Community Forums

spectrum581 · 12-19-2013, 02:51 PM

I have been trying to trouble shoot my 1998 Discovery furnace. With the 40 degree winter weather, I looked at the furnace again. I got the front furnace to work, turned it off and on 3 times, then it quit working again. I did discover that this motorhome has 2 furnaces, The rear furnace blower will not run. These are Atwood furnaces. Getting the blower to run on the front furnace is the problem also. ANY IDEAS? thank:

sizzler · 12-19-2013, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spectrum581

I have been trying to trouble shoot my 1998 Discovery furnace. With the 40 degree winter weather, I looked at the furnace again. I got the front furnace to work, turned it off and on 3 times, then it quit working again. I did discover that this motorhome has 2 furnaces, The rear furnace blower will not run. These are Atwood furnaces. Getting the blower to run on the front furnace is the problem also. ANY IDEAS? thank:

Hello Spectrum,

I am not familiar with your unit, but I have had a few RVs that had two thermostats, but only one controlled the furnace. My current Outlaw is like this as well. There are two air-condition units which is where the two thermostats come in. You can be certain you have two furnaces by going outside and searching for the furnace exterior plate and exhaust. It will look similar to the attached photo. If you have two then there is a problem, but if you only find one furnace and have two air conditioners, that will explain why there are two thermostats.

Good luck.

stink · 12-20-2013, 12:52 AM

do you have the black 4 or 5 button tstat in the bedroom? Can you select zones with this tstat? If so the rear heater is on zone 1 and the front is zone 2. If the tstat has detected a problem a code may have set and you can read by trying to turn on the offending apliance. The main control board for the tstat will be in the front a/c unit. If there is a problem with the heaters most of the internals can be serviced by removing the outside panel. look for wasp nests and spider webs that may block the sail switch and prevent the heater from making heat. You can also access the blower from outside to check the motors. While there check for 12v to heaters.
Hope this helps and this is how my 02 discovery is set up

Triker56 · 12-20-2013, 05:19 AM

Are the house batteries up to full charge?
Cable connections clean?

Take the outside covers off the furnace and unplug any 12V connections and use a electrical cleaner on them.

Then connect/unconnect them a few times.
Did that fix it?

The rear furnace is the one that puts heat into the lower fresh water tank area.

Spray electrical cleaner into the temperature slide area of the thermostat and then move both up/down a few times.

Clean the wires on the ECC under the refrigerator. The white ones are for the furnace.

spectrum581 · 12-20-2013, 09:43 AM

I have the electronic climate control in the bedroom to control both airconditioners and both furnaces.

spectrum581 · 12-20-2013, 09:46 AM

I believe the rear furnace heats the bedroom and toilet area.

csrrsr · 12-20-2013, 11:13 AM

You may have electrical problems so I would follow Triker56's recommendations. Someone else on another thread had the same problem and when he took the back off the heater he had to clear a mud nest out that kept the fan from turning. I'll include the heating schematics for our 2002. Not sure if the 98' is the same or not, but should be very close.

Elf111 · 12-20-2013, 01:15 PM

Some of the newer atwood furnaces have a switch inside of the furnace that will reset the electronics after three attempts at starting the circuit board goes into lockout mode and must be reset if there is no switch try turning thermostat to lowest setting for a moment then turn it back up or disconnect power for a moment then back on. Also check circuit board for moisture they will short out if they get wet.
Good luck
Let us know what you find

ga traveler · 12-21-2013, 09:24 AM

We were a Fleetwood dealer. When troubleshooting the furnaces and Ecc, I always started simple and worked up. Make sure you are plugged in and have good power. Start by turning on the front and rear furnace switches on the Ecc panel. Set the temp to 90 degrees. Make sure the gas is turned on and the gas detector is on and blinking. Check the furnace fuses in the 120 volt panel. The fuses on the right side of the panel under the cover with the thumbscrew, are the 12 volt fuses. If still not working, go outside and remove the furnace covers. Try to rotate the squirrel cage fan by hand. If the fan turns freely, check the on off switch and make sure it is turned on. Unplug and replug the wiring harness from the board several times. (if it starts with the unplugging and replugging, clean the contacts on the harness and board.) Check the furness for a circuit breaker. If it has one, push it in to reset.
If it still does not work, there is a overtemp switch on the burner can that may have tripped. These are supposed to auto reset, but many times they have rusted and will not reset. (the main reason for overtemp is rugs over the heater outlets and restricted airflow.)

spectrum581 · 12-31-2013, 04:41 PM

I have been looking for the over temp switch, haven' found it yet

Triker56 · 12-31-2013, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spectrum581

I have the electronic climate control in the bedroom to control both airconditioners and both furnaces.

As I posted before. The brain box for the climate control in the bedroom. Is under the refrigerator. All wires from the bedroom end there.

Check the wires on it. A trouble shooting PDF is attached