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Old 05-15-2019, 02:14 PM   #1
kcamp99186
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Atwood Furnace help

Am boondacking and furnace worked Monday and started Tuesday. On Tuesday it warned up the cabin and never came ba I on. Cycling the thermostat allows the blower to start. It runs for several seconds and quits. I can hear no solenoid or ignition clicks. This furnace just has a small exhaust outlet, no door. I have a few tools, but no meter with me. Any ideas or am I stuck this trip without heat? Thanks!
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Old 05-15-2019, 03:06 PM   #2
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Am boondacking and furnace worked Monday and started Tuesday. On Tuesday it warned up the cabin and never came ba I on. Cycling the thermostat allows the blower to start. It runs for several seconds and quits. I can hear no solenoid or ignition clicks. This furnace just has a small exhaust outlet, no door. I have a few tools, but no meter with me. Any ideas or am I stuck this trip without heat? Thanks!
Just had a similar issue with our Atwood. Turned out to be a bad control board. If your trailer has an exterior access door, you can get to the sail switch and limit switch and the control board. If all you have on the outside is the exhaust port, the furnace has to come out. There is an led on the board that will flash a code.
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Old 05-15-2019, 03:09 PM   #3
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Just had a similar issue with our Atwood. Turned out to be a bad control board. If your trailer has an exterior access door, you can get to the sail switch and limit switch and the control board. If all you have on the outside is the exhaust port, the furnace has to come out. There is an led on the board that will flash a code.
Check your battery charge. If the voltage is too low, the furnace will malfunction.
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Old 05-16-2019, 11:11 AM   #4
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Think it's the sail switch. Messed with it some and while the furnace was sitting on the floor it went clear through the cycle to solenoid open and ignition clicking was heard. Put back in place and didn't work. Quit just as before. Had my son bring me a new switch today and again it worked on the floor but not in place. Wondered if air in the propane line is the issue now. Bled the line and am waiting for air to clear before trying again.
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Old 05-16-2019, 01:06 PM   #5
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"On the floor"? Does that mean you pulled the furnace? I wonder if possibly the sail switch was doing its job and the airflow could be blocked once installed? Another troubleshooting step but good to make sure air is flowing.
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Old 05-17-2019, 10:39 AM   #6
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Yes, by on the floor did mean I had to pull it. My furnace doesn't have the outside door. Not sure what could be impeding the air flow but we did pull a couple of the 4 ducts off and it still failed. Thanks!
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Old 05-17-2019, 11:20 AM   #7
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I had that happen in an older 5er so not sure if this will help. On mine, I could access the control board via the exterior panel. I removed the board to get it tested. It was fine. I reinstalled it and it worked perfectly. I realized that just the process of removing and reinstalling the attached wires, which are more of a slip-on plug, that the connection was reestablished.

If that is similar to what you have, then just jiggle the wires a bit (making sure the plugs have good contact with the board) and see if it works. That's the advise I gave my father-in-law when his stopped working and it solved it for him as well. Good luck.
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Old 05-17-2019, 12:41 PM   #8
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a coup;e years back my furnace acted similar. I found the high limit switch was bad.. replaced and it has worked well since..
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Old 05-19-2019, 04:15 AM   #9
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Got home last night. Good suggestions. I will try reconnecting the wires and check the limit switch today. Thanks so much.
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Old 05-19-2019, 09:52 AM   #10
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Thanks to you all. It ended up being a simple loose connection. Pulled all connections, then reconnected them and everything worked.
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Old 06-05-2019, 11:09 AM   #11
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I'm having the same issue as well on a new 2018 Impact.

A couple weeks ago, we took the coach to a local powered campsite at an elevation of around 6000 ft (this detail will be important later) to de-winterize and prep for an upcoming trip. The furnace worked until the middle of the night and we woke to a very cold coach. The next day a mobile tech and I pulled the furnace and he bench tested it and everything worked on the bench, but he noticed that some wires were a bit loose, so he tightened everything up and we reinstalled and it worked ... for a day or 2.

We left town 2 days later, got to our boondocking site at about 9000 ft, and the furnace didn't work. The batteries showed full power and we just filled both propane tanks and they both were heavy. I shut the coach master power off then back on and the furnace then worked and cycled on and off appropriately for about an hour, then quit with the same symptoms. We tried power cycling the unit, as well as the entire electrical system several times again to no avail. The stove and fridge lit and worked fine. Multiple times during the trip we tried the furnace 3 or 4 times - power cycling the furnace between each attempt with no success.

I called a couple mobile techs where we were, and one mentioned that it could be a sail switch or the board. Another tech mentioned that this was common with the newer Atwoods because of the altitude. He said these units were made for lower elevations and that going up caused them to fail because they need some type of aftermarket baffle installed. I guess the propane-air mix is off. Our stove always worked - no apparent air bubbles in the line. The fridge did have a little trouble lighting up once during this stay, but i just swapped tanks then back again and everything worked.

