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oledawg · 11-01-2014, 07:22 AM

OK, went through the posts that could relate to my problem: gas furnace on my 1994 Excella is not lighting, fan turns on when you turn the thermostat on, but no click, no ignite, no warm air. Plenty of gas to all other uses in the trailer. Worked fine when we pulled in and set up, in fact it wouldn't cut off when the temp was reached, just kept running. This was a first. Cut the thermostat off. Later when restarting it wouldn't. To me this says circuit board, maybe thermostat, maybe both.

My real question is where the heck do you get said issue fixed when you are in southeast Utah/northeast Colorado? Especially on a weekend. Running the small built in catalytic and a small electric heater right now, so OK, but need to get this fixed.

terryV · 11-01-2014, 07:43 AM

Many years ago my furnace quit on a deer hunt in south Dakota. It was really cold and snowy, and my choices were limited.

My generator worked, to I plugged in a 1500 W electric heater, set it front of the cold air furnace intake, and ran the furnace fan. It was a bit chilly, but warm enough to live in for the rest of the hunt.

mimiandrews · 11-01-2014, 07:55 AM

Check the sail switch in the fan duct.

oledawg · 11-01-2014, 08:06 AM

And where might that rascaly fan duct be? I have never messed with the furnace so point me in the right direction. Thanks.

dbj216 · 11-01-2014, 01:43 PM

It may be time to pull the furnace and get it bench tested. The sail switch is in the furnace housing. It's just a simple piece of tin attached to a little switch that tells the circuit board that there is blower air. I think it purges or blows air to purge any propane around the heat exchanger and then the circuit board says ok to ignite. No clicking would indicate the sail switch didn't work. But I can't imagine how to test it without taking the furnace out.

Removing the furnace isn't too bad. You may be able to disconnect the propane line, outside vent cover and electrical plug, then slide the innards out of the housing saving some time. Note: You gotta enjoy working in tight places while laying on the floor. Most RV shops can bench test it for you and make the repairs to get you warm air again. With the furnace out, you can test the sail switch.

A new furnace isn't the most expensive appliance in your trailer. I think they are in the $700 range. I found my old furnace became unreliable and I just gave up on it instead of the $200 repair bills.

David

AnnArborBob · 11-01-2014, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oledawg

My real question is where the heck do you get said issue fixed when you are in southeast Utah/northeast Colorado? Especially on a weekend. Running the small built in catalytic and a small electric heater right now, so OK, but need to get this fixed.

My, my, you really are in the middle of nowhere, aren't you?

Your furnace system is not Airstream specific so any qualified RV dealer (and possibly quite a few home heating/cooling shops) should be able to look at it for you. I'm sure that there must be some of these outfits in Flagstaff, Durango or Farmington. None of these are "down the road" but that's what you get for trying to be adventurous!

cwf · 11-10-2014, 10:48 PM

result?

oledawg · 11-12-2014, 12:49 AM

Well, not worrying about it since the small 1500 watt space heater is keeping everything warm enough. Decided to address it when I get back to NC. Sounds like the sail switch is the likely culprit.

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oledawg · 11-15-2014, 06:25 AM

Guess what? Furnace is now working after a 10 mile trip down a one way gravel/dirt washboard road in the Coconino National Park that my GPS sent me down. Perhaps the sail switch was stuck and became unstuck ;-)

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AnnArborBob · 11-15-2014, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oledawg

Guess what? Furnace is now working after a 10 mile trip down a one way gravel/dirt washboard road in the Coconino National Park that my GPS sent me down. Perhaps the sail switch was stuck and became unstuck ;-)

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I remember as a kid whacking the side of the television when it was acting up. That usually fixed the problem. Perhaps by driving down a bumpy road you did the same thing!