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Old 04-22-2017, 11:46 AM   #1
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Heater

At Zion NP and turned heater on fan works but no heat. Fuse is ok figured it was for fan anyway. Any suggestions. Propane is on.
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Old 04-22-2017, 11:54 AM   #2
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Light stove to bleed air from line....
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Old 04-22-2017, 11:55 AM   #3
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Ok thx will try that. Have fridge working.
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Old 04-22-2017, 12:35 PM   #4
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Most forced air heaters have a sail switch that detects the flow of air. If the switch sticks in the off position or fails it will not allow the heater to light.
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Old 04-22-2017, 12:53 PM   #5
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The furnace will try to light 3 times.....Then lock out....Turn themostat off, then back on to re-start start process
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Old 04-22-2017, 12:56 PM   #6
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I think this is a link to the service manual for your furnace:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...skmWwA&cad=rja
If yours is the same as mine it's a Suburban SF-30FQ. The manual says SF-30F, but I haven't found anything specific to the "Q" version. You can also look online for various stories about problems with this (or similar) units.

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Old 04-22-2017, 01:14 PM   #7
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Get a person to help.
take furnace cover off outside so ignitor is visible
Watch ignitor while you have other person turn up thermostat.
Watch to see if you get a spark.
Ignitor will attempt to light three times then shut down
If spark but no flame. problem with gas or gas valve in furnace. USUALLY caused by air in gas line or bad thermocouple.
If NO SPARK.
get barbeque lighter (long bic lighter sort of).
Have helper lower thermostat and also turn off furnace switch and turn back on.
While holding burning barbeque lighter next to spark ignitor, (DON'T WORRY. WILL NOT VOID WARRANTY and IS WAY TO TELL IF IGNITOR BOARD IS BAD) have helper raises temperature on thermostat. Gas valve should come on as ignitor board tries to send spark. If furnace lights with the help of the lighter. problem is a BAD IGNITOR BOARD.

If still under warranty, contact furnace authorized service center for repair. If NOT, get ignitor board Manufacture name and board model number and order off of AMAZON.

BTW IGNITOR BOARD PROBABLY CONTROLS BOTH GAS AND ELECTRIC HEATING. If in need of HOT WATER until you can get board replaced. USE LIGHTER TO START HEATER. High temperature limit on water heater will shut down flame when water is hot.