She's going in to a warranty approved service center next week for this, but this looks like it could turn into a situation where it works at the shop and won't work out in the field, so I'd like to provide the techs with some things to check and try so we can get this fixed once and for all.

I'm thinking they need to pressure test the whole propane system, as well as the specific branch for the furnace. Is this a thing?

I'd like to see them just replace the board as that could still be it.

I'd also like them to install this baffle. Has anybody heard of this and can explain - is it not enough O2 - and how would a baffle which limits airflow correct this? Where would this baffle be placed - on the intake at the vent port on the external side of the coach, or in the furnace near the sail switch?

Any other thoughts on what to test or what could be the problem?

Thanks!!
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Old 10-21-2019, 10:02 AM   #12
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Did anyone find a resolution? I'm having the same issue where the furnace fails to light when installed, but works fine on the bench. It's still on warranty, so I took it in for service, but they could not find a problem with the furnace, nor with the inputs from the coach.

2018 Passport 2510RB with an Atwood/Dometic AFMD30121 furnace.
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Old 10-21-2019, 10:16 AM   #13
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My first thought is the airflow switch may not be made up. If it works on the bench it should work in the trailer.
Fuel pressure/supply OK?
12v and thermostat signal?
If so its a safety in the heater holding it off.
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Old 10-21-2019, 11:33 AM   #14
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I just spoke to Dometic Customer Service. They recommended installing their 'High-Altitude' Vent kit for use above 5000 feet. Might be worth a try, but I'm skeptical. My furnace worked at 5600' on Tuesday. On Wednesday it did not work and I had not moved an inch. FWIW
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Old 10-21-2019, 02:13 PM   #15
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I just spoke to Dometic Customer Service. They recommended installing their 'High-Altitude' Vent kit for use above 5000 feet. Might be worth a try, but I'm skeptical. My furnace worked at 5600' on Tuesday. On Wednesday it did not work and I had not moved an inch. FWIW
The altitude kits are to compensate for lower oxygen content at altitude. If you have a significant shift in barometric pressure then it can alter the "effect" of either a lower or higher altitude.
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Old 12-15-2019, 06:31 PM   #16
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Mine turned out to be loose connections on the control board. I unplugged them one at a time and reconnected them. Worked fine after that.
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Old 03-22-2020, 10:44 AM   #17
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Problem with furnace was not solved as I thought

Hello all. Reposting in this thread that I started last year when I had a furnace (wouldn't ignite) issue. Thanks to all of you on this forum for helpful advice! As stated, I thought my problem was solved by removing and reconnecting the wires on the control board. This did indeed cause the furnace to run properly, and I had briefly run the furnace on 2 other occasions to recheck that it did still ignite and run.

Went on a weekend fishing trip this weekend and the furnace started and worked on Friday evening. Stopped sometime in the night. Pulled it out on Saturday afternoon (after fishing) and reseated the control board wires and still nothing. The LED on the board it indicated an issue with the air flow or limit switch. Checked both (sail switch checked with fan running) and they are good. But then after putting it all back together, it ran again!? For over 40 minutes it ran fine. Left to go fishing, turned thermostat down to 65, and returned to a cold camper with no working furnace. Packed up and returned home.

I'm thinking maybe a new control board, a new furnace or something along those lines. My dad, a retired electrician, started me thinking about the battery. I have the original battery from 2015. I have a Battery Tender mounted in a plastic enclosure on the front frame, permanently connected to the battery, that I plug in when in storage. Now I'm wondering if a weak or worn out battery could be the issue? I've reread this thread and see that someone did mention this before, but after I had it working again I thought no more about it. Shame on me!

I will be doing more investigating and will post any follow up results to share. So thankful for the folks on this forum.

Ken
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Old 03-22-2020, 11:07 AM   #18
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I'm thinking control board. They can do some really sneaky, intermittent things. Also, when my Dometic thermostat (capacitive touch) went bad it started doing stuff on its own as well.
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Old 03-22-2020, 11:27 AM   #19
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Thanks for the reply. I'm not sure what brand thermostat I have, but Ill check that as well. I believe I'll be replacing both the battery and the board. Need to pull the furnace again to find the model and see which board I need.
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Old 03-22-2020, 04:15 PM   #20
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I have a Battery Tender mounted in a plastic enclosure on the front frame, permanently connected to the battery, that I plug in when in storage. Now I'm wondering if a weak or worn out battery could be the issue?
I wouldn't feel safe assuming that a battery tender wasn't acting as a vampire load on your battery when it wasn't plugged in. I'd throw an ammeter in that loop while everything else is unpowered, just to reassure yourself.
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