Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Montana Owners Club - Keystone Montana 5th Wheel Forum > MOC Technical Forums > Maintenance
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 02-13-2021, 09:24 AM   #1
DebNJim B
Montana Master
 
DebNJim B's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Northville, NY
Posts: 807
M.O.C. #21158
Furnace disappeared!!

I had problems with the Dometic Thermostat covers so have been running without them for 3 months. We've been away for 2 months with camper closed up and winterized. Returned yesterday and opened it up. Turned on furnace (temp was in the 40's) and it ran fine and brought up the heat. While we were away new covers arrived from Dometic. When I went to put one on this morning the furnace mode vanished.
It shows fan speed, then A/C, then off. No furnace. I don't know if this issue is related to installing the cover, I don't know how it could be.
Question: Is there a way to reset either the furnace or the thermostat? I'm thinking like rebooting a computer.

I searched around the forum and didn't find this issue but there's a lot there and I may have missed it.

Any and all help and suggestions are appreciated.

Jim
 
__________________
Jim B
2017 Lariat F-350 FX4, CC, SB, 6.7 PSD 4WD
2018 MONTY 3731FL, at our private winter site in GA

DebNJim B is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2021, 09:30 AM   #2
jcurtis934
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Pensacola (mail forward service)
Posts: 3,198
M.O.C. #13740
First thing I would try is to power off the tstat, wait a few minutes, then power it back to see what happens.
__________________
2012 F350 6.7 L dually, 2013 3800RE with 6 pt leveling, Sumitomo 17.5" load range h tires, Samsung 18 cu ft residential fridge, 8k Morryde I.S. with disc brakes. Full timing since 2012.
jcurtis934 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2021, 09:34 AM   #3
432bartman
Montana Master
 
432bartman's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2020
Location: UPLAND
Posts: 1,252
M.O.C. #26190
Get the Micro-Air thermostats and you will be thanking me. Your A/C system and furnace will work flawlessly in hi/low and auto. Best upgrade we did. They run about $250.00 each, takes like 10 minutes to install and with only three wires to connect. You can even control them from your phone.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG-2659.jpg
Views:	74
Size:	206.4 KB
ID:	8464  
__________________
2019 Keystone Montana 3560RL, 2020 Chevy 2500 HD, Firestone airbags, Air Lift wireless compressor, Curt gooseneck, 20K Reese Goosebox, TST-507, USMC combat vet & retired LEO. Robert, Anika, Breanna, Dylan (daughter-in-law Stephanie). & our Great Pyrenees Layla
432bartman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2021, 10:10 AM   #4
DebNJim B
Montana Master
 
DebNJim B's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Northville, NY
Posts: 807
M.O.C. #21158
I pulled the fuse for the furnace. That's the only way I could see to power cycle the thermostat.

I don't think I want to spend $250 yet if there is a chance it's the control board on the furnace. If I have to go for a new thermostat I will do the Micro-Air.
__________________
Jim B
2017 Lariat F-350 FX4, CC, SB, 6.7 PSD 4WD
2018 MONTY 3731FL, at our private winter site in GA

DebNJim B is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2021, 10:34 AM   #5
DQDick
Site Team
 
DQDick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Wilsey
Posts: 18,799
M.O.C. #11455
Try resetting the thermostat. Go to off, then hold the mode button and the up button down at the same time until ---- comes on the screen, then try again.
__________________
Dick, Joyce, Diego, Picatso and Gustav
2017 3720 RL, and 2013 HC 343RL
Pullrite Hitch, IS, Disk Brakes, 3rd AC, Winegard Traveler, Bathroom door mod, Dometic 320, couch for desk swap, replaced chairs, sun screens, added awnings, etc.
DQDick is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2021, 10:57 AM   #6
sourdough
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Mar 2020
Location: Lamesa
Posts: 621
M.O.C. #26010
I very highly recommend the MicrAir as well. The Dometic thermostats can't even start to compare.

