Atwood furnace circuit board

[ajsfla]

Last summer shortly after buying 2016 Jayco Precept washed it with a hose and had the clicking problem like the fan was starting. Was leaving that day dealer helped me troubleshoot switched it off with the switch inside the furnace ( July in FLA so no need of a furnace LOL). Got back dealer replace board. No problems for quite awhile just aweek ago washed coach and clicking started so I took outside cover off and switched off furnace. Guess my question is if i open this up is the board still good if i dry it or should i start getting a replacement? I know it's summer in Fl so I have some time but guess Atwood should replace it under warranty since coach just a year old. Ireally dont know where or how water is getting to it but it has to be considering when this happens. I'm very careful after the first time to not spray much water there. There is a big vent straight up above which i think it part of the frig as the frig sits straight behind the furnace inside. Any thoughts

[BFlinn181]

Dry out the circuit board and try wiping it down. You might use spray contact cleaner and blot it with paper towels. Water carries impurities that can leave deposits that makes electrical 'bridges' where none are wanted. I'd also make a spray guard for the board, perhaps out of a cut up milk jug or other plastic panels to keep water off, but allow air in to keep it cool.

[Ms G]

We finally got ours fixed apparently Atwood has a fix for this problem. Take it back to your dealer and tell them to contact Atwood. I think they do something with the board.

[wdohm]

Originally Posted by djc290

you dont mention the type of MH. THor has a known issue with the door vents, punched backwards. They will send you a new door that prevents the board from getting wet.

I too have this problem and put shims between the circuit board and the shelf that it sits on. After reading this and scratching my bald head, why would someone design a cover this way? I contacted Thor for a new cover and circuit board.

[Deep Water D]

I posted on another thread that Atwood is aware of this and makes a circuit board relocation kit. Call them.

[Fiesta48]

I made louvers over the top of all outside furnace and hot water heaters. Sheet aluminium and silicone glue. And use dielectric grease on all electrical connectors.

[HikesInRain]

I am the currently-not-so-proud owner of a 2015 Thor ACE 27.1. This model, I recently discovered, has an issue with the outside access door to the furnace. The ventilation louvers on the door were designed back then to be upside down and inside out. This caused the louvers to act as “scoops”, funneling rain water directly into the furnace compartment.
I live in a warm climate, so furnace use is limited. I tried to use it during a cold snap last spring, only to find the furnace didn’t function. The control board has an indicator light that flashes to provide error codes, and when I removed the furnace panel to read the code, rusty water poured out of the compartment.
The bottom line is that the furnace has been damaged beyond repair due to immersion caused by the door design flaw. The control circuit board spent some unknown time under water, the electric fan is rusted and short circuited, and the burner and other components are irreparably rusted. The only option was to replace it, at a cost of $1736.28.
This problem is known, by Dometic (a Sweden based company which swallowed up Atwood, the original furnace manufacturer), Thor (the manufacturer of the motor coach), and Thor owners. My research indicates Dometic/Thor moved from the louvered furnace doors to non-louvered ones, and relocated the circuit board to keep it out of water, somewhere around mid-2016, to alleviate this problem. Neither company has offered to replace ours, when they made neither the switch nor any time after.
I purchased a coach in good faith, only to have the furnace damaged beyond repair by water entering and accumulating in the furnace compartment via louvers cut upside down and inside out, acting as funnels, in less than three years. My Good Sam Extended Service Plan has refused, citing faulty installation, rust and water intrusion exclusion clauses. I am now stuck between two manufacturing companies pointing fingers at each other as to who is to blame.

[wdohm]

After one call to Thor the gentleman told me to email him the pictures and did I have good sam extended warranty on my ACE 30.1 2015 which I do, but I told him I can make these repairs myself and I didn't want the coach sitting in a lot for 6 months waiting. First email sent, no response. Second, no response. Now the down on the thread a gentleman says his good sam won't cover. I read the fine print and they are a ripoff! I wonder if I should just block these holes?

[wdohm]

I have the same problem.

[HikesInRain]

You certainly could. There are several solutions, including a fella that used an aluminum vent from Lowes or Home Depot, that he screwed over the existing misdone louvers.



We replaced the door along with the furnace. Our RV shop got the door from Thor, already painted to match, for around $50 or so, I think. It didn't have the strip decal, but a local auto decal shop made a matching one while I waited. Only problem with the decal is it's not as dirty as the rest of the coach!


As part of this painful process, we did some analysis on our dis-service agreement. Our conclusion is that we'd have been money well ahead to have put the cash we had to pay for it into an interest bearing account or investment and used that for repairs.

[JannP]

Originally Posted by HikesInRain

I am the currently-not-so-proud owner of a 2015 Thor ACE 27.1. This model, I recently discovered, has an issue with the outside access door to the furnace. The ventilation louvers on the door were designed back then to be upside down and inside out. This caused the louvers to act as “scoops”, funneling rain water directly into the furnace compartment.
I live in a warm climate, so furnace use is limited. I tried to use it during a cold snap last spring, only to find the furnace didn’t function. The control board has an indicator light that flashes to provide error codes, and when I removed the furnace panel to read the code, rusty water poured out of the compartment.
The bottom line is that the furnace has been damaged beyond repair due to immersion caused by the door design flaw. The control circuit board spent some unknown time under water, the electric fan is rusted and short circuited, and the burner and other components are irreparably rusted. The only option was to replace it, at a cost of $1736.28.
This problem is known, by Dometic (a Sweden based company which swallowed up Atwood, the original furnace manufacturer), Thor (the manufacturer of the motor coach), and Thor owners. My research indicates Dometic/Thor moved from the louvered furnace doors to non-louvered ones, and relocated the circuit board to keep it out of water, somewhere around mid-2016, to alleviate this problem. Neither company has offered to replace ours, when they made neither the switch nor any time after.
I purchased a coach in good faith, only to have the furnace damaged beyond repair by water entering and accumulating in the furnace compartment via louvers cut upside down and inside out, acting as funnels, in less than three years. My Good Sam Extended Service Plan has refused, citing faulty installation, rust and water intrusion exclusion clauses. I am now stuck between two manufacturing companies pointing fingers at each other as to who is to blame.

We own a 2016 Thor Ace 30.1 and we don’t have the vents on the furnace door but we are now buying board number 2 due to rust on bottom of circuit board. We have no idea how to prevent this.

[Jssr]

I own a 2016 Holiday Rambler Vacationer 33ct (same as the Fleetwood Bounder 33c) and had the same issue as the OP with my furnace circuit board. 2016 seems to be a problematic year for this. After replacing the circuit board under warranty twice, the dealer finally acted like they "could not replicate" the issue. I decided to attempt the fix myself. Inside the cover there is a rubber mat (gasket) that is supposed to keep water out by pressing against the metal outline of the furnace housing. Someone had spread some black caulking all over this (more than likely a tech at the dealership, General RV in Dover, FL). The circuit board was mounted right up against the cover so any small amount of water would drip on the board. I replaced the board, cleaned all the gunk off the rubber gasket and replaced the four screws securing the door with larger ones as all four were stripped either at the factory or dealership. This fix was good for about 6 months and then the furnace issues started again. In frustration, I then applied a small bead of NovaFlex around the gap at the top of the furnace cover and down both sides. That was 5 years ago. I have had no further issues. I know this will make the cover a little harder to remove in the future, but the furnace works fine. These motorhomes all seem to have different covers or "doors", mine is some sort of plastic and attaches to the side of the motorhome with 4 screws.