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Old 04-14-2021, 10:44 PM   #1
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2020 Sabre 5th Wheel, First time using furnace, doesn't work

I purchased a new 32 foot 2020 Cobalt Sabre 5th wheel bunkhouse January of 2020. I just took my second trip dry camping, and this was the first time I needed to run the heat. Gas and battery appliances were all working fine, but the furnace would not work. Running on battery, the fan would not come on. When I fired up the generator, the fan would come on but the furnace would not heat. I tried the usual recommendations of pulling the fuse, lowering and raising the thermostats, and verifying the battery voltage was at 12v.

The furnace is a Suburban. There are two thermostats and two rooftop air conditioning units. I can hear a light click from the ceiling vent when the thermostat is turned up to temperature.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Old 04-15-2021, 08:50 AM   #2
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Welcome to the forum its a great place to get your questions answered. battery voltage at 12V is low. If the furnace fan runs on generator I'm suspecting low voltage and incorrect settings. here is what I would do. If you have heard clicking the furnace may be in lockout. Place the stat in the off position. Start the generator and charge the batteries. Remove power from the furnace for 30 seconds. turn the stat on in the heat mode and set at least 5* above ambient temp. Make sure the furnace fan is in the auto position. Allow it time to start before changing anything. More trouble shooting may be needed if it doesn't start.
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Old 04-15-2021, 06:28 PM   #3
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Thank you for the reply. The trailer is home now, so I plugged it in to 120v power. The battery shows 13.5v. I pulled the fuses for the AC and furnace for 30 seconds. Confirmed there is plenty of propane and stove will light. The fuse is back in and the blower is set to auto. I turned the thermostat up to 90. I heard a click in the ceiling vent, but nothing else happened. I tried both units with the same results.

Is it possible that I am not seeing a switch or button somewhere that needs to be on? It’s a brand new system so it shouldn’t be having problems.
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Old 04-15-2021, 06:36 PM   #4
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The volt reading is the output of your converter charging the batteries. Could you post a pic of your stat that goes to the furnace. It really sounds like you have something set wrong if you are hearing a click in the ceiling. Make sure you are only using the stat that goes to the furnace.
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Old 04-15-2021, 09:17 PM   #5
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I am not sure how to upload a picture, so I copied a link for the thermostat.
There are two of these. One in the main space, and one in the bedroom. I set the blower to auto and the furnace to 90 degrees.

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Old 04-15-2021, 11:14 PM   #6
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I'm not familiar with your particular unit but usually the thermostat in main living area will control the furnace. Can you change the mode to gas heat on that thermostat? I'm not sure why you would hear a click from ceiling unit is why I'm asking.
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I am not sure how to upload a picture, so I copied a link for the thermostat.
There are two of these. One in the main space, and one in the bedroom. I set the blower to auto and the furnace to 90 degrees.

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Old 04-16-2021, 12:34 PM   #7
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Could it be that you have it set for cool and the air conditioner is trying to kick in. Do you have it set for Heat the picture shows you have it set for cool
Maybe it’s because this is the stock picture you found online?
Just wondering
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Old 04-16-2021, 12:53 PM   #8
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Lots of good advice here. I have a 2018 Sabre and I don't think this has changed.

1. Ignore the bedroom thermostat for now. That is only for the bedroom air conditioner and fan.
2. On the living room thermostat, press Mode until it switches to Heat.

Then hopefully you'll either get heat, or a different experience we can help debug. I can send pics later this evening if it would help.

Note - Once you get the furnace working, you may want to return to the bedroom thermostat to turn the fan (mode will be something like Fan only) on to improve circulation.
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Old 04-16-2021, 09:30 PM   #9
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Thank you all for the help. With the thermostat off, I push the mode button and it goes to the blower option. I set that for auto, then push mode again. It takes me to furnace. I increase the temp to the max 90 degrees. When the temp setting gets above ambient temperature, there is a click in the ceiling vent, which makes me believe the thermostat is working. The blower does not ever come on.

If I am connected to AC power, I can turn the blower on manually, but it does not work at all off battery. I can also run the air conditioning unit when plugged in. This is the same in both the main space and bedroom thermostats.

I suppose it is possible that the furnace is not controlled by the thermostat, but if that is the case, I have no idea how to turn it on. There is an electric fireplace that works with a remote control, but it only works when hooked up to AC power.

