RV Furnace That Won’t Start and Won’t Stay On
Sometimes, your RV appliances can be frustrating, such as when your Atwood RV furnace won’t start or stay on. When the weather is cold outside, you definitely want the furnace to work. Let’s look at some common furnace problems and the steps to troubleshoot these issues.
Troubleshooting an Atwood RV Furnace
There are several steps you can take to get your furnace running before you call in an RV repair technician.
RV Furnace Blower Won’t Start
- First of all, some thermostats control both the furnace and the air conditioner. You need to make sure the thermostat is set on the heater and turned on.
- Next, make sure there is power going to the furnace. The furnace runs on 12-volt power, whether the RV is plugged into 120-volt electric or not. Check for any loose wires, and check to see if there is a blown fuse. Check the batteries for low voltage, and make sure your batteries aren’t dead.
- The blower motor could also be dead or have a loose wire.
- The thermostat could be defective.
RV Furnace Won’t Stay On
- If the furnace started, but won’t stay on, you may need to check the battery voltage. If the voltage is too low, it won’t provide enough power to keep the furnace fan running.
- Another cause could be a defective blower relay. Check the wires to the relay.
- You could also have a power problem that keeps blowing a fuse or tripping a breaker.
- You could have a defective thermostat.
- If the furnace is the lighting but shutting down it could be a bad thermocouple.
The Pilot Light Won’t Ignite
- First, check to see if the igniter is dirty or corroded. Check for broken or loose wires between the igniter and the electronic control board.
- You could have a bad electronic control board on the furnace.
- The sail switch detects airflow and could shut off the furnace before it can ignite. You could have a bad sail switch.
- Your furnace isn’t getting propane. This could be caused by a bad propane regulator on the tank or a clogged propane valve inside the furnace. Also, blocked or clogged furnace exhaust vents won’t allow proper airflow. Check the vents outside for debris.
- Finally, you could have dead insects clogging the combustion chamber. For some strange reason, insects like to crawl inside the inner workings of your propane appliances.
You may be able to get your furnace up and running again right away if it’s something like a loose wire or a dirty connection. However, if it needs new parts, such as a new circuit board, your furnace may be down until you can get those parts ordered and delivered.
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