87 Dolphin, 3 questions.....

[halonut]

1) I can't get the pilot light on the water heater to light. I put the valve in pilot position and hold it down and put a flame to what I thought was the pilot orifice on the right hand side of the unit and then release the red button, but nothing.

Am I doing something wrong? can somebody tell me the exact procedure to get the water heater lit?

2) The furnace will not blow hot air. I can't find any pilot or place to light the furnace. Does it require manual lighting or is it automatic? Please advise of procedure to light or troubleshoot.

3) Next to the 110 outets above the fridge & micro there is a coaxial cable outlet (TV I assume) but where does the cable from the outside (rv park, house, etc) connect into the coach? I can't find a cable connection on the outside or in the compartments anywhere.

Thanks,

I really appreciate all your help!!!

[turtle]

1) I can't get the pilot light on the water heater to light. I put the valve in pilot position and hold it down and put a flame to what I thought was the pilot orifice on the right hand side of the unit and then release the red button, but nothing.

Am I doing something wrong? can somebody tell me the exact procedure to get the water heater lit?

Sometimes it takes a while for the system to purge all of the air out of the supply lines.

A good habit to get into when stopping is to:

1) Turn on the gas at the tank

2) open a stove burner and light it

3) let it run for about a minute to clear out the air

4) then go to other appliances to light them

You will see the pilot when it lights. Just like with any gas appliance you will have to hold the pilot button until the thermocouple heats to the point that it will keep the valve open (couple of minutes).

If you do not get the pilot to light after being certain that you have purged the air from the supply lines you may have a bugs nest in the burner supply. You will need to take it apart and clean it.

2) The furnace will not blow hot air. I can't find any pilot or place to light the furnace. Does it require manual lighting or is it automatic? Please advise of procedure to light or troubleshoot.

Furnace will be electronic ignition.

Here again bugs like to get into furnaces burners just like water heater burners.

If you do not have adequate DC voltage you will not get ignition. Try plugging into AC and see if the furnace will light. Plugging in will run your converter which will provide max dc voltage.

There are many possibilities for a furnace not lighting. The most common one after bugs and low voltage is a stuck or defective sail switch. This is a safety device located internal to the furnace. The blower moves the switch which then allows the gas valve to open and the igniter to start. If you do not hear the blower start when you turn on the furnace you may need another blower motor.

Here are some RV furnace sites that might help more

http://www.rvrepairmanual.com/rv_dsi_furnace.html

http://www.marksrv.com/furnace_trouble_shooting.htm

3) Next to the 110 outets above the fridge & micro there is a coaxial cable outlet (TV I assume) but where does the cable from the outside (rv park, house, etc) connect into the coach? I can't find a cable connection on the outside or in the compartments anywhere.

Check inside of your fridge outside compartment for your TV cable. If not there check in the other compartments (usually it is in the fridge compartment). Someone may have cut it off. I removed my cable completely (I do not watch TV when camping). You may have a TV antenna on the roof and not a cable TV connection. Check the roof for your cable. I have seen some attached to the metal railing around the back (people do strange things sometimes).

[halonut]

Ok, Thanks Moose....I'll be trying it some more today.

ps: i did get the furnace to fire.

[markg]

My furnance didn't work (blow hot) either when I got unit even with it was plugged into 120v shore power. Then I finally realized that the propane needed to be turned on! good luck. Mark

[halonut]

Well, I fig'd out the furnace and got it working but I need help with the water heater. I can now get the pilot to light but every time I release the button it goes out. I've held the button down as long as 2 min's but still it goes out when the button is released.

What next? take apart and clean? (if so please explain the exact clean procedure and what to use). Does it maybe need a new thermal coupling? Also it has a slot head screw on the front iof the valve assembly. What does this do and what position should it be in?

Thanks for all your help!

[turtle]

You can read some of the "hints" online:

http://www.rverscorner.com/rvthermocouple.html

http://blog.rv.net/2008/02/13/lp-appliance...-water-heaters/

What brand water heater is it?

Let me know and I will try to find you a manual for it

[halonut]

Thanks Diesel,

I dunno who makes the water heater. The valve assembly says unitrol on it but I couldn't find any markings or tags showing who manufactures the unit.

The Good news is that I finally did get it to fire and it made nice hot water. I had to use a BBQ lighter and warm both the pilot and the tube next to it. Then when I released the button the pilot stayed lit & the furnace fired when I turned the knob to "on".

No luck yet in finding the cable inlet. I checked all the panels & it seems that it should be in the fridge compartment. I'm gonna pull out the micro & then remove the plate that is holding the cable outlet and see I can trace it or just route a new one down to the outside fridge compartment.

I really appreciate your help as I will be living in it for 3-?? months (however long it takes to selll my house)!!

Thanks,