1995 Winnebago Vectra - How in the heck does the heat work??

[pandorasbox65]

I recently traded up from a 1993 Gulfstream Conquest (21 ft) to a 1995 Winnebago Vecra (30 ft). I totally love this RV with one exception: I can't figure out the heat pump. In my other RV, it was simple. Turn on the propane, turn on the heat, set the thermostat, done! This one is so complicated. It has an electronic thermostat. The manual tells me to turn OFF the propane, turn on the thermostat, set temp above room temp, let blower run for 5 min, then set below room temp & run blower for aprox 2 more minutes until it shuts off and then go back outside and turn on propane, then go back in and set the desired temp and wait 30 seconds for the main burner to light AND, if the burner doesn't light, start over and do it all again. Does this seem excessively complicated to anyone else? Can anyone give me any tips or short cuts? With this process, I have only gotten the heat to turn on once. Please help!!

[pandorasbox65]

Thank you all for the help, I really need it! 😉

[pandorasbox65]

When the furnace stopped running in the middle of the night, I was plugged into 50 amp shore power. I am sure it wasn't a low battery. I realize this is an older coach but it only has 38K miles on it, it's barely been used. Everything works great, I just wanted to try a more accurate thermostat. Thank you BigRabbitMan, I will look into the igniter you mentioned.

[BigRabbitMan]

Most likely it is a worn out igniter. The igninter has a gap to provide a spark to light the propane. Over time it gets eroded and the gap gets wider and then no spark is generated and so no light and no heat. Find and check the condition and gap on the igniter. Adjust or replace the igninter as appropriate.

[John_Wayne]

When it stopped working in the middle of the night you probably ran out of 12 volt power(battery ran down)need more then 10.5 volts to keep running.

[pandorasbox65]

So I am now trying to replace the thermostat to one that is digital. I am having a hard time as there are 9 wires, not the usual few most RV's have. Any suggestions? I have watched all the videos from do-it-yourselfers online and it seems easy. Tried it yesterday and was disappointed that all the wires wouldn't connect. I know I can just wire one of the fan speed wires and it will be fine, but what about the dule stage wires? Are they needed or can I by pass them??

[pandorasbox65]

Thanks, Hikerdogs, but I have the manual. That's where I got the convoluted instructions in the first place. I just thought they were very drawn out for what should be a very simple thing.

[Hikerdogs]

Here's a link to the 1995 Vectra operators manual on the Winnebago website:
http://winnebagoind.com/resources/manuals/pdfs/Operator1995/95Vectra.pdf

Instructions on how to operate the furnace and central air conditioner start on page 8-9

[dougrainer]

pandorasbox65 wrote:
Thank you, Doug! I have scoured YouTube and online forums for something related to this heater/furnace and found nothing. This was so helpful. Thanks again!

Also, my water heater and stove spark right up, no problem. I just don't know why the heater is so hard. The one time I got it going, it worked great all evening but it stopped working in the middle of the night and I woke up to a balmy 54 degrees in my coach the next morning.

If it has run and heated, then you have LP. Odds are you have a part on the furnace not operating to spec. You really need to get it in to a RV service center for a diag and fix. They also have a kit to upgrade your furnace to the NEW Tri start board with a Fan relay. The fan relay system shuts the fam OFF when it does not light to prevent extra cold temps in the RV from that fan running all the time with no heat. Of course, on a 21 year old appliance, it may be better and more cost effective to replace the complete furnace with a new updated one. Doug

[pandorasbox65]

Thank you, Doug! I have scoured YouTube and online forums for something related to this heater/furnace and found nothing. This was so helpful. Thanks again!

Also, my water heater and stove spark right up, no problem. I just don't know why the heater is so hard. The one time I got it going, it worked great all evening but it stopped working in the middle of the night and I woke up to a balmy 54 degrees in my coach the next morning.

[dougrainer]

OK, You do NOT have a Heat Pump. You have a FURNACE. The directions you followed were the CYA instructions from the furnace maker. You do not have to turn the LP OFF. Leave it on. Then just set the Tstat to Heat(furnace) and the temp to what you want it to heat too. IF it does NOT light, you must repeat 5 or 6 times to purge any air in the LP line. A 1995 Furnace will NOT have a tri start Ignition module un less it was updated in the past 15 years. Current Furnaces have what is called a Tri start module. It will attempt to light 3 times and if it fails the furnace shuts down. Then you repeat the process. Make sure other LP appliances are operating also. Doug