I'm thinking if the thermostat was working without the cover (using your fingertips?), then you put on the new covers and lost the furnace option, it's got something to do with the covers or something that happened when you put them on. The reset recommended may get it back. Pulling a fuse to it or opening it and pulling the 12v+ off should also do it. If those don't work I would pull the cover back off and try it like you were using it. If that doesn't work I would order the MicroAir . Did I say it works great?,,

My comments are based on my assumption you have the infamous Dometic CT thermostat.
__________________
Danny and Susan wife of 55 years
2019 Ram Laramie 3500 6.4 4x4 CC 4.10 SRW
2020 Montana High Country 331RL
sourdough is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2021, 11:06 AM   #7
DebNJim B
Montana Master
 
DebNJim B's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Northville, NY
Posts: 807
M.O.C. #21158
Quote:
Originally Posted by DQDick View Post
Try resetting the thermostat. Go to off, then hold the mode button and the up button down at the same time until ---- comes on the screen, then try again.
Perfect, that did it.
This forum is better than any customer service out there.
I will still keep the Micro-Air thought on the back burner, pun intended.
Other than the issues with the covers our thermostats have never given us problems. I'll try to use the new covers and if there are problems I'll just leave them off.

Thanks for all the help.
Jim
__________________
Jim B
2017 Lariat F-350 FX4, CC, SB, 6.7 PSD 4WD
2018 MONTY 3731FL, at our private winter site in GA

DebNJim B is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2021, 12:46 PM   #8
Kyle and Lisa
Montana Master
 
Join Date: May 2018
Location: livingston,tx
Posts: 558
M.O.C. #21685
We have the same issue with our thermostat covers, new ones did not fix the problem, so we just leave them off, no problems in over 3 yrs full time.
Kyle and Lisa is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-13-2021, 07:33 PM   #9
Mikendebbie
Montana Master
 
Mikendebbie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Austin
Posts: 2,390
M.O.C. #21044
“Leave the thermostat covers off” ? ? ?
How do you operate the furnace with the thermostat cover off?

Question 2...so we have not camped in ours since late Dec. 2019. It has been parked next to the house, always plugged in to shore power. I moved it to a temporary spot while we wait for an RV cover to be built in the next few weeks, and it is plugged into a 120 volt outlet off the front porch. The polar vortex ice and snow is here in TX for the next week. We are out in the country and lost power Thursday and it was out for 37 hours before it was restored. It will likely happen again this week - so we might go to the RV and run the furnace for some heat...but the furnace will not come on. I did the thermostat reset - but the roof unit fan comes on - no furnace...but only if I pick LOW or HIGH then FURNACE...nothing happens if AUTO is selected. Tried changing the temp...nothing. Now that I think about it - we have not used the furnace since Feb 2018. Any ideas for how to spark it back to life? propane tanks are full and stove burners work great.
__________________
MikenDebbie Aggie ‘77 in the sticks near Austin TX
2019 Chevy 3500 High Country DRW
2018 Montana 3921FB
Aussie Gus + Texas Heeler Jimmy
Mikendebbie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2021, 04:14 AM   #10
DebNJim B
Montana Master
 
DebNJim B's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Northville, NY
Posts: 807
M.O.C. #21158
It will work with the cover off, you just touch the post just like you would with the cover on. These CT thermostats are notorious for malfunctioning. The buttons are meant to just touch to make changes but they are so sensitive we all tend to push them just a little too much and the foam contacts underneath compress to where you really get some bazar issues like just walking past it and the temp running up to 90. Take the covers off and all goes back to normal. Dometic will supply new covers at no cast but the underlying issue remains.

Your issue sounds like it may just need some cleaning around the sail switch. Does it give heat when on high or just the fan?
__________________
Jim B
2017 Lariat F-350 FX4, CC, SB, 6.7 PSD 4WD
2018 MONTY 3731FL, at our private winter site in GA

DebNJim B is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2021, 05:53 AM   #11
jeffba
Montana Master
 
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: Bastrop
Posts: 2,892
M.O.C. #20753
Mike dumb question here have you checked the black fuse in your fuse panel?
__________________
Mocha, one-eyed toothless, hurricane survivor, Pirate dog
2019 20th Anniversary Edition 3701LK
B&W 20K for Ford OEM Puck
2018 Ford F-350 Lariat CCLB PSD DRW KJ5CQH
jeffba is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-14-2021, 06:01 AM   #12
Mikendebbie
Montana Master
 
Mikendebbie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Austin
Posts: 2,390
M.O.C. #21044
Yes - briefly but I will take more careful look this morning.

Update: fuse is good. The bug screen over the furnace exhaust had solid ice on it, so cleared it. Took the cover off, don’t see any error lights blinking. Moved the reset switch on-off a couple of times. No sound. The fan cage will spin freely. No visual signs of unhooked wire connections, wires look clean and no burn signs.

