Had a senior moment yesterday. New Winnie has Suburban furnace not Atwood! All of the problems below apply to the Suburban furnace.Just took delivery on new Winnie. Front furnace worked fine during PDI on Thursday. No heat now. Fan running, blowing cold air. Can't hear tick-tick-tick of igniter. Can smell hint of propane at exhaust when I try to light. So, I know it's getting gas. Intake and exhaust not blocked. Propane tank at 88%. Propane lines have been bleed of air. Stove works as does rear furnace. It's obviously under warranty, but thought there might be a quick fix. I suspect control board, but is there a fuse to check? Other ideas? I assume there are probably LED codes to read as with the Atwood. Thanks for the responses in advance. Will be on the road and possibly not able to reply for the next 7-8 hours.

First thing I would check would be the FAN SWITCH SAIL VANE... Maybe some of that CAT and DOG hair might have go into it haha...This switch keeps the furnace from lighting in the event the FAN has failed. Squirt some WD40 on the contacts. The only one I worked on looked like this... Had debris around the button and wouldn't push it in all the way...Roy Ken

As a last resort, have tech replace circuit board. I had problems w/furnace for 7 yrs, replaced all switches, etc. Tech said circuit board checks out OK, but what else could it be? He put in new circuit board and works as it should now.For 7 years, the furnace was weird; worked, but not as I thought it should --- wouldn't come on when it should, cut off at wrong times, etc. It worked just enough that me and the techs thought it was just me, an old man who is clueless. Right, but wrong, eventually.

OK, there is no fuse. IF you do indeed smell LP at the exhaust that means that sail switch is operating. On a Suburban, if you get LP smell and no tic tic tic, that means that either the Piezo wire is grounded(not likely) or the spark electrode is too close to either the burner or the case above the burner. Regardless, the furnace will have to be pulled to check the burner and the LP orifice and the gap on the spark electrode. Doug

Similar problem with new Suburban furnace, except I could hear the igniter trying its best. After months of repair efforts, one tech finally said too much air being blown over igniter, overwhelming the propane and thus nothing to ignite. He somehow restricted the air flow at ignition, now lights every time. Not sure this is the best situation long-term, so am still arguing with Suburban.

Check your battery for sufficient voltage - low voltage will prevent start...remove exterior cover and check For blinking LED followed by pressing reset button.

Duh - Problem with new Suburban furnace not Atwood

14 Replies

Thunder_Mountai
Explorer II
Nov 23, 2015
Did a hard reset by killing all power at 12 cutoff. Voltage not an issue since back furnace works along with everything else.
dougrainer
Nomad
Nov 23, 2015
3 tons wrote:
dougrainer wrote:
3 tons wrote:
Another thing to try if all else checks ok is a hard boot by pulling the blade fuse then reinserting...

This NEVER fixes a Piezo board RV appliance ignition system. Doug

I find that rather curious since it caused my Atwood Excaliber to recover from no-start immediately (after all else had failed....) and kept us from freezing to death during the sub-freezing temp night - So shout NEVER if it keeps you warm.....BTW, this has zero to do with the 'piezo effect' or piezo igniter of your BBQ grill.

It was a coincidence that it functioned after you did that. The Ignition modules on Furnace/Water Heaters/refers are NOT like a PC that you reboot. Take this advice from someone who has worked on and FIXED thousands of Module board appliances for 36 years. You could "reboot" by just killing the battery 12 volt power instead of pulling the fuse. Doug
3_tons
Explorer III
Nov 23, 2015
dougrainer wrote:
3 tons wrote:
Another thing to try if all else checks ok is a hard boot by pulling the blade fuse then reinserting...

This NEVER fixes a Piezo board RV appliance ignition system. Doug

I find that rather curious since it caused my Atwood Excaliber to recover from no-start immediately (after all else had failed....) and kept us from freezing to death during the sub-freezing temp night - So shout NEVER if it keeps you warm.....BTW, this has zero to do with the 'piezo effect' or piezo igniter of your BBQ grill.
dougrainer
Nomad
Nov 23, 2015
3 tons wrote:
Another thing to try if all else checks ok is a hard boot by pulling the blade fuse then reinserting...

This NEVER fixes a Piezo board RV appliance ignition system. Doug
3_tons
Explorer III
Nov 23, 2015
Another thing to try if all else checks ok is a hard boot by pulling the blade fuse then reinserting...
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Nov 22, 2015
If you smell propane the odds are the sail switch is NOT the problem.

Low battery however might be.

But this.. I will state.. Other than making your battery is fully charged since it is under warranty I will recommend you return to dealer for warranty work. Many dealers will void/refuse warranty if you work on it first.

So let them fix it and .. Ask what they did as well. Post the response.
Thunder_Mountai
Explorer II
Nov 22, 2015
nineoaks2004 wrote:
Hopefully you do have propane and that the valve is opened...

Oh yes. Propane at 88%. Rear furnace and stove working properly.
nineoaks2004
Explorer
Nov 22, 2015
Hopefully you do have propane and that the valve is opened...
Thunder_Mountai
Explorer II
Nov 22, 2015
I'll give the LED and reset button a try in the morning before I call Winnebago and Suburban. Looked up the control board on eBay and it is less than $100. Considering the distance to service center and time involved I may just chalk it up to cost of ownership and do it myself. Will keep you posted.
3_tons
Explorer III
Nov 22, 2015
Check your battery for sufficient voltage - low voltage will prevent start...remove exterior cover and check For blinking LED followed by pressing reset button.

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Duh - Problem with new Suburban furnace not Atwood

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