douglitas Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 looks like EVERYTHING on our coach needed going through... first thing we did was replace blower motor..too loud to live with, (work done by RV repair place) then waited for cold season to try heater out. heater worked well at first, but after 4 or 5 hours, (when you really want to sleep and not worry about staying warm)the flame failed to ignite. I got up and turned the switch 'off" and waited 2 min and then turned it back "on"(had to do the whole thing 2 or 3 times) and furnace would light. had to do this about 4 times between midnight and 6AM. I did some reading and figured I'd replace the thermostat before looking deeper into it. Replaced w/ new thermostat. Took coach out to cold desert last night and had the same problem, though with a variation (which I had noticed also previously before replacing thermostat). Flame ignites, then flame is mechanically extinguished within a second, as if ambient temperature is too hot. Soooo, set thermostat as high as would go..no difference. couldn't get furnace to light. coach battery had 3 lights (out of 5 on the meter) worth of charge. fan worked well.(just blew cold air). any clues? thanks in advance for any help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglitas Posted October 13, 2013 Author Share Posted October 13, 2013 I forget to mention it is a Hydroflame "everest star" 79/80 model furnace. When searching for the thermostat I came to realize this furnace is now made by Atwood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphinite no longer here Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 Your furnace works fine for the first few hours because the battery is probably fully charged. As the night wears on, the battery charge drops enough that the fan doesn't spin fast enough to activate the sail switch, which keeps the furnace from re-lighting. Maybe... John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted October 13, 2013 Share Posted October 13, 2013 I would not relay on the lights for battery level. There are two types of furnaces and it depends on the serial numbers it sounds like yours has 4 wires on the controller wiring it has a flame sensor right at the burner the other one does not. If it does not sense a flame it will shut off the gas valve. The proofing chain comes from the thermostat goes through the overheat sensor and the sail switch sounds like that all works because the gas valve is opening only to be shut off by the flame sensor. This all gets a bit complicated so if you are not comfortable working on gas appliances it’s best to let a certified tech check it out instead of throwing parts at it until it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandview bill Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 I agree with dolphinite ,the voltage drops at the battery ,the motor isn't turning fast enough to have enough air flow to activate the sail switch and prove the ignition circuit .....do a test yourself using shore power when available ...plug in when the furnace stops working Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted October 14, 2013 Share Posted October 14, 2013 Just start the engine, the alternator will boost the voltage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglitas Posted October 14, 2013 Author Share Posted October 14, 2013 great replies..thanks one and all. I have another problem which is the alternator or isolator doesn't fully charge the coach batt., so can't just start motor to solve low batt problem. In fact the first night I noticed the furnace problem I had charged the coach batt all day with external solar panel and plenty of charge...5 lights most of the night. I will take to qualified service people. I hope it's reparable because another furnace costs around $500 from what I've seen. thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglitas Posted October 25, 2013 Author Share Posted October 25, 2013 Looks like we're going with Dolphinite's analysis. I bought another Deko gel battery 76AH to match the one we bought last Feb so now looks like we may have enough with the two batts to provide enough juice to run the heater all night. I know a great all-around mechanic who did the install of the new battery under the dinette seat next to the fridge..there's room in there for one more if we need more batt storage in the future. During the work it became apparent that I also needed a new alternator and isolater(wiring also looks like it fried at some point but we just taped them up for the present). I decided to go with the 140 A alternator discussed in the electrical forum. the alt and install kit was just under $300 delivered. The batts were almost $200 ea. It's important for us to be able to spend one whole night with the heater on all night. thanks again for all the replies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 My experience. 1. 1 Battery, 15 degrees, 1 night + a little more 2. 2 batteries, 15 degrees, 2.5 nights 3. 2 batteries, 60w solar, 10 degrees 3 days no problem 4. 2 big batteries (110 AH ea), 200w solar, 10 degrees, over 1 week no problem. A big alternator will do a lot for keeping things charged, there is a max safe charge rate for batteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglitas Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 well we tried out the heater last night. we have upgraded to 2 80AH batts and had them fully charged before leaving. turned heater on at around 9PM. by 12 AM heater wouldn't relight. I checked voltage...12.4. I turned the (new) thermostat off and then on and it lit. same thing at 2AM. at 4AM voltage was down to 12.2 volts and heater wouldn't relight. I turned on the truck engine and batt voltage went to 13V. I tried again and heater lit and stayed lit when I turned off engine. had no more trouble throughout the wee hours with heater cycling on and off. voltage at 6AM was 12.2. When heater would fail to relight it gave off a smell of unburnt propane. My goal is to get the heater to cycle all through the night without the necessity of getting up and monkeying with it. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted November 9, 2013 Share Posted November 9, 2013 It seems to still be about voltage. 12.2v should be plenty to run a heater. Starting the truck gave you a bit more v to make the fan run faster and trigger things off. My heater runs down to 11v with no problem. So your down to a bad blower, a sticky sail switch or a igniter that need cleaning and adjusting. If you have the skills remove the heater and clean things up and lube the blower with some sewing machine oil. If you have to have this done just install a new blower motor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglitas Posted November 9, 2013 Author Share Posted November 9, 2013 heater was R&Rd and new blower installed just a few months ago. RV repair shop who did the work (and to whom I have complained about heater behavior) said it was voltage issue. I read the troubleshooting suggestions on the user's manual for the heater but looks too complicated for me. I guess I'll be looking for a RV shop that can do the work (not the same guy). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 How long is it running? I have no problems running mine through the night, a 160 amps should be more that enough to run over night. Mine at most only runs 15 mins and shuts off. I'm wondering if yours is not making enough heat thus making it run too long. I hate the damn thing but it does work I wake up as soon as it comes on thinking a jet liner just flew over head. If I was building an RV it would have gas hot water radiant floor heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted November 10, 2013 Share Posted November 10, 2013 Well then sail switch, on my first RV I used JB Weld to add a small piece of brass to the sail switch to make it work at lower speed. A small 12v LED and some wire soldered across the switch would give you an indication of if the switch was working. Any info would keep the guessing down. The gas valve and the ignitor are still on the list of possibilities Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandview bill Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 also, have your checked for any obstructions in the airflow path, take a close look at ducting surrounding the sail switch for any blockages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maineah Posted November 12, 2013 Share Posted November 12, 2013 also, have your checked for any obstructions in the airflow path, take a close look at ducting surrounding the sail switch for any blockages Yes bees nest comes to mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5Toyota Posted November 14, 2013 Share Posted November 14, 2013 right on i have heard of two cases where i live . thanks to their warning i have a bee screen on myn. my friend had to tere his heater all apart was all full of paper wasps up inside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglitas Posted November 30, 2013 Author Share Posted November 30, 2013 latest episode...new RV repair place installed igniter board. seems to work, but ran out of propane while testing last night..(came home early so we wouldn't freeze in the desert). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
douglitas Posted December 9, 2013 Author Share Posted December 9, 2013 Finally passed the heater test! we stayed in the Seabreeze last night while temps in the low 20s and interior at 60. heater worked great all night.. the problem apparently was the "igniter board" whatever that is! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WME Posted December 9, 2013 Share Posted December 9, 2013 :ThumbUp: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boots Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 See my other reply in this part of forum, Get your coach battery checked at a battery store, they have load testers, which can stress the battery (which in turn shows how much voltage drop you have) and if it turns out battery is shot (or nearly so) do yourself a favour and get a new battery. Starting the engine is just masking the problem, unless you have been on coach battery for several days. Boots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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