RicTrim
Member
The furnace on the "new to us" rig has stopped working. Am reaching out for some 'guidance'
- We picked up the rig the day before Christmas Eve - brought it to the campsite and plugged it in, and went about the Christmas weekend. The furnace was working at that time. After our return, we noticed that it was pretty "noisy" - motor squealing intermittently... Two days later, I found that the propane had run out, switched over the regulator to the other tank - and no furnace.... There is propane, as the stovetop and hot water heater continue to function ok.
So, I did the high level troubleshooting - turned thermostat off for a few minutes, and re-selecting the heat.. The furnace would begin to cycle - what I call "clearing the baffles", then shutting off before the burner would light. Tried this about 3 or 4 times - no change.
So, I popped the cover off outside. Easily located the sail switch - and replaced it. No change. Unit started and then stopped as before. As I was in there I noted the following...
- The circuit board is not attached to anything - it is simply held in place by the wires - is this normal?
- The 'fan' wheel at the bottom (where the sail switch goes) has fallen to the bottom of the shaft - and when sticking my fingers under it - can find no set screw or anything else to hold it in place if I lift it up the shaft. It's simply going to slip back down... I don't think this is how it is supposed to be...
- I have looked at a couple of troubleshooting guides and they reference a 'flashing light" that provides "codes" - where is this light?
My thought is that my next step is to remove the whole furnace for additional troubleshooting. Thinking that I have to get access to that lower fan and get it tightened on the shaft. In addition to whatever additional repairs need to be done. But before I remove the whole thing - are there other steps I need to exhaust first? I've repaired lots of things over the years, so this is not intimidating per se, just need better points of reference. And while lurking on this board for years - I know that there is someone out there who has done this dance previously.
The weather has not turned seriously cold here in mid-Tx (yet) - but I need to get this repaired before it does. We're making do with the fireplace and an electric heater in the mornings to remove the chill... We are full-timing - and have moved out of the 2006 rig and into this one...
- We picked up the rig the day before Christmas Eve - brought it to the campsite and plugged it in, and went about the Christmas weekend. The furnace was working at that time. After our return, we noticed that it was pretty "noisy" - motor squealing intermittently... Two days later, I found that the propane had run out, switched over the regulator to the other tank - and no furnace.... There is propane, as the stovetop and hot water heater continue to function ok.
So, I did the high level troubleshooting - turned thermostat off for a few minutes, and re-selecting the heat.. The furnace would begin to cycle - what I call "clearing the baffles", then shutting off before the burner would light. Tried this about 3 or 4 times - no change.
So, I popped the cover off outside. Easily located the sail switch - and replaced it. No change. Unit started and then stopped as before. As I was in there I noted the following...
- The circuit board is not attached to anything - it is simply held in place by the wires - is this normal?
- The 'fan' wheel at the bottom (where the sail switch goes) has fallen to the bottom of the shaft - and when sticking my fingers under it - can find no set screw or anything else to hold it in place if I lift it up the shaft. It's simply going to slip back down... I don't think this is how it is supposed to be...
- I have looked at a couple of troubleshooting guides and they reference a 'flashing light" that provides "codes" - where is this light?
My thought is that my next step is to remove the whole furnace for additional troubleshooting. Thinking that I have to get access to that lower fan and get it tightened on the shaft. In addition to whatever additional repairs need to be done. But before I remove the whole thing - are there other steps I need to exhaust first? I've repaired lots of things over the years, so this is not intimidating per se, just need better points of reference. And while lurking on this board for years - I know that there is someone out there who has done this dance previously.
The weather has not turned seriously cold here in mid-Tx (yet) - but I need to get this repaired before it does. We're making do with the fireplace and an electric heater in the mornings to remove the chill... We are full-timing - and have moved out of the 2006 rig and into this one...
