This is our first family camping trip with the baby and my third camping trip in the camper total the heater work just fine the first two camping trips that I went on and this evening we tried to run the heater and nothing works. This which seems to be in good operating form and the fuses not blown, the propane is on and everything else in the camper is working perfectly include in my fridge. Has anyone had this happen to them before and if so if some other things I can troubleshoot other than that the fuse the switch and the wiring that I cannot really trace and the propane thanks for the help
Heater Is not working
- Thread starter krs1
- Start date
pvstoy
Senior Member
To have people better help you please include more information.
Year, make and model of camper
What brand of heater
What theromastat being used
What happens when the thermostat is switched on, noises etc.
What voltage the battery might have had at the time
Year, make and model of camper
What brand of heater
What theromastat being used
What happens when the thermostat is switched on, noises etc.
What voltage the battery might have had at the time
CougarCouple
Senior Member
Hello krs1
Double check the stat, I'm sure you already did but cycle the switches an run the temp up and down. Do you have a volt ohm meter?
Russ
Double check the stat, I'm sure you already did but cycle the switches an run the temp up and down. Do you have a volt ohm meter?
Russ
Old Crow
Searching....
Your post reminds me I once spent more time than I should have to figure out that the off lever on a mechanical thermostat really means off.
It's kinda sneaky though...
Working the temperature-adjusting lever feels like it's engaging and dis-engaging the thermostat's temperature-control contacts but if that Off lever has lifted up that little flap, power never reaches the main contacts and the thermostat never calls for heat.
(Click to enlarge)
(Edited 7/18 to correct orientation. Off switch is at the top, temperature-adjust lever at the bottom. Thermostat is an Atwood hydro flame mechanical thermostat. Edited 7/20 to add second photo.)
.
It's kinda sneaky though...
Working the temperature-adjusting lever feels like it's engaging and dis-engaging the thermostat's temperature-control contacts but if that Off lever has lifted up that little flap, power never reaches the main contacts and the thermostat never calls for heat.
(Click to enlarge)
(Edited 7/18 to correct orientation. Off switch is at the top, temperature-adjust lever at the bottom. Thermostat is an Atwood hydro flame mechanical thermostat. Edited 7/20 to add second photo.)
.
The thermostat just stopped working one day it made no noises I had changed nothing the thermostat itself is the one pictured just above this reply I have double checked all the mechanical switches on the thermostat but unable to determine what is going on The thermostat just stopped working one day it made no noises I had changed nothing the thermostat itself is the one pictured just above this reply I have double checked all the mechanical switches on the thermostat but unable to determine what is going on. I do not have anything to ensure that the thermostat is getting power. As far as the furnace itself I’m not sure but the bobcat is a 17 built last year
Bill D
Senior Member
Take a look at this document. It should help you to troubleshoot the issue.
http://bryantrv.com/docs2/docs/hflamefurn04.pdf
There is quite a bit going on in a furnace, but if you understand the sequence of operation and what each component does, you may be able to troubleshoot the issue on your own.
http://bryantrv.com/docs2/docs/hflamefurn04.pdf
There is quite a bit going on in a furnace, but if you understand the sequence of operation and what each component does, you may be able to troubleshoot the issue on your own.
pvstoy
Senior Member
The thermostat just makes a circuit. You can remove the two wires and connect them together and see if the furnace turns on. If the furnace runs then a bad or out of adjustment thermostat is to blame.
I don't mean this is a smart aleck way, but your other 12 volt systems are working, right?
Then I would suggest since you do not (as yet) own a multimeter, just arbitrarily change the fuse for the furnace. Can't tell you how many service calls I made when folks said they had checked the fuse.
After that the next stop is the module board on the furnace. If the blower is not spooling up, you are not past the fan relay on the board. Bad thermostats are uncommon and a bad blower motor is not common until they get some age on them. Board life varies widely, but in general they are far better than they were a decade or two ago. If the blower is not blowing, nothing else is going to happen with the furnace and it might be time to get some professional help.
Then I would suggest since you do not (as yet) own a multimeter, just arbitrarily change the fuse for the furnace. Can't tell you how many service calls I made when folks said they had checked the fuse.
After that the next stop is the module board on the furnace. If the blower is not spooling up, you are not past the fan relay on the board. Bad thermostats are uncommon and a bad blower motor is not common until they get some age on them. Board life varies widely, but in general they are far better than they were a decade or two ago. If the blower is not blowing, nothing else is going to happen with the furnace and it might be time to get some professional help.