Hope this is of some help.
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Old 04-22-2017, 01:18 PM   #8
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Dinosaur is a brand of ignitor board that a lot use.....
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Old 04-22-2017, 03:24 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by dogpa View Post
At Zion NP and turned heater on fan works but no heat. Fuse is ok figured it was for fan anyway. Any suggestions. Propane is on.
Do you have the heat pump system or furnace only?
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Old 04-22-2017, 07:39 PM   #10
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Furnace onlyand fridge worked on propane on way up here. Where is sail switch located?
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Old 04-22-2017, 07:45 PM   #11
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Inside furnace sheet metal
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Old 04-23-2017, 05:00 AM   #12
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John,
If you are on the road then I suggest buying some more blankets or a safe heater to use inside if you really need it. Getting to the sali switch,igniter/ thermocouple, or control board is a big job best left to be done at home with access to tools. I had the heater stop working the first cold trip camping in our 24r. The heater would ignite for a few seconds when first started then flame off with the fan continuing. Then would not attempt fame until turned off again at thermostat then turned back on to heat. Symptoms repeated. The problem was a bad igniter thermocouple or control board that was not detecting the flame on so it shuts the gas valve within seconds then locks out the gas flow. I repaired the heater by replacing the igniter and control board and new gasket to the burner . The old gasket is heat proof but falls apart and is no longer carbon monoxide tight after opening. You may have a stuck sail switch if no initial flame. The switch is inside the heater housing . You will need to remove the entire heater to work on anything.
The heater unit is designed like a cartridge to remove but it is a bear to remove thru the panel under the fridge. You will need to remove all ducts, they twist lock. Disconnect the gas line, you will need to turn off gas outside. No valve at the heater. Release the hold down screws, and work the unit out, that's the hard part. Disconnect the wiring as you start to remove the unit with the power off to the coach. The job will end up taking several hours if it is your first time an it's not worth doing just to check the sail switch. If it's the igniter or control board then you need parts anyway. The unit can be fixed , parts are on Amazon or on internet.
Zion is too beautiful to be spending a day pulling out the heater. Good luck.
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Old 04-23-2017, 08:05 AM   #13
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Had a couple of additional thoughts, check to see that the hot water heater will come on set for propane. It is a high gas volume device like the heater . If that won't run then the problem may be low gas pressure/ volume from the gas regulator. If water heater ok then sounds like the electrical problems already described in the heater. Good luck
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Old 04-23-2017, 10:52 AM   #14
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Have you checked your outside intake for obstruction. If you don't have screens over intake and exhaust wasps like to build their nests in them. Just a thought.
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Old 04-24-2017, 09:33 PM   #15
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I always carry a small heater so enjoyed Zion. Got. Ack home and turned on fridge and hot water heater on propane and guess what heater worked. Probably vacuum/air in line. Let run for 10 minutes let cool down and refired and all seems ok. Gotta love gremlins. THANKS to all responders.
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Old 05-02-2017, 12:04 AM   #16
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We had the same issue in at Grand Canyon and Zion with our 2017 2400R. After a lot of research, and camping at several different campgrounds, I finally determined that the furnace won't light when we are camping at an altitude of about 5000 feet or higher. The furnace has a sail switch that detects that air is flowing before it will light the burner. It will try three times to detect the airflow before giving up. When you are at high altitude, the air may be too thin to trip the sail switch. I'm not sure how high the furnace is supposed to work at, but I am sure it is higher than 5000 feet.
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Old 03-26-2018, 12:39 PM   #17
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When we went out this year the water heater would not fire nor would the furnace. After a lot of investigating found the tube from the gas orifice to the igniter was full of.....Stink bugs must have been 20 in each tube. took the tube off rodded out the bugs and reinstalled. Bot units fired right up.
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Old 03-26-2018, 08:53 PM   #18
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At Zion NP and turned heater on fan works but no heat. Fuse is ok figured it was for fan anyway. Any suggestions. Propane is on.
IF YOU HAVE NOT RUN YOUR FURNACE IN A WHILE:
One of the big reasons a furnace will not ignite is.....SPIDERS!
Yep. They get in there and build webs which interferes with ignition.
Go figure.
The best way to fix it is to simply use compressed air to blow out the exhaust/intake openings.
I found this out several years ago on another RV. An old graybeard RV'er gave me the tip. It works every time.
So, one of the things I do when de-winterizing is to clear the combustion chambers of ALL appliances (furnace, water heater and refrigerator) with 120 PSI of compressed air.
I bet this tip will fix your problem!
Good luck!
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Old 03-26-2018, 09:05 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by barnbnb View Post
IF YOU HAVE NOT RUN YOUR FURNACE IN A WHILE:
One of the big reasons a furnace will not ignite is.....SPIDERS!
Yep. They get in there and build webs which interferes with ignition.
Go figure.
The best way to fix it is to simply use compressed air to blow out the exhaust/intake openings.
I found this out several years ago on another RV. An old graybeard RV'er gave me the tip. It works every time.
So, one of the things I do when de-winterizing is to clear the combustion chambers of ALL appliances (furnace, water heater and refrigerator) with 120 PSI of compressed air.
I bet this tip will fix your problem!
Good luck!
The post you quoted is from 04-22-2017, 11:46 AM... 11+ months ago. The OP noted that his problem was solved on 04-24-2017, 09:33 PM in post #15. Hopefully, someone else can use the info.
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Old 03-26-2018, 09:16 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr. Dan View Post
The post you quoted is from 04-22-2017, 11:46 AM... 11+ months ago. The OP noted that his problem was solved on 04-24-2017, 09:33 PM in post #15. Hopefully, someone else can use the info.
Thanks for your input.
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