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FyrLyf's avatar
FyrLyf
Explorer
Oct 29, 2022

Intermittent heater no fire issue

Hello everybody.
I need a little help with the heater on my 2020 Primetime Avenger. For the last two years the heater is very intermittent whether or not it wants to work. It seems like every time I start digging into investigating the problem, it decides to start working before I can really land the problem.

What I get is the blower but no ignition.
I've checked the sail switch and its working fine.
During the two last attempts I made in troubleshooting, a week ago I pulled the cover and flipped the service/reset switch off and back on and it immediately started working and I used it all weekend. Yesterday it was acting the same way so I went straight to the service/reset switch and flipped it off and back on. Got the blower but again, no fire. Having limited tools here at camp, and thinking it could be a stuck valve, I took the handle of a screw driver and tapped the valve. Flipped the switch off and back on, Got the blower and SEVERAL seconds later, bam! It fired, and it's been working fine ever since.

I feel like every time I shut down my tanks, change them out, or transport the camper, The problem starts all over.

I'm leaning towards a valve problem at this point, but does anyone else have any different ideas?

Thanks!
  • FyrLyf's avatar
    FyrLyf
    Explorer
    Oct 30, 2022
    wa8yxm wrote:
    One thing to check on the furnace is the ingnitioon spark gap.

    I've worked on both a home (oil fired) and RV (Propane) furnace and both of them had excessive spark gap.. Adjusting per the installer's manual (Owner's on an RV) made a significant improvement.

    Sadly on the RV the excessive gap caused additional damage so a Dinosaur board replacement for the control board was needed soon after.


    I'll check that out. Thank you.
  • FyrLyf's avatar
    FyrLyf
    Explorer
    Oct 30, 2022
    dougrainer wrote:
    FyrLyf wrote:
    Thanks for the replies!.
    Funny you mention the regulator. That was the first thing I thought about. The tank selector valve is backwards from the factory, so I'm always forgetting and fighting that thing. Then the other day, I opened one tank and it started filling the empty tank on the other side. So, that valve is clearly having issues.

    Sad thing is this camper still has over 2 years left on the warranty. But I have written off relying on the manufacturer to take care of anything. I've since just done all repairs myself.


    1. Explain how the tanks and valve are wired backwards.
    2. When you have a switchover system, IF YOU DO NOT SWITCH THE MANUAL VALVE TO THE FULL TANK, YES, THE FULL TANK WILL ATTEMPT TO FEED THE EMPTY TANK IF it is defective. The system works this way. You have the valve turned to the tank you are using. IF you have the other tank valve turned ON, then when the first tank runs empty, the 2nd tank will feed your system. When that happens the Green/Red indicator will show RED. Letting you know the system has auto switched to the 2nd tank. Otherwise you run the risk of running BOTH tanks out of LP. This gives you the time to refill the first tank. When it auto switches you then turn the lever to the 2nd tank and this allows you to remove the first tank. Fail to turn the lever to the 2nd tank, when you remove the first tank the fitting will spew LP.
    3. Having stated this, IF your 1st tank is filling AFTER it has auto switched then the switchover valve IS defective. Because this failure defeats the purpose of the Auto switch system. Doug

    PS, when you move the lever to the 2nd tank, the indicator will then show green.


    So to start, the green/red indicator works when it wants to. As far as the manual valve handle, the "supply ->" does not point to the tank you are trying to use. So you have to point it at the other yank to use the tank that is intended. And to be honest, I don't remember the sequence that cause the filling of the empty tank.
  • dougrainer's avatar
    dougrainer
    Nomad
    Oct 29, 2022
    FyrLyf wrote:
    Thanks for the replies!.
    Funny you mention the regulator. That was the first thing I thought about. The tank selector valve is backwards from the factory, so I'm always forgetting and fighting that thing. Then the other day, I opened one tank and it started filling the empty tank on the other side. So, that valve is clearly having issues.

    Sad thing is this camper still has over 2 years left on the warranty. But I have written off relying on the manufacturer to take care of anything. I've since just done all repairs myself.


    1. Explain how the tanks and valve are wired backwards.
    2. When you have a switchover system, IF YOU DO NOT SWITCH THE MANUAL VALVE TO THE FULL TANK, YES, THE FULL TANK WILL ATTEMPT TO FEED THE EMPTY TANK IF it is defective. The system works this way. You have the valve turned to the tank you are using. IF you have the other tank valve turned ON, then when the first tank runs empty, the 2nd tank will feed your system. When that happens the Green/Red indicator will show RED. Letting you know the system has auto switched to the 2nd tank. Otherwise you run the risk of running BOTH tanks out of LP. This gives you the time to refill the first tank. When it auto switches you then turn the lever to the 2nd tank and this allows you to remove the first tank. Fail to turn the lever to the 2nd tank, when you remove the first tank the fitting will spew LP.
    3. Having stated this, IF your 1st tank is filling AFTER it has auto switched then the switchover valve IS defective. Because this failure defeats the purpose of the Auto switch system. Doug

    PS, when you move the lever to the 2nd tank, the indicator will then show green.
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Oct 29, 2022
    One thing to check on the furnace is the ingnitioon spark gap.

    I've worked on both a home (oil fired) and RV (Propane) furnace and both of them had excessive spark gap.. Adjusting per the installer's manual (Owner's on an RV) made a significant improvement.

    Sadly on the RV the excessive gap caused additional damage so a Dinosaur board replacement for the control board was needed soon after.
  • FyrLyf's avatar
    FyrLyf
    Explorer
    Oct 29, 2022
    Thanks for the replies!.
    Funny you mention the regulator. That was the first thing I thought about. The tank selector valve is backwards from the factory, so I'm always forgetting and fighting that thing. Then the other day, I opened one tank and it started filling the empty tank on the other side. So, that valve is clearly having issues.

    Sad thing is this camper still has over 2 years left on the warranty. But I have written off relying on the manufacturer to take care of anything. I've since just done all repairs myself.
  • StirCrazy's avatar
    StirCrazy
    Moderator
    Oct 29, 2022
    I had that issue for the first two seasons I had my camper. what it ended up being was bugs in the gas path, I blew out the exhaust realy good with compressed air, pulled the burner out and got a small tip for the shop vack and cleaned out the compustion are and the burner assembley and it has worke prefect ever sence. the this year it started doing it again and I changed out the mother board to a new one from dinasaur electronics and now it works like a brand new furnace.
  • corvettekent's avatar
    corvettekent
    Explorer
    Oct 29, 2022
    I had a similar problem with my furnace for a couple years, then the wife stated telling me that the flame on the range was very low. The interesting thing is that the fridge and water heater both worked fine on propane. To fix the low flame problem I replaced the propane regulator, then I decided to try the furnace and it fired up and has been working great.

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