CougarCouple
Senior Member
Krs1
Above is sound advice. Our suburban water heater, New out of the box had cold solder connections on the circut board. So it can happen.
Was an intermittent problem.
Russ
Above is sound advice. Our suburban water heater, New out of the box had cold solder connections on the circut board. So it can happen.
Was an intermittent problem.
Russ
I had a similar problem. It turned out to be the thermostat. I had a hard time finding the problem as when the thermostat was turned down everything looked fine but with the thermostat turned up the problem was apparent. See the photo. I did find the problem with a volt meter. One of the wires to the thermostat should always show 12 volts. The other wire to the thermostat should show 0 volts if the thermostat is off or set below the current temperature. If the thermostat is set to run the furnace both wires should show 12 volts, If they do the thermostat is fine.
Bill D
Senior Member
A digital thermostat might be a little better for you. I think they’re about $20-$30 at big box stores.. They do require batteries, so a spare is always a good idea.Bill D said:
Old Crow
Searching....
FYI to anyone wondering why the mechanical thermostat bases in posts 11 and 12 look different than the one in post 4: They're different brands. The one in post 4 is an Atwood model like this 38453 one in the Panther RV Products web site.
I believe the ones in photos 11 and 12 are White-Rodgers models, perhaps model M30 (but, again, I'm just trying to identify them from the photos)
As to digital thermostats, this Non programmable digital heater thermostat thread has a lot of good info on the subject for anyone looking to change from mechanical to digital.
.
I believe the ones in photos 11 and 12 are White-Rodgers models, perhaps model M30 (but, again, I'm just trying to identify them from the photos)
As to digital thermostats, this Non programmable digital heater thermostat thread has a lot of good info on the subject for anyone looking to change from mechanical to digital.
.
Bill D
Senior Member
I prefer the analog thermostat. I have a spare digital unit that I chose not to install.Wandering Sagebrush said:
I like being able to reach down from bed to make a minor adjustment without having to see what I'm doing. I actually never look at the temp setting. I also like the no battery thing being our temps get so cold.
I hate to admit it but this actually happened to me twice. I found and replaced the White-Rogers thermostat a few years ago and I forgot about it. When it happened the first time I bought a new digital thermostat the same one that FWC had changed to. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H6ARNXO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I did not install that new digital thermostat as it was run by a couple of AA batteries. I did get a new White-Rogers just like the old and everything was great for a couple more years until I got a call from the wife who had taken the camper out without me. Honey the heater won't work.
When I first installed the digital thermostat it didn't work. The batteries that came with it had gone bad from just sitting. I tried some from my supply at home, they worked for a couple of days and they also had sat around for to long. Finally a fresh pack of batteries and it has been over 6 months and I am now convinced that the digital thermostat is so much better.
With the old mechanical thermostat to use it we pretty much used it as a switch. If we wanted heat we would just give it a shove when we had enough heat we would shove it towards off. This was particularly true before getting up in the morning. We were just using the thermostat as a manual switch for the heater. All this shoving broke the wire in the thermostat TWICE.
With the new digital thermostat you push the button and it tells you the current temperature. With a couple of pushes you can add just a degree or two to the temperature and this works to keep the temperature under much more control than our previous method. I sure do like the digital thermostat so much better. My recommendation, change to a digital thermostat and carry a couple of fresh batteries.
When I first installed the digital thermostat it didn't work. The batteries that came with it had gone bad from just sitting. I tried some from my supply at home, they worked for a couple of days and they also had sat around for to long. Finally a fresh pack of batteries and it has been over 6 months and I am now convinced that the digital thermostat is so much better.
With the old mechanical thermostat to use it we pretty much used it as a switch. If we wanted heat we would just give it a shove when we had enough heat we would shove it towards off. This was particularly true before getting up in the morning. We were just using the thermostat as a manual switch for the heater. All this shoving broke the wire in the thermostat TWICE.
With the new digital thermostat you push the button and it tells you the current temperature. With a couple of pushes you can add just a degree or two to the temperature and this works to keep the temperature under much more control than our previous method. I sure do like the digital thermostat so much better. My recommendation, change to a digital thermostat and carry a couple of fresh batteries.
Old Crow
Searching....
Thanks for the follow-up... always appreciated!krs1 said:
Marty and the ATC team are fantastic! Thanks for keeping us in the loop!
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