Community Forums

dlennick · 01-06-2017, 09:27 AM

Our heater is not working in our Holiday Rambler alumalite 31SF3. We are looking for advice on how to figure out the issue. Thanks.

gator67 · 01-06-2017, 10:03 AM

Could be lots of things:

1) Igniter is clogged and won't fire to start the furnace
2) Propane not flowing to the furnace. We had an incident where the hose connector to the propane tank wasn't tightened enough and the propane didn't flow
3) Obviously, no propane
4) blown fuse

I'm sure others will have other suggestions. I start with the easy stuff!

dlennick · 01-06-2017, 09:33 PM

Thank you. At least we now have a place to start!

adamfolger · 01-06-2017, 10:30 PM

Do you have propane at the stove burners? If so that is not the problem. Are your house batteries dead? Blower is 12 volt. Check fuses. Do you have house lights. Always carry a secondary source of heat. MR Buddy propane heater or elect heaters. Cary a 15 amp elect cord to power an electric heater from the park 20 amp plug, thru the window. That increases your ability to use electric heaters if you have a 30 amp RV. Let us know what you find out...

Old-Biscuit · 01-06-2017, 10:40 PM

thermostat set to 'heat'
Set point higher than room temp

Do you hear a CLICK at thermostat?
Does the furnace FAN come on when you hear that click?

Furnace uses 12V DC
Comes from a FUSED circuit........goes to furnace and to t-stat
T-stat triggers 12V DC at furnace to start fan
Fan has to come to full speed ad make up 'sail switch' in order for 12V DC to go to circuit board
Then circuit board would send 12V DC to gas valve (opening) and spark electrode to ignite propane.

Could be blown 12V DC FUSE
Could be tripped 'On/Off---circuit breaker' on frame of furnace
Could be bad t-stat or contacts within t-stat

Brand/Model of furnace would be helpful!!!

dlennick · 01-07-2017, 11:09 AM

Thanks so much for your reply. Have checked our main circuit breaker and everything appears to be good. Fan is not coming on either. We have an Atwood 8500-IF series, but not sure of the model number as the owners manual shows 14 different model numbers. The owners manual also states that there should be a furnace reset button, but if there is, they have it well hidden! When turning it on, we are hearing a clicking noise, but no fan or heat. Any ideas on what to check next? thank you!

gator67 · 01-07-2017, 12:00 PM

If there is no propane going to the furnace then the igniter will click but the fan won't come on. Does the stove work?

ScottyBye · 01-07-2017, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gator67

If there is no propane going to the furnace then the igniter will click but the fan won't come on. Does the stove work?

The sequence should be that the fan circuit energizes before the ignition.
This serves 2 purposes. 1- to prove air flow via the sail switch and 2- to clear the system of combustible and dangerous gases before ignition.
I would start by checking 12 volt power to the furnace then checking/cleaning electrical connections.
Is the circuit board energized? LED light visible? Blinking any fault codes?

Old-Biscuit · 01-07-2017, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by deblennick

Thanks so much for your reply. Have checked our main circuit breaker and everything appears to be good.
Need to check/test DC FUSE ----furnace only uses 12V DC

Fan is not coming on either.
Fan has to come on BEFORE anything else can occur.
Needs 12V DC power

We have an Atwood 8500-IF series, but not sure of the model number as the owners manual shows 14 different model numbers. The owners manual also states that there should be a furnace reset button, but if there is, they have it well hidden!
On/Off Circuit Breaker is a 'local resettable switch' typically mounted on frame of furnace and accessible via external cover panel.
If no outside access panel then furnace has to be accessed from inside which is a REAL PITA.

On/Off & Reset just above sticker on motor.....

When turning it on, we are hearing a clicking noise, but no fan or heat. Any ideas on what to check next? thank you!

Check for 12V DC Voltage going to furnace/t-stat.
Check that on/off switch...CB reset on frame

hivoltage98 · 01-07-2017, 07:01 PM

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Check for power to thermostat. Some coaches have fuses behind the thermostat

noeldale · 01-07-2017, 08:44 PM

This is a wild shot but it happened to me today.

What is the temp inside the motorhome?
Has the thermostat been replaced with a Honeywell?

If the temp is below 35F then the thermostat will show LO and will not work.

You need to pull the front off the thermostat and warm it up so that it is registering a temp. Get it up to around 40F. Then plug it back onto the base unit.

The thermostat will now work and control the furnace.

TheOldMan76 · 01-11-2017, 06:42 AM

Tried to fire the furnace for the first time, to warm up the 5er while I worked inside. Nothing. 15amp fuse was blown in panel. Pulled furnace cover, and ckt brkr next to on/off switch tripped. Was able to reach squirrel cage fan on the end of the motor, and it was locked solid. Found a HUGE mud dobbers nest in the combustion fan, must have been as big as a baseball. After about 1 1/2 hrs very carefully dismantling the nest with a long skinny screw driver, it all works.
Was able to remove a couple of mounting screws that hold the gas valve and the cover for the combustion fan, was able to distort the cover enough to work without disassembling the furnace.

DAN L · 01-12-2017, 02:24 AM

Deblennick,
Check bryantrvsvc.com for detailed trouble shooting info.

Mudfrog · 01-12-2017, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheOldMan76

Tried to fire the furnace for the first time, to warm up the 5er while I worked inside. Nothing. 15amp fuse was blown in panel. Pulled furnace cover, and ckt brkr next to on/off switch tripped. Was able to reach squirrel cage fan on the end of the motor, and it was locked solid. Found a HUGE mud dobbers nest in the combustion fan, must have been as big as a baseball. After about 1 1/2 hrs very carefully dismantling the nest with a long skinny screw driver, it all works.
Was able to remove a couple of mounting screws that hold the gas valve and the cover for the combustion fan, was able to distort the cover enough to work without disassembling the furnace.

Almost happened to ours. The squirrel cage did rotate with power but it vibrated and made some noise. Cleaned the dirt dobber out to solve the problem.

Deblennick, has it been working recently? If so, then i'd bet the above isn't the problem. Fan does need to come on first, otherwise the furnace won't even try to light. The motor on ours is easy to get to via the outside of the coach. Voltage at the motor would be what i would be checking for. If 12 volts is there, then the motor itself is messed up. If no voltage, then you need to troubleshoot back towards the thermostat.