, the newer furnaces do not have a standing pilot. They are DSI or Direct Spark Ignition.

The sequence of operation is for the fan to come on first and run fro about 30 seconds to clear any gas build up in the combustion chamber. Once the sail switch is made or closed, the gas valve will open and the ignition sequence will start. The ignitor will start to spark and you will hear a popping or clicking sound. The burner should light and the thermocouple or flame detector will confirm a flame is present and the burner will continue to burn until the thermostat is satisfied and close the gas valve. The fan will continue to run for a time until the combustion exchanger is cooled.

In the start sequence, if the burner does not ignite, the ignition circuit will shut down and after a period of time, will try igniting again. If the burner does not ignite on the 3rd try, the furnace will lock out and you will have to manually shut off the furnace and reset it by turning off the thermostat.

The owners manual for the furnace should have a small trouble shooting guide and you can find more information online.

Ken

Check 12 volt DC wire connections to the furnace. May be loose or corroded and ignition circuit not getting enough power. When you find the circuit board, unplug it and clean the contacts as suggested above. Troubleshooting furnaces can be tricky, a number of safety features that can cause problems. There are jets that can clog, ignition system parts that fail, sail switch, etc.

If you lack confidence and need to get it working quickly and reliably, a good mobile RV service may charge you some $200+ to diagnose and fix it. Watch repairman if posssible and get familiar with the innards. Maybe there is a You Tube video about this.

You don't have to dig around to find the furnace. Just look on the outside of your rig for the exhaust and intake vents. Your furnace will be inside the rig right at that location.

Old-Biscuit wrote:
Post which furnace you have and model number

Suburban.....NT, SF etc
Atwood.....7900, 8500 etc

More specific info

Then better info as to HOW, WHAT

I haven't got a clue since it's not visible anywhere. Everything is ducted so the furnace is hidden somewhere. I'll have to dig around and find it.

Another failure area is connectors on PC board. Had to remove mine and run a pencil eraser over connector to get mine to fire a few years ago. Has not failed again.