furnace refuses to light

[routeforty]

Have a new Coachmen Leprechaun-checking everything, getting ready to head to Florida-found that the furnace refuses to light. Plenty of propane in the tank, batteries charged, electric plugged in, gas at stove, refer runs on gas, HWH ignites(it is beside the furnace). The fan comes on and I can hear the igniters clicking, but no fire. Bought the MH this spring and don't believe I have run the furnace since purchased. Can't get in at the dealer until 1-3-19. Any ideas?? Still under warranty, but the dealer is about 100 miles away, and it's getting too cold for me to hang around in Ohio much longer. Gary

[gkainz]

my bet is a spider clogged the gas nozzle. Remove and clean with alcohol. Do NOT poke a wire or anything through it. Test for gas by turning on furnace and apply a bbq lighter to the nozzle end while ignitor is sparking/clicking.

[midnightsadie]

I,m in the canton area ,louisville, your not far .and if the tech won,t come offer a bonus.

[routeforty]

midnightsadie wrote:
forget about the dealer, call a local rv tech .some do warrenty work. they come to you.

I thought of that, but couldn't find one local. The closest I could find was one in the Canton, Oh area. We're in amish country around Holmes county about an hour away. If there was someone local it probably would be cheaper to pay him than to drive to the dealer.

[midnightsadie]

forget about the dealer, call a local rv tech .some do warrenty work. they come to you.

[Dusty_R]

It could also be that the spark is not in the right place. A short some where in the wire before it gets to where it needs to be. Or the spark igniter needs adjusting.

[routeforty]

If it's not too cold tomorrow I'll take a look at it. That would be awesome if there's just a valve inline that hasn't been opened yet.

[BFL13]

routeforty wrote:

BFL13 wrote:
There is a sequence to ignition. The blower gets the sail switch to close, which energizes the board, which lets the furnace purge for about 20 seconds, then the board opens the gas valve and the igniter sparks when the gas valve opens.

You are getting the sparker clicking, so there is gas to that point. Your problem must be with the gas after it gets past the gas valve, as I mentioned before. At least that is what it seems from here.

So possibly I'm getting gas to the igniter but it's not lighting? Would the igniters spark if there was no gas going to it?

I don't know exactly if the ignitor only works if the gas valve opens first (I thought so, but the wording on that is not clear), but they both work together.

You could have gas coming past the gas valve so the igniter sparks, but the gas might not be getting to the igniter because of an obstruction in the "burner" perhaps. (wasp nest? plugged up orifice?)

[enblethen]

Yes, the ignitor would spark with no gas.
If no power is getting to the gas valve from the circuit board there will be no fire. The power comes off the circuit board to the gas valve. You could test while the ignitor is clicking for power to the gas valve.

[routeforty]

BFL13 wrote:
There is a sequence to ignition. The blower gets the sail switch to close, which energizes the board, which lets the furnace purge for about 20 seconds, then the board opens the gas valve and the igniter sparks when the gas valve opens.

You are getting the sparker clicking, so there is gas to that point. Your problem must be with the gas after it gets past the gas valve, as I mentioned before. At least that is what it seems from here.

So possibly I'm getting gas to the igniter but it's not lighting? Would the igniters spark if there was no gas going to it?

[BFL13]

There is a sequence to ignition. The blower gets the sail switch to close, which energizes the board, which lets the furnace purge for about 20 seconds, then the board opens the gas valve and the igniter sparks when the gas valve opens.

You are getting the sparker clicking, so there is gas to that point. Your problem must be with the gas after it gets past the gas valve, as I mentioned before. At least that is what it seems from here.

[enblethen]

There is a small switch in the air chamber. It is called a "sail switch". The air movement in the chamber if sufficient sends power to the circuit board allowing the circuit board to energize the ignitor and the gas valve.
Since you hear clicking that indicates power is getting to the circuit board.

[routeforty]

enblethen wrote:
Check the multi-wire connector on the circuit board.
Do you smell any propane?
Get an electric heater!
Sail switch should be OK as power is getting to circuit board.

I tried to start it about a month ago, and thought I smelled a little propane then, but had no time to look at it until last Friday. Took the out side cover off and tried to start it several times. The blower will come on and the igniter will click for a couple seconds three times then it will shut down. Tried this several times with no luck or smell of propane. Hoping that maybe there is a valve that has never been opened. The dealer said they checked it during the PDI- who knows:h? We've only used the camper 3 times since we bought it-brand new.

[routeforty]

downtheroad wrote:
I'll take a quick wild shot at it....not getting gas???
All of our furnaces had a gas shut off valve. Look on the back side of your furnace...access from the outside and find the gas line. Make sure the valve is turned on.

Good luck with it. Post back.

I wondered about that. tomorrow weather permitting I'll take a look. enblethen, I don't know what a "sail switch" is. Been around RVs for years but gas things I have never messed with. Gary

[enblethen]

Check the multi-wire connector on the circuit board.
Do you smell any propane?
Get an electric heater!
Sail switch should be OK as power is getting to circuit board.