Furnace Problems 2005 Safari

[TommyS]

I am curious if anyone else out there has had problems with their furnance on newer models (ours is a 2005, 25' Safari FB). We took delivery last May and within two weeks our furnace would not work at all - no motor, no heat, no nothing.

We took it in for repair and apparently they had to replace the circuit board(?). We just got back from a short trip and once again, no heat. The thermostat appears to be getting power, the propane tanks are full and we are plugged into shore power. Any ideas?

I was also just reading a thread about someone complaining about how hard it was to close the entry door. We thought we were supposed to use all of our weight to get it to latch (thats how it's been since we got it). Are the airstream doors supposed to latch easily?

This is my first post and any input would be greatly appreciated.

[Silvertwinkie]

I haven't had issues with our 25' Safari (04), but our '03 constantly had issues. The door should not be too hard to close.

One question I have is when you set up camp, are you cranking down the stabil jacks. They should not be cranked too tightly. That can cause the shell to torque and case a hard closing door. If it does it all the time, the door may need to be adjusted.

[jordandvm]

Originally Posted by TommyS

I am curious if anyone else out there has had problems with their furnance on newer models (ours is a 2005, 25' Safari FB). We took delivery last May and within two weeks our furnace would not work at all - no motor, no heat, no nothing.

We took it in for repair and apparently they had to replace the circuit board(?). We just got back from a short trip and once again, no heat. The thermostat appears to be getting power, the propane tanks are full and we are plugged into shore power. Any ideas?

I was also just reading a thread about someone complaining about how hard it was to close the entry door. We thought we were supposed to use all of our weight to get it to latch (thats how it's been since we got it). Are the airstream doors supposed to latch easily?

This is my first post and any input would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome to the forums TommyS!
Yes, I had a similar problem with our furnace on our 28' CCD maiden voyage to Beverly Beach SP in Oregon (didn't want to stay in the dealer's parking lot). Our heater wouldn't work, so I called a local RVIA tech and he removed a coupler that he said was defective and hard wired it so it would work......come to find out.....his work wasn't covered by Atwood and the work done caused the warranty to be void. Well I took pics of everything and to make a long story short, my dealer restored the coupling and hopefully made the warranty good (I have a 7 yr extended warranty on appliances). We've not had any issues since that incident! There's a thread on this if you search for "atwood"
On the hard closing door issue.......our dealer tech said that AS has always been a hard closing door FWIW (Tight)?.
Good luck!

[TommyS]

Originally Posted by Silvertwinkie

I haven't had issues with our 25' Safari (04), but our '03 constantly had issues. The door should not be too hard to close.

One question I have is when you set up camp, are you cranking down the stabil jacks. They should not be cranked too tightly. That can cause the shell to torque and case a hard closing door. If it does it all the time, the door may need to be adjusted.

Hi-
I am setting the stabalizers, but never with too much tension...and the entry door is still hard to latch, even with the stabalizers up...?

[lewster]

Tommy S,

Get me the model and serial # of your Atwood furnace and I'll see if I can do a long distance diagnosis. PM me if you like.

Check the simple things like fuses and see if you are getting 12VDC at the furnace, When you open the door, you should see a white flat plug going into the igniter board at the upper left corner of the furnace. Remove the plug carefully and with a voltmeter, put your negative lead into the bottom slot of the plug (black or yellow wire) and the positive lead into the top slot (red wire).

You should get 12+ volts here if the furnace is receiving power from the converter or battery. Don't worry if you reverse the leads as you'll just get a -12V reading. Remember to only use the top and bottom slots ( or the 2 end slots).

If you have 12V present and the thermostat is working properly, then it sounds like another board!

Also, some new Atwood igniter boards have a fuse on the board. I don't know if you will be able to get to it to check it. Are you sure that the thermostat is working properly?

[Silvertwinkie]

Originally Posted by TommyS

Hi-
I am setting the stabalizers, but never with too much tension...and the entry door is still hard to latch, even with the stabalizers up...?

If you don't regularly torque the stabilizers, then it is possible that the door is out of adjustment. I would take it to a good Airstream Service Center. Be careful and do your homework on dealers if you go that route. There are some dealers that I wouldn't trust with my bike. For us, the factory is close enough and that's where I took our coach. All repairs were done well IMHO. To compare, there is a dealer much closer to me, but they didn't even know where the water pump was, among other issues.

[vwilleford]

I have a 2004 Safari 25" and the door closes fairly easily. That is one thing I noticed when I bought it new... compared to my 2002 International AS, it closes more easily and with a solid sound.