My RV is the 301BH floor plan, if that helps.

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Old 04-16-2021, 10:45 PM   #10
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Can you describe what you mean by "blower option"?

Does your thermostat look like this with furnace symbol at the bottom? If not, keep tapping Mode until you see this symbol.

On mine, I cannot get to the furnace option in the bedroom thermostat. I suspect yours is the same.
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Old 04-19-2021, 07:36 PM   #11
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Both thermostats have the furnace option. With the furnace off, hitting the mode button gives a choice of on/off/auto. Hitting it again goes to furnace. If I set the first screen to ON, the blower will come on as long as I am plugged in. It will not run on battery though.

I still feel like there must be another switch or button I am missing. This shouldn't be that complicated.
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Old 04-19-2021, 08:05 PM   #12
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You're right. It shouldn't be this hard.

If the problem is at the thermostat control, try two things:
1. Rest the thermostat: start with it off, then press and hold both the Mode and + Button until you see a -- displayed.
2. If that doesn't help, watch this video with a great basic explanation- https://youtu.be/DJ0rBMtU9rE

If neither of those help, I suspect the problem is at the furnace and not the thermostat.

Hope that helps. Fwiw, all my ideas are based off experiences with a 2018 Sabre so if things have changed, someone with a 2020 Sabre may want to weigh in.

Good luck.
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Old 04-19-2021, 08:27 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jonschlaman View Post
Both thermostats have the furnace option. With the furnace off, hitting the mode button gives a choice of on/off/auto. Hitting it again goes to furnace. If I set the first screen to ON, the blower will come on as long as I am plugged in. It will not run on battery though.

I still feel like there must be another switch or button I am missing. This shouldn't be that complicated.
I believe the video that Skip12 referenced shows proper operation and what should happen. When you put the first option to high or low, you are turning on the air conditioning fan not the furnace fan. It should be on auto for furnace fan to operate on it's own. If both thermostats have the furnace option, I would try the procedure in video on both just to figure out which one controls the furnace. You wouldn't by chance have a heat strip installed in one of the air conditioners? If so, one thermostat would control it and that air conditioner fan would come on. But with those strips, it takes a few minutes to feel any kind of heat coming out of air vents. Just throwing ideas out there. Good luck.
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Old 04-19-2021, 08:45 PM   #14
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If the normal routines don't work, I call a mobile RV tech that lives down the road. RVs are not like houses. They have confounding switches, contacts and relays. An RV guy can usually repair a furnace in 20 minutes. Money well spent.

I get tired of trying to figure systems that are weird and specialized like all RVs.
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Old 04-20-2021, 06:59 AM   #15
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you say you can turn the blower on when connected to shore power but not when just using the battery. is this the blower in the furnace?

if it is that bothers me. the furnace blower operates on 12 volt dc power. when connected to shore power the converter is supplying the 12 volt power. if the furnace blower operates on shore power but not battery power the implication is that the furnace is not getting battery power.

do the other 12 volt devices operate off of battery power?
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Old 04-20-2021, 07:10 AM   #16
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Have you just tried to contact the dealership service department from which you bought the RV and asked them? Chances are, there's an issue with your furnace. I would not use the dealership to fix it if there is a problem but call a mobile RV service repair, if available.
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Old 04-25-2021, 09:10 PM   #17
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you say you can turn the blower on when connected to shore power but not when just using the battery. is this the blower in the furnace?

if it is that bothers me. the furnace blower operates on 12 volt dc power. when connected to shore power the converter is supplying the 12 volt power. if the furnace blower operates on shore power but not battery power the implication is that the furnace is not getting battery power.

do the other 12 volt devices operate off of battery power?

Everything else works fine on battery. The only other issue I am having is the fridge needs AC power. There is an inverter that keeps it working on battery power. The inverter and fridge drain the battery overnight and I have to run the generator first thing in the morning. There is a solar panel on the roof to help keep it going during the day.
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Old 04-25-2021, 09:12 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by GPs37FLH View Post
Have you just tried to contact the dealership service department from which you bought the RV and asked them? Chances are, there's an issue with your furnace. I would not use the dealership to fix it if there is a problem but call a mobile RV service repair, if available.
I contacted the dealer once. They put me on hold and transferred me a few times, then disconnected me when everyone went home for the day. I will try them again soon.
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