Trouble shooting Furnace/Heat Pump/Air C?

[Kistler]

I know that it costs more to go to the repair shop with the "it just doesn't work" line So can you diagnose this:

Last summer we were at Priest Gulch and the heat pump quit working on (I forgot the choice on the thermostat) the fan only works when the unit is on.

Then the furnace (LP one) would not respond to the the thermostat. The air conditioner will not work at all.

Any ideas? I believe that someone on this forum had thermostat trouble....are they expensive? Maybe I should hope that is the only problem.

Then there is my lug bolt/nut problem. I have never been able to remove the lug nuts easily by hand (with a wrench ) I suspect that on my first visit to the dealer at 10,000 miles an impact wrench was used and they were cross-threaded or something ??????

So I am going to get new lug bolts and nuts on the spring visit to Apache Junction. Dillons.....by the way they are not the ones who MAY have screwed up my lug nuts/bolts.

I wouldn't complain about the lug bolts/nuts (they are tight ALL the way on and ALL the way off) except I had rotator cuff surgery and only have two tendons left.....they are the wrong ones for taking off lug nuts.

[RoadKingMoe]

Just a shot in the dark... but have you disconnected the shore power and then disconnected the batteries, let the unit sit for an hour or so to make sure the capacitors in the converter have drained, then reconnected the batteries? An attempt to "reboot" the digital thermostat?

[Kistler]

Thank you....I'll try that.

Kistler

[rickandsandi]

Greeting Kistler- The heat pump on the overhead is totaly independant from your furnace and is not connected to the thermostat for your furnace. On one of our outings this season there was nothing I could do to get the overhead to work. I had my manual out on the table, electrical panel open, the whole nine yards. Problem; loose connection outside from the shoreline into the campground hook-up. Boy did I feel stupid. On the overhead there is only one setting for heat, left dial turn to the right (counter-clockwise) setting for 'heat-opt'. For the furnace, yes the top lever needs to be switched to the left to click the furnace one and the temp setting on the bottom. Good luck!

[ZoominC6]

Hello Kistler,
We cannot get our gas furnace to fire as either. After reading in the owner's manual about the "DIP" switches (sort of like a electrical panel box located up on the rooftop unit) I investigated. I first called my favorite Airstream shop. Upon turning off the main power to the trailer, I went up on the roof, removed the shell by unfastening four bolts and located the "DIP" switch panel. Sure enough, the furnace switch was tripped. I reset the switch, reset the T-Stat in the trailer, and tried turning the furnace on. The T-Stat still wouldn't indicate "Furnace" on the T-Stat like it should have and nothing happened. I called my dealer to make certain I was resetting the T-Stat properly (I've forgotten this proceedure, sorry) and still nothing. In our case, the Heat Pump still worked and when temps got below 35F, the approximate point where it should automatically switch over to the gas furnace, we just hauled out the little box heaters ($29 ea.) and fired them up to warm the trailer. It sounds as if your problem may be related to the "DIP" switches but maybe not. We're solving our problem by replacing the 13btu rooftop AC with the 15btu unit over the winter, a decision made in the summer prior to the furnace problem. We love the gas furnace when it works properly. This may not help at all but we hope you can solve the problem without major expense. Good luck and keep us posted will you? Happy Trails

[RoadKingMoe]

Rick, some of us have a digital thermostat that controls the air-conditioner, heat pump, and furnace. They aren't independent with this setup. The thermostat will run the heat pump down to about 40ºF then switch over to the furnace.

[Kistler]

I really appreciate your giving advice on this problem. The test will have to wait until I bring the trailer home (in storage about 2 miles from here) in February.

It is bitterly cold here daytime 60's and nights near 32-35 degrees......

My batteries are in the garage here at home and I put them on the charger the first of each month. So, I guess when I get the trailer home I can plug in and hope the Tstat "re-boots"....

Yeah, the Tstat is one of those "bells and whistles" my father-in-law told me to stay away from

Kistler

[RoadKingMoe]

Originally Posted by Kistler

It is bitterly cold here daytime 60's and nights near 32-35 degrees......

Smiley emoticon noted, but that's t-shirts and shorts weather around here! High today 37ºF, low tonight 13ºF.

Grab one of the batteries, take it over the the AS and hook it up. Then you'll know. As said, it could also be a ground wiring problem (getting both).

[galfoman]

I feel really stupid asking this question but I just towed my first RV home Last night. It's a 2002 Bambi and it is missing the owners manual that describes the furnace operation.
I filled up my 2 propane tanks and have fired up my range and powered up my A/C.
Can one of you please walk me through the propane furnace and refrigerator startup procedure.
Thanks,
Gary