I woke up on a cold morning during my last camping trip. The heater in my trailer was not running as I expected. If you are like me, you know that feeling of dread that perhaps a complex problem was about to unfold.I crouched down to open the fuse box and immediately noticed a red light was on. I assume this indicated a "fault" of some kind. The labels for the various in-line fuses showed me the red light was next to the heater fuse. I reached out to see if it would be easy to pull the fuse to replace it and my finger bumped the fuse. There was a tiny spark, the red light went out, and the heater came on. I subsequently manipulated all the fuses by pressing them firmly into their sockets.I guess the heater fuse just worked its way out a little. No big problem, It left me feeling very grateful for small miracles.

Now that you have 'reseated' the fuses for DC System go thru your AC Main Panel and tighten up ALL wire terminal screws....Incoming side, grounds, neutrals and load side on the circuit breakers.Everything has a tendency to loosen from all the shaking/vibration/bouncing going on during transit

Old-Biscuit wrote:Now that you have 'reseated' the fuses"Reseated" - a good word for it.

Old-Biscuit wrote:go thru your AC Main Panel and tighten up ALL wire terminal screws....Incoming side, grounds, neutrals and load side on the circuit breakers.Good tip, thanks. It makes no sense to invite/ignore loosened connections.

Repair principle #1: "ALWAYS CHECK THE MOST SIMPLE THINGS FIRST"Good job!Chum lee

Good advise!Fortunate for me, in all the years of RV ownership, the only problem I've ever had with the RV furnace was a propane tank running out in the middle of the night and I'd have to get up and switch over to the other tank.

Simple Heater "Fix" | Good Sam Community

Harvey51
Explorer
Jan 12, 2018
My 2004 rig's auto switchover didn't work automatically. When it failed in 2014, I bought a new one at the RV shop with auto changeover that also didn't switch automatically. Not as fancy as those pictured above. I don't mind doing it manually and appreciate knowing the other bottle is still full.
drsteve
Explorer
Jan 11, 2018
DarkSkySeeker wrote:
I use the auto changeover feature so I don't have that problem.

Is that a gadget I need? My changeover is manual.

If it's the Wildwood in your profile, you probably already have one. Just leave both tank valves open, and when the one that the valve lever is pointing at runs out, it will switch to the full tank and show a red indicator letting you know that it's time to fill the empty tank.
Ron3rd
Explorer III
Jan 11, 2018
time2roll wrote:
DutchmenSport wrote:
the only problem I've ever had with the RV furnace was a propane tank running out in the middle of the night and I'd have to get up and switch over to the other tank.

DarkSkySeeker wrote:
I use the auto changeover feature so I don't have that problem.
Ia that a gadget I need? My changeover is manual.

https://tweetys.com/cavagna-two-stage-auto-changeover-regulator

For the OP my heater thermostat was giving me trouble a couple weeks ago. Dometic single zone that would cycle a few times every couple seconds to stop and restart the furnace. Turns out it just needed a reset and I did not really need to suffer through with how it was operating.

I was under the impression all the newer rigs came with the auto change over valve. Even my old 2004 trailer had it.

Some still come with the manual valve?
Ron3rd
Explorer III
Jan 11, 2018
This thread is a good reminder for me to check all those connections, especially the screws on the 120v connections.
dougrainer
Nomad
Jan 11, 2018
The RED LED light is an indicator of either NO 12 volt fuse in the adjacent slot or the fuse is BLOWN. AS you found out, with a LOOSE fuse, it acted as if NO fuse. When a 12 volt circuit has a LOAD on it and the fuse is Bad or missing, the corresponding RED led light comes ON to let you know which fuse needs fixed. Not all 12 volt panels have this Red led light fault system. The only drawback to this system is, IF the Blown circuit has NO load on it, the Red led light will not light. So always manually check all fuses when you have a 12 volt outage. Doug
time2roll
Nomad
Jan 11, 2018
DutchmenSport wrote:
the only problem I've ever had with the RV furnace was a propane tank running out in the middle of the night and I'd have to get up and switch over to the other tank.

DarkSkySeeker wrote:
I use the auto changeover feature so I don't have that problem.
Ia that a gadget I need? My changeover is manual.

https://tweetys.com/cavagna-two-stage-auto-changeover-regulator

For the OP my heater thermostat was giving me trouble a couple weeks ago. Dometic single zone that would cycle a few times every couple seconds to stop and restart the furnace. Turns out it just needed a reset and I did not really need to suffer through with how it was operating.
MEXICOWANDERER
Explorer
Jan 11, 2018
The breaker in this image is ugly/old. But this is the switch breakers I use in Quicksilver. Adjacent panels. Exterior tooth lock washers under the nuts. LED fault lights alongside each switch.
TurnThePage
Explorer
Jan 11, 2018
I still can't bring myself to trust auto-changeovers. Even if they work as advertised, it will ultimately mean that I'm out in the middle of nowhere with TWO empty tanks. I guess that means I don't trust myself.
old_guy
Explorer
Jan 11, 2018
DutchmenSport wrote:
Good advise!

Fortunate for me, in all the years of RV ownership, the only problem I've ever had with the RV furnace was a propane tank running out in the middle of the night and I'd have to get up and switch over to the other tank.

I had that problem during elk season once and it didn't take me long to fix that so it would not happen again. auto change overs are the solution. it's too cold in the middle of November at night to be running outside
in you skivvies
SidecarFlip
Explorer III
Jan 10, 2018
Old-Biscuit wrote:
Now that you have 'reseated' the fuses for DC System go thru your AC Main Panel and tighten up ALL wire terminal screws....Incoming side, grounds, neutrals and load side on the circuit breakers.

Everything has a tendency to loosen from all the shaking/vibration/bouncing going on during transit

When you use residential wiring practice in a shaking vibrating and moving RV, things loosen up...all the time. I check all mine yearly in the spring.