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Old 03-23-2017, 02:50 AM   #1
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Furnace

Darned furnace... why does it cut out and not restart? Is it a battery issue? Does it even need a battery. I need help before I perish
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Old 03-23-2017, 04:32 AM   #2
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Dam furnace... why does it cut out and not restart? Is it a battery issue? Do it even need a battery. I need help before I perish


Our furnace is doing the same thing. Turn it on, it runs, warms up the RV then shuts off. It will not restart after that. Unless l turn off the system and then back on.
The FR3 is Surly the RV from hell.
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Old 03-23-2017, 07:26 AM   #3
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try google: troubleshooting suburban (or Atwood) rv furnaces. You'll get at least 10 YouTube videos and a .pdf service manual you can download. Between those, a VOM and a few choice 4 letter words... I've been there before with an Atwood. It's unlikely that it's your battery. Hope you don't have to pull out the kitchen sink like I did on a Jayco. If you look at the videos, you'll at least know if you're in over your head
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Old 03-23-2017, 09:47 AM   #4
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Our furnace is doing the same thing. Turn it on, it runs, warms up the RV then shuts off. It will not restart after that. Unless l turn off the system and then back on.
The FR3 is Surly the RV from hell.


We hate ours too.. they couldn't make it any cheaper without calling it a tent
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Old 03-23-2017, 02:20 PM   #5
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We hate ours too.. they couldn't make it any cheaper without calling it a tent


I'm letting it go back to the bank. We are done with RV's. The entire RV industry will feel the effects of the pice of junk FR-3 and the industry should black list forest river.
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Old 03-23-2017, 02:22 PM   #6
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Can't blame you
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Old 03-24-2017, 08:49 AM   #7
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furnace

There should be at least a 2 year warranty on your furnace. The furnace has a separate warranty from FR. It was not manufactured by FR just installed by them. Good luck.
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Old 03-24-2017, 12:21 PM   #8
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So the dealer said these furnaces are not meant to be used without shore power because they draw too much from the battery and the problem is our battery. So how about the rest of you guys can you run your furnace without shore power and or the generator? And how long will it stay on ?
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Old 03-24-2017, 12:25 PM   #9
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Darn Furnace

We are in a FR3 motorhome, dry camping and need heat but the furnace won't stay on.. we have to use the generator to get it to work. Dealer says these furnaces are not designed to just pull power from the battery .. please say it isn't so and if so how do we fix it
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Old 03-24-2017, 12:43 PM   #10
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I merged your two threads as they are on the same issue.

If the furnace is shutting down on battery, but will run fine when the generator is running, it is a low voltage issue. Running the furnace in cold weather uses a considerable amount of 12V power. If you have only one battery and it is cold, it will kill the battery in about one night ( two batteries in two nights).. The furnace is designed ( for safety reasons) to not fire up if the voltage is too low. You may need additional batteries or reduce your 12V demand when you need the furnace. Running the generator will also work. Also after a night on the battery, you will need to run your generator for some time to recharge the battery. You can not go by the idiot lights as they will read full when charging or on shore power. This should have been covered by your dealer during PDI, but if he is telling you that the furnace is not designed to run on battery, there may be a bigger problem. It Only runs on 12V and with sufficient battery capacity it will run fine.
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Old 03-24-2017, 12:48 PM   #11
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On cold nights rule of thumb is one battery, one night with heat. Once battery voltage drops below a certain level the furnace shuts off while there is still enough voltage left to clear the combustion chamber of dangerous gases even though you can still run lights and/or other devices.

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Old 03-24-2017, 12:55 PM   #12
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Dam Furnace

Thank you you have been a big help... you don't want to know about our PDI... it was on a Friday afternoon.. and we have the worst dealer
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Old 03-24-2017, 12:59 PM   #13
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If we were to change all the batteries would we be better off with 6 volt? We are planning to have solar in the near future... just waiting to see if the sun will ever come out again lol
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Old 03-24-2017, 01:01 PM   #14
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As mentioned, furnaces run off 12v. (and propane of course!)

Unlike refrigerators and water heaters that often use several different sources of power, the furnace is 12v only.

With that said, you must have sufficient voltage to make the furnace work.
If you have a good battery that is properly charged, you would likely get about one night's worth of furnace operation from the battery. (if not too cold and don't have the thermostat too high)

Often times, if your battery is bad, discharged or not of large enough capacity that sufficient voltage only comes when you are plugged into shore power and the converter is supplying the 12v. (It also charges the battery)

You need to perform some basic 12v electrical tests on your battery.

Finally... you need to find a different dealer.
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Old 03-24-2017, 01:12 PM   #15
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Yes two 6-volt AGM golf cart batteries hooked up in series will give you more amp hours than one deep cycle 12-volt battery.

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ue-129362.html

Rich J.
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Old 03-24-2017, 09:39 PM   #16
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Furnace

The other folks are right about the low voltage shutting down the furnace. First thing I would do is charge the batteries to full charge and then testing them. Test the specfic gravity and load test them to find out how good they are.

The dealer is all wet if he thinks the furnace won't work off of the batteries. One thing we do when we are dry camping is use a small Honda generator during the day to charge our batteries for the next evening. The gen we use is a Honda 2000 it will run about 8 hrs on 1 gal of gas.

You can keep track of your power usage by installing a BOGART battery monitoring system. It will keep track of how much power you have used and how much is left. Also it will keep track of how much you put back into the batteries.

Good luck and happy camping.
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Old 03-24-2017, 10:25 PM   #17
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Thank you so much keep it coming folks.
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Old 03-25-2017, 10:26 AM   #18
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I'm plugged into 30amp shore power. Once parked, leveled and both slides are out the furnace is turned on and the temp is set to 67 degrees. The furnace fires right up. Once temp is reached it shuts down and will not re-fire unless it is turned off then back on. Then it fires up, runs to set temp, shuts offa d will not re-fire. Any ideas? Propane is at 2/3 full and shore power is plugged in to 30amp outlet.
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Old 03-25-2017, 02:16 PM   #19
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If your hooked to shore power then your battery is not being charged. You either have a bad battery or a bad converter. Or maybe a bad connection going from your converter to the battery.
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Old 03-26-2017, 03:58 AM   #20
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If your hooked to shore power then your battery is not being charged. You either have a bad battery or a bad converter. Or maybe a bad connection going from your converter to the battery.


Right on. At the panel where you can push the button to check the battery's, gray and black and fresh water levels, put the slides in and out, start the generator, when l push the battery check button all the lights light up showing a full charge both when plugged into shore power and when not plugged into shore power. The battery's are full of water as l check them often and each battery shows 12.6 volts when l touch my meter to them.
We were in north and south Carolina and savanna GA 2 weeks ago when it was at first warm sun burn weather then it turned cold and wet. The furnace was working perfectly up until our last 2 nights.
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