Furnace stopped working

[MichaelL]

Picked up trailer 4 months ago and furnace worked great. Started having problems 2 days ago.
1) Furnace came on but switched off before it reached temperature.
2) Reset the furnace by switching to off on thermostat and waited 5 mins and switched to heat again.
3) Furnace came on but switched off before it reached temperature.
4) Repeated this cycle several times
5) Yesterday morning opened furnace access panel outside to check wiring and sail. I could not see and loose connections or obstructions and sail was very clean. Sail switch operated when pressed
6) Furnace worked again.
7) Left the trailer for the afternoon, upon return blower worked but furnace did not come on.
8) Reset the furnace by switching to off on thermostat and waited 5 mins and switched to heat.
9) Furnace worked again.
10) Last night furnace did not work, blower comes on but not furnace
11) Checked sail again, reset, blower works but no heat

Fortunately I have an electric heater with me.

Any suggestions appreciated.

[Second Chance]

It would help to know what thermostat you have. The AirXcel (Coleman Mach) thermostats sometimes fail in the way and have to be replaced. If you have the One Control system or another thermostat, there's something else going on.

Rob

[MichaelL]

Rob.
I have the AirXcel thermostat installed. I removed the thermostat and gave the wires a tug to make sure they were all connected. From what you say I may need to order a new one.
Thanks

[Second Chance]

Rob.
I have the AirXcel thermostat installed. I removed the thermostat and gave the wires a tug to make sure they were all connected. From what you say I may need to order a new one.
Thanks

Without being there myself, all I can say is that's what I had to do when ours started acting that way. Never a problem since (though I've since replaced the AirXcel thermostat with an EasyTouch RV WiFi/Bluetooth programmable thermostat. I'm REALLY happy with it.)

Rob

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Picked up trailer 4 months ago and furnace worked great. Started having problems 2 days ago.
1) Furnace came on but switched off before it reached temperature.
2) Reset the furnace by switching to off on thermostat and waited 5 mins and switched to heat again.
3) Furnace came on but switched off before it reached temperature.
4) Repeated this cycle several times
5) Yesterday morning opened furnace access panel outside to check wiring and sail. I could not see and loose connections or obstructions and sail was very clean. Sail switch operated when pressed
6) Furnace worked again.
7) Left the trailer for the afternoon, upon return blower worked but furnace did not come on.
8) Reset the furnace by switching to off on thermostat and waited 5 mins and switched to heat.
9) Furnace worked again.
10) Last night furnace did not work, blower comes on but not furnace
11) Checked sail again, reset, blower works but no heat

Fortunately I have an electric heater with me.

Any suggestions appreciated.

After the blower running, do you hear the 'clicking' of the ignitor? If you don't, it is likely a sail switch. It may work when pressed by your finger, but maybe not easy enough to move for the air?
If you do hear the clicking, you probably have a propane flow problem. Either supply or solenoid.

[MichaelL]

After the blower running, do you hear the 'clicking' of the ignitor? If you don't, it is likely a sail switch. It may work when pressed by your finger, but maybe not easy enough to move for the air?
If you do hear the clicking, you probably have a propane flow problem. Either supply or solenoid.

No clicking sound of the ignitor.
Thanks for the suggestion

[Scott'n'Wendy]

While I will not recommend you run the furnace like this, to prove out the sail switch either jumper it after the blower starts running or activate it with your finger or stick. If you get ignition, you will know what your problem is.
You do have the possibility of a motherboard if it still doesn't ignite. But before running out and buying another one, remove power and unplug and reconnect all the connectors. Just to ensure a good connection, then try ignition again.

[MichaelL]

While I will not recommend you run the furnace like this, to prove out the sail switch either jumper it after the blower starts running or activate it with your finger or stick. If you get ignition, you will know what your problem is.
You do have the possibility of a motherboard if it still doesn't ignite. But before running out and buying another one, remove power and unplug and reconnect all the connectors. Just to ensure a good connection, then try ignition again.

Will try that this morning. Thanks

[MichaelL]

It did not ignite with me activating the switch with my finger when the blower was on. Thanks for the suggestion.

[kb0zke]

Our old Foretravel had two propane furnaces. I replaced the rear one because it had some holes where it shouldn't have any, and it worked perfectly after that. The front one would run the fan all day long, but never give any heat. I poked and prodded everything I could see until I hit one screw terminal. The screw wiggled and the igniter fired. I tightened the screw and the furnace worked perfectly for a couple of years. Eventually I had the same problem. I went out and tightened the screw again and all was good. That time I really cranked on the screw, and when we sold the MH last year it was still working perfectly.