Furnace won't start

[johnat4mc]

I have a 2013 Cedar Creek Fifth Wheel. We have been camping for a couple of weeks and the heater has been working fine. One morning I woke up and it was not running as it should have been so I ran the thermostat through the various modes, i.e. Fan, Cool, Off Auto Furnace and it started. Yesterday morning was working fine when we left, turned the temp down to about 62, when comeback last night will not work. I can press the Fan button and get the fan to manually turn on but the furnace does not come on. Have tried resetting the outside breakers also.

I would appreciate any thoughts.

Thanks, John Lewis

[nomad297]

Can you hear it fire three times then shut down the gas and not try firing anymore? The fan will still be running.

Bruce

[cavie]

Originally Posted by johnat4mc

I have a 2013 Cedar Creek Fifth Wheel. We have been camping for a couple of weeks and the heater has been working fine. One morning I woke up and it was not running as it should have been so I ran the thermostat through the various modes, i.e. Fan, Cool, Off Auto Furnace and it started. Yesterday morning was working fine when we left, turned the temp down to about 62, when comeback last night will not work. I can press the Fan button and get the fan to manually turn on but the furnace does not come on. Have tried resetting the outside breakers also.

I would appreciate any thoughts.

Thanks, John Lewis

When you say "Furnace", are you speaking of the A/C in heat pump mode? or are you speaking of the propane Furnace on the floor? If the gas furnace, the breakers have no effect. The furnace is propane and 12 volts for the fan. The breakwers are 120 volts AC.


I had this problem this summer. Called a tech. Turns out the control board was bad. He allowed me to purchase my own Dinosaur Board from Amazon and we both removed the unit and repaired it together.

[wherewolf17]

Originally Posted by johnat4mc

I have a 2013 Cedar Creek Fifth Wheel. We have been camping for a couple of weeks and the heater has been working fine. One morning I woke up and it was not running as it should have been so I ran the thermostat through the various modes, i.e. Fan, Cool, Off Auto Furnace and it started. Yesterday morning was working fine when we left, turned the temp down to about 62, when comeback last night will not work. I can press the Fan button and get the fan to manually turn on but the furnace does not come on. Have tried resetting the outside breakers also.

I would appreciate any thoughts.

Thanks, John Lewis

My propane furnace was acting up about this time last year, Sometimes turned on, sometimes didn't. I pulled it out, cleaned it up and bent the sail switch vane a little bit more. It's been fine ever since.

[PhoneDude 8289]

Had similar problem last year, turned out is was the primary regulator went bad.
Assuming you have plenty of propane try lighting all stove burners. If they won't burn or do burn but the flame is real low or go out could be the regulator or pig-tail thats on the tank you are using.

[ynott96]

At times the propane detector will fail due to dirt/dust and also has a programmed failure date of about five years from installation!
George

[johnat4mc]

Thanks for all your replies. There is plenty of propane, all the stove burners work etc. Nothing turns on at all when I turn on the furnace, and I do mean the propane system. I called a mobile RV tech who was supposed to come out this pm but he did not show up. Doesn't sound like it is anything simple that I can handle so hopefully he will come out tomorrow. Not very cold right now here in Arkansas so the electric fireplace and one small electric space heater we brought seem to doing the trick so far. Again, I appreciate your help.

[Mslaman]

I’m having a similar issue.
Fan turns on. No heat.
Trailer is level. Propane is full. Plenty of Flame at the stove.
Tested it at home. Worked great. Got to camp wouldn’t turn on.
Deployed extra sleeping bag and went to bed.
I’ll keep monitoring this thread for possible solutions.

[Rdeemat]

Originally Posted by Mslaman

I’m having a similar issue.
Fan turns on. No heat.
Trailer is level. Propane is full. Plenty of Flame at the stove.
Tested it at home. Worked great. Got to camp wouldn’t turn on.
Deployed extra sleeping bag and went to bed.
I’ll keep monitoring this thread for possible solutions.

Same with me. I pulled the unit out and replaced the sail switch. Have heat again.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Mslaman

I’m having a similar issue.
Fan turns on. No heat.
Trailer is level. Propane is full. Plenty of Flame at the stove.
Tested it at home. Worked great. Got to camp wouldn’t turn on.
Deployed extra sleeping bag and went to bed.
I’ll keep monitoring this thread for possible solutions.

Make SURE you have a good, fully charged battery.

You said it worked OK at home... were you plugged in?
It didn't work at camp... were you plugged in or running off battery?

The sail switch is an important part of the puzzle for a furnace.
Its design is to to prove to the control board, there is enough combustion air in the combustion chamber to allow spark and flame to begin burning.

If the voltage is low enough that the fan doesn't push the sail switch far enough, the furnace won't light. A sticking/binding sail switch can cause the same issue although I've only seen one that was sticking and many that simply had low voltage.