Furnace won't start

[BoldAdventure]

At some point in the night my automatic tank switchover stopped working. And we were very cold. Furnace wouldn't come on, so went outside and discovered one propane tank empty and it didn't switch over. Switched to the full tank, and checked the valve to make sure it was open. Fridge is lighting and I have propane at the stove too.

After some searching, I checked the back of the furnace. Had a red blinking light, so I hit the reset button.

But inside the furnace still will not come on. Have turned the furnace off/on on the thermostat multiple times.

I have read some other threads about jumping the t-state, but mine is just a rj cord to a circuit board, nothing to jump.

I need to get this solved ASAP with little ones and cold temperatures.

[SteveSueMac]

Don't know the answer but do you have an a/c with heat pump? That can at least provide some heat while waiting for grimace answer.

[TG Twinkie]

Does the water heater fire up. You may have to continue to light it until all of the air is out of the lines.


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[cwf]

You may need to purge the lines...
Turn on stove burners.
Turn off DC power to see if it "resets" the board.

Break out the "emergency blankets"!!! Wrap blankets around family like teepee to conserve heat.

[cwf]

What model do you have? We can look up trouble shooting for you

[cwf]

Here is the link if you want to diagnose.

Service Documents and Manuals

[tjdonahoe]

You could move to a warmer climate...

[pattydoug]

Turn the furnace off, turn the thermostat all the way down, remove the fuse for the furnace. That should reset any faults. Replace the fuse and Then restart the furnace.


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[Lumatic]

Originally Posted by TG Twinkie

You may have to continue to light it until all of the air is out of the lines.

From the original problems description I don't see how air would be in the lines.

[BoldAdventure]

Great ideas, I went out this morning, and it was flashing the red blinking light again. Did the reset again, it thought about it, then went back to red flashing light. So, might be air in the lines still that I need to purge.

We already had breakfast this morning and used the burners and the hot water turns on, can hear it light up.

I'll try to find the model and do some of the suggestions here this afternoon and get back to the thread if it persists.

Originally Posted by tjdonahoe

You could move to a warmer climate...

I plan too, but it's actually warm in the days. Going up to 70 today. Also, I work so I can't just up and move till the weekend.

[ghaynes755]

Here's a couple of docs that might help. One is the the blinking light pattern if there is one. The other is general trouble shooting.



Atwood Furnace Troubleshooting.pdf

[PaulnGina]

Good luck with it, Bold. I bet it's air in the line.

[BoldAdventure]

Originally Posted by ghaynes755

Here's a couple of docs that might help. One is the the blinking light pattern if there is one. The other is general trouble shooting.

Attachment 252444

Attachment 252445

This is great, I have Model 8525-IV DCLO and it appears I have 1 flash with a 3 second pass, so limit/airflow problems.

There is a slight hum coming from the unit.

[cwf]

Is there air moving? Did an Umpa-lumpa's thumpa get stuck in the return air vent???

[BoldAdventure]

Originally Posted by cwf

Is there air moving? Did an Umpa-lumpa's thumpa get stuck in the return air vent???

There is nothing happening with unit. Nothing got sucked in.

[ghaynes755]

If the fan does not run at all then likely the motor has failed. Without the spinning fan which in turn closes the contact on the 'sail' switch nothing else is going to happen.

Can you turn the fan squirrel cage by hand? Be careful, it usually rotates clockwise. Maybe something got jammed. Turning it the other way may catch and bend the sail switch.

Easy to remove the sail switch on most of the Atwood furnaces. If you have a multimeter you could remove it and simply check that when the sail pushes in on the contact that you electric flow.

[dkottum]

In freezing weather and a fuel-powered device quits one of the first things we look for is something icing up, often a fuel supply line or components. Possibly something in the air supply. I don't know what your overnight temps were or if it's warm enough during the day to thaw if this was the case?

[ghaynes755]

Found this for you. Your model appears to have the sail switch buried on the back side. See if this link is of any use My Atwood 8525 IV DCLP tries to start. Blower motor runs,

[TG Twinkie]

In order for the sail switch to close and allow the gas valve to open the blower must be running. The furnace starts by running the blower for a period of time to purge the plenum.
The sail switch will close if it is functioning properly when the air flow is sufficient. The sail switch will send a signal (voltage) to the board. If the high limit temp switch is made, which means it is not over temp. The igniter will come on and the gas valve will open. The flame rod will signal the board that flame has been established.
Again! If the blower is not running you need to find out why. The sail switch is located in the plenum not in the blower housing.


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[streaminwild]

Head south my friend, colder weather ahead.