Heater, Thermostat

[curnes]

The heater in my 67 minuet was working fine until a couple of weeks ago. On our first night of a 10 day camping trip I put the thermostat (original Suburban) on to start the blower and nothing happened. It didn't seem to matter if we were on battery or 110 power. I have since checked and/or replaced all the electrical fuses but can't get the thing to turn on. I suspect the thermostat. Does anyone know how to check the thermostat before I replace it?
Thanks,
Cameron

[azflycaster]

The thermostat is nothing more then a set of contacts that start the heater. If the fan in the heater starts, it is working.

If the fan starts and then stops shortly after, it could be the sail switch is not being transferred. The sail switch is closed by the movement of air from the fan. If the fan is too slow the switch will not close or the switch itself could be out of adjustment or faulty. This could also be a gas valve issue...

Sorry, I don't think this will be as simple as replacing the thermostat.

[curnes]

Thanks for your reply. My fan does not start, then stop. It just does nothing when I turn up the thermostat. The instructions say to turn up the thermostat to start the fan, and run for about 5 minutes prior to lighting the pilot. This process worked until a couple of weeks ago. I now turn up the thermostat, and nothing happens. I do not hear the fan from the heater kick on.
Here is what I was thinking, but do not want to mess up my system. I was thinking if I disconnected the two wires that go to the thermostat, then connected them directly together, that should complete the circuit and the fan should start. I believe this would indicate that my thermostat was bad. Is my logic flawed???

[azflycaster]

Sorry, I misread your earlier post...

Connecting the two wires to the thermostat will do the trick. If it is the original unit you should be able to pull the front cover off the thermostat and see the contacts. They may need to be cleaned.