Hferguson writes
“The reason I'm pursuing this in the first place is that the blower wasn't coming on when the thermostat told it to. It appears that there is a sealed relay on the Ignition Board CCA that routes power to the blower prior to furnace ignition. That relay appears to be sticking. It's working now, but that CCA and everything else in the enclosure gets really warm. Can't be good for electronics.”Per Atwood installation manual
HERE Please read the following text from the manual above.. Pay special attention the text I bolded!
"*When furnaces are installed to minimum clearances, an additional 16in2 of return air must be provided to blower side of furnace, or a 2 ?
clearance the full length and height on blower side must be
maintained.
Return air is supplied through openings in furnace casing. All return air passages must be kept clear for furnace to function properly.
Refer to
MINIMUM CLEARANCE TO FLOORBOARDS, WALLS & SIMILAR COMBUSTIBLE BUILDING
MATERIAL. The total unobstructed return air opening size(s) must NOT BE LESS than specified in
SPECIFICATIONS- MINIMUM RETURN AIR. Failure to meet minimum return air requirements nullifies furnace warranty.
•It is not recommended to install furnace on material that restricts
return air, such as directly on carpet, or soft material (like vinyl).
•If you must install furnace on carpet or soft material, install fur-
nace on cleats, or on a wood or metal panel extending the full
width and depth of furnace plus minimum clearances to combustibles
CRITICAL INSTALLATION WARNINGS
•DO NOT install furnace on material that restricts return air, like carpet or any soft material such as vinyl.
•DO NOT install furnace where clearance to combustibles cannot be maintained.
•DO NOT modify furnace in any way."
Replace the ignition board..
Relays go bad due to pitting/wearing of the contacts, has nothing to do with the overall heat of the relay or the control board.
Putting an insulating “blanket” around the furnace case will actually INCREASE the internal temperature of the furnace and hence increase the temperature that the control board will endure..
INCREASE RETURN AIR OPENING. This will allow more air to flow around the furnace lowering the overall temp of the furnace closet..
The MIN return air opening is 65 square inches (something like 6.5"x10"), the RECOMMENDED is 80 square inches (something like 8"x10")..There is nothing wrong with MORE than 80 square inches if you have the wall space to add an extra opening..
But as I mentioned the temperature has nothing to do with your problem..
