Furnace question - Won't stay lit

Question

I have a 2008 Forest River travel trailer. We got to our spot last friday and when I plugged in power I could hear what sounded like the ignighter for the furnace clicking. This sound continued for about 5 minutes then stopped; the heater was not on at the time. When we did try to run the heater the furnace tripped out several times before it started to run and then worked fine for the last 5 nights. Today the furnace is tripping out again and the burner will not stay on. I can hear the burner kick on and it does get hot at the exhaust but will shut down after a few seconds, it will continue to light and shut off a total of 3 times before shutting the whole system down.

I'm thinking a flame sensor of some kind is not sensing the flame but thought I would ask here if anyone has an idea.

donn0128 · Answer

When did you turn the gas on before the trip?  Did you purge the air out of the gas lines before you tried starting the furnace?

harvard · Answer

You could have an oil filled p-trap in the copper LPG line to the furnace that is blocking the gas flow on an intermittent basis.

timc1207 · Answer

donn0128 wrote:When did you turn the gas on before the trip?  Did you purge the air out of the gas lines before you tried starting the furnace?Yes purged and was working for the last 4 nights with no issues after the initial hiccup. I'm thinking the flame sensor.

timc1207 · Answer

timc1207 wrote:donn0128 wrote:When did you turn the gas on before the trip?  Did you purge the air out of the gas lines before you tried starting the furnace?Yes purged and was working for the last 4 nights with no issues after the initial hiccup. I'm thinking the flame sensor.Been doing a lot of web surfing on this and it seems to be a common problem. I had this furnace worked on last year and it cost as much as a new replacement. I think this time I will just put in a new one and be done with it.I  pulled the unit out and checked all the wiring; looses connections seems to be the most common cause. Re-installed the unit and now it is working again but I have zero trust in it.

aprsrver · Answer

You're probably right about the flame not being sensed. Be sure to check adjustment of electrodes for proper gap and placement in flame plasma. One thing that has worked for me is cleaning the wire connections at the igniter board. Clean and work the connector on and off a few times. The signal for flame sensing is small-micro volt range-and it doesn't take much resistance to disrupt the signal.

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Furnace question - Won't stay lit

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