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Old 05-04-2019, 01:37 PM   #1
Msf107
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New Member-HELP

We bought our first camper - a 1999 Cabana. (Howe’s by a Ford Expedition)

We are brand new to this and can’t figure out hooking up a battery or lighting the pilot!!

Any help would be appreciated.
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Old 05-04-2019, 01:58 PM   #2
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I don't know this model personally or what appliances it contains. Have you located the battery cables yet or no? Which pilot are you trying to light -- oven, water heater, furnace?
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Old 05-04-2019, 02:12 PM   #3
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Welcome to the forum! And yes, specifics will help a lot.

What kind of pilot (type of appliance)? Brand of appliance?

"Hooking up" the battery? IS there one? If so, does it not have battery cables to it? What condition is it in? Help us help you.
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Old 05-04-2019, 02:54 PM   #4
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OP - another thought. Is the LP tank full? Turned on?
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Old 05-04-2019, 03:19 PM   #5
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Thank you all for your quick replies. It did not come with a battery so we purchased one. There is a red cable that is loose and a white cable that is bolted to the frame (ground?).

I tried to light the water heater pilot, unable to locate the pilot for the heat.

I have confirmed the lp tanks are full and turned on.
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Old 05-04-2019, 03:30 PM   #6
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Hopefully, the battery cables are self-explanatory -- red to +, white to -.

What brand and model water heater, please? Any label obvious?
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Old 05-04-2019, 03:46 PM   #7
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The red will go to the + side of the battery. The one that goes to the frame connects to the negative (-) side.

How many LP tanks do you have? If you just got it and are trying to use it for the 1st time have you purged the air out of the LP lines? Turn on the stove top burners and put a match to them. If it just blows the flame you have air. If the burner ignites with a strong flame, and the others will as well you shouldn't have much air left in the lines - although you may have to depress and hold the pilot for the hwh for a while to get any remaining air out of that line.

What kind of water heater (brand)? Is it LP/electric or just LP or?? I am assuming you have found the pilot for the hwh but it won't light? And then you're saying you can't find the pilot for the furnace (heat)?

This link may help since we don't know what you are dealing with;

https://www.google.com/search?ei=2SL...rdq4#kpvalbx=0


Edit: get the battery hooked up and functioning before trying to deal with a furnace/thermostat.
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Old 05-04-2019, 04:28 PM   #8
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This is the furnace. There does not appear to be a control knob or striker
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Old 05-04-2019, 04:34 PM   #9
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The dingus at the left end of the big red wire is an automatic piezo sparker. There is no manual lighting port. If your furnace isn't lighting, it needs service.

Wait -- let me moderate that. If you don't have a battery hooked up, that may well explain the furnace's reluctance to run. Do that first.
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Old 05-04-2019, 04:44 PM   #10
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Does it need the battery or would it work if plugged in?
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Old 05-04-2019, 04:50 PM   #11
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Depends how they did the electrics. I have a lot of 12VDC stuff that won't run off a battery charger, but will run fine if I add a battery between the clips to buffer the waveforms. Me, I wouldn't consider a DC unit faulty until it failed on verified good DC. The charger/converter could also have some problem, and you'd never know about it until your battery failed to charge.
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Old 05-04-2019, 05:44 PM   #12
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I would get the batteries connected as I suggested. You will need them to control the furnace. It might possibly run by just being plugged in but you then introduce the converter which may or may not be bad on a 20 year old RV. Did you do any kind of an inspection on this before you bought it?
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Old 05-05-2019, 10:55 AM   #13
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Battery

So I hooked up the battery with the red to positive and white to negative. No power. Brand new battery
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Old 05-05-2019, 11:01 AM   #14
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Apologies if you have already done this, but... unplug from shore power, leave the battery hooked up, try turning on some indoor lights. If they don't work (and they work on shore power), the problem is in the battery, battery wiring, fuses, or fusebox. If they do work, you can concentrate on the furnace.
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Old 05-05-2019, 11:16 AM   #15
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Yes. I did try that. The lights work with the shore line but not the battery. I have checked the fuse box and everything appears to be in order.
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Old 05-05-2019, 11:20 AM   #16
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Can you use a multi meter? There could be an inline fuse on the 12v positive lead (red) somewhere between the battery and the fuse panel; it could be mounted to the frame. You need to trace the 12v lead and see where you lose power. I would suggest checking a battery disconnect switch but I don't believe that unit has one.
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Old 05-05-2019, 11:23 AM   #17
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Now it's just a lot of scutwork with a meter, testing the runs from the battery outward, seeing where voltage exists and where it stops existing, and looking for the problem somewhere between. There's no real easy way to do this other than to just do it.
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Old 05-05-2019, 12:16 PM   #18
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All right. We’re getting there. Battery is working 👍👍. Turns out the other end of the white wire was loose inside the storage compartment and that’s what needed to be connected. Heat is working!! Still unable to get hot water pilot lit or water pump to run.
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Old 05-05-2019, 12:37 PM   #19
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Water pump is like the rest of the 12v system; it has to have 12vdc coming to it and a ground for it to go to. Make sure you have that at the pump. If it's the original pump it could well be bad.

You need to determine that you have LP at the hwh and no obstructions inside it (webs/nests etc.).
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