heater won't stay on

[neil]

I have a 1986, 21ft Toyota Dolphin motor home. The heater worked fine until last year. It turns on, heats up & then after only 3-4 minutes goes out. The fan keeps blowing but it's soon just cold air. Any ideas?

[Maineah]

Sounds like it might be a fan issue not enough battery or dry bushing in the fan motor. Can you try it plugged in? There is a switch that the fan moves if there is not enough air the switch will not actuate and that will turn off the gas valve. Also check for restrictions in the heater exhaust port, wasp nest etc.

[Supurcar]

Mine did the same thing, it worked fine, then once in a while had trouble igniting and then nothing just cold air. I thought maybe the battery was not charged up enough or my converter was not working. In my case the burner tip had simply corroded out, kind of like what happens to a gas BBQ, eventually the burner rots out. In my fraustration I had taken it to an RV repair shop because I was worried about maybe leaking gas and not knowing the entire system. Needless to say it cost me around $100.00 to have them replace a $14 part, ha ha. It was worth it to have them inspect and clean everything as well, and the piece of mind knowing I did not blow the thing up.

[Maineah]

Good plan Supurcar if you are not 100% confident as to what you are doing it's best left to the experts. The heaters are pretty safe but they are full of fail safe controls and they all have to be in perfect condition.