Took the thermostat cover off, touched the contact spots to cycle thru the same setting combinations described above...even lowered the setting degrees way low. No sound from furnace. After maybe 30 seconds (set to FURNACE+HIGH or FURNACE+LOW) roof unit fan comes on...so I moved thermostat setting to OFF. I do not know if heat pump will work on 120 volt power (too far away from my 30 amp plug. New 50 amp plug will be installed for my new RC cover). I am not going to try to engage the heat pump. I watched a few videos about Atwood furnaces. I am not electrician enough to start crawling around with my tester/volt meter and start looking for current...especially in this cold.

Fortunately power is on currently for the S&B and we are fine. Furnace in the Monte was simply a fall-back. I will take it in to a service shop and let them figure it out.
__________________
MikenDebbie Aggie ‘77 in the sticks near Austin TX
2019 Chevy 3500 High Country DRW
2018 Montana 3921FB
Aussie Gus + Texas Heeler Jimmy
Mikendebbie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-21-2021, 01:12 PM   #13
wemiller53
Established Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Bolingbrook
Posts: 10
M.O.C. #16085
Quote:
Originally Posted by 432bartman View Post
Get the Micro-Air thermostats and you will be thanking me. Your A/C system and furnace will work flawlessly in hi/low and auto. Best upgrade we did. They run about $250.00 each, takes like 10 minutes to install and with only three wires to connect. You can even control them from your phone.
Agree 100% with this! I wish that I had found ths tstat when I first got the rig. Well worth the money.
wemiller53 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-21-2021, 01:56 PM   #14
Donjamin
Montana Fan
 
Donjamin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Fullerton
Posts: 209
M.O.C. #22148
Send a message via Skype™ to Donjamin
Reading through this post, does the Micro-Air have the ability to manage two AC zones?

Don
__________________
Donjamin & Laurie
Fullerton, CA
2016 Montana Legacy, 3160RL
2015 Ford F-250 SD 4X4
Donjamin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-21-2021, 02:22 PM   #15
wemiller53
Established Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Bolingbrook
Posts: 10
M.O.C. #16085
Yes. I suggest heading to their website to check them out.
wemiller53 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-21-2021, 07:34 PM   #16
Mikendebbie
Montana Master
 
Mikendebbie's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Austin
Posts: 2,390
M.O.C. #21044
Update on my furnace not working...
Read post 11 by Jeffba...the big black fuse...hmmmmm.

So my rig has been parked on my property since Dec 31 2019. COVID hit and we have not travelled anywhere since. About this time last year I posted about an issue with my on-demand water heater. The thing has a built in freeze protection
process...when it detects temps at (I believe) 39* it starts firing to protect itself from freezing even though there is no water in the system currently. It was just firing away...tick tick tick tick...sitting in my driveway. Very annoying and I thought it was not good for the longevity of the system to just keep firing during cold weather for no good reason. I had drained and winterized the rig. I called dometic and they said the only way to stop the firing was to pull the fuse...the big black fuse...so I did. The firing stopped.

Fast forward to last week to the DEEP FREEZE OF THE CENTURY IN TX - power was out in our S&B. I thought we could escape the cold and sit in the comfort of a hot furnace in the Monte...but I had not used the furnace since March 2018. The furnace was dead and did not respond to the thermostat commands...so we sat in the dark in front of the S&B fireplace for a week freezing. I posted the question about my furnace here...nobody had any suggestions...except Jeffba. The big black fuse. I thought “hmmmmm...the big black fuse is for the on-demand water heater...surely Jeffba is mistaken”

I went out there today to mess with the thermostat...still nothing. I decided to reinstall the big black fuse just to see what would happen. I really did not want my on-demand water heater to start firing again but it was 70* outside so it would not try to freeze protect. The furnace fired right up. It did not work because I had the big black fuse pulled out. So now I am confused. This fuse evidently controls the on-demand water heater AND the furnace. Can anybody confirm that to be true?

Bottom line - my problem was caused by operator error. I kissed my Aggie ring, shouted “Hoorah Army - we came - we saw - we plugged in the fuse and we kicked that furnace’s ever lovin ever livin compound complex as”.s
__________________
MikenDebbie Aggie ‘77 in the sticks near Austin TX
2019 Chevy 3500 High Country DRW
2018 Montana 3921FB
Aussie Gus + Texas Heeler Jimmy
Mikendebbie is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by Montana RV, Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates. This is an independent, unofficial site.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:45 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.