heat, heat nowhere to be found!

[ronheater70]

2019 Cougar 369 BHS

So, this weekend, didn't need the heat, but wanted to try it out before we need it. We are going camping the third week of october and will definitely need heat then.
In short, I had two problems

When set to heat, it would light, and go out after 10 seconds or so, repeat three or so times then I would reset everything and try again. Fan would run until it went into fail safe and shut off because of not lighting.
I let it set an hour, then turned on the stove burner, and lit the furnace again. I wanted to see if it pulled gas away from the burner and if the furnace lit.. To my surprise it lit this time.
It ran, the fan worked and nice warm air was coming out, Ut ran for almost exactly 1 minute after lighting then everything shut down. I reset everything and again, it lit, far was working, nice warm air for about 1 minute then shut down again.

Propane is near full, Battery good..

I think it had always been this way, because when I got it and it was brand new I tried the heat but it was in the 80s, so it lit, warm air came out and I shut it down.

I was thinking a thermocouple issue for the not lighting, but the run and stop has me baffled.
The unit is still under warranty (got n extended warranty) but figure if it goes to the sop it will be months before I see it again.
Also, I would use the electric fireplace, but that doesn't work either. The first one was replaced, and the new one turned on when I verified it worked, but now it forms work either Im thinking something is jogging around in transit,
But Yea No heat at all and Id like to have some when Camping next month!
Thought about calling a mobile tech but Keystone doesn't cover those, but if its not too expensive I may just pay out of pocket to avoid the headaches..

Thoughts appreciated!

[ronheater70]

Just trying to get this back to the top.. Im not evne sure what furnace I have in mine. DIlemma being take it to the dealer for warranty work, Or take to rv service about 40 minutes away and let them deal with it.. From everything I am reading it "seems" like a control board and the tech shop I spoke too said they have a Dinosaur board that is kinda generic to all the furnaces or something..

Again, fan come on, furnacer lights, warm air starts coming out and then the whole system shuts down after about 1 minute of igniting..

[Roscommon48]

get to your dealer, sorry you have issues that need help.

your fireplace may just be an electric plug...pull out the fireplace and check.

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by Roscommon48

get to your dealer, sorry you have issues that need help.

your fireplace may just be an electric plug...pull out the fireplace and check.

Yea that where Im at trying to weigh my options to Pay to have it corrected which may result in a quicker turnaround or let dealer deal with it.. In the meantime im trying to kinda self diagnose.. I really think control board cause when it shuts down suddenly, a red light comes on for the furnace in the fuse box, I suppose indicating a malfunction?

Fireplace, yea its not the plug. the original one in it worked during PDI, then a month or two later I tiried to show it to someone and it didnt work anymore.

I cinferred withg my dealer and they agrreed to let me pull the fireplace and just bring it to them where it tested bad and they gave me a new one to install. After installation I checked it and it worked fine, wekk or so later checcked it again it worked fine.. Now it no longer works again. Thinking something is jarring in the fireplaces or something.

[sourdough]

Sorry Ron. I saw this and meant to return to it yesterday. Your issue sounds exactly like one I had; ran just long enough to get a wisp of warm air and stop - it was the control board. The furnace was an Atwood 35k. I don't know if yours is or not. It should say inside the furnace (outside access).

If that is the case and it is under warranty there would be a couple of scenarios I guess. Get a board, replace it and see if it works on your dime or take it to the dealer. They will probably require you to bring it in. If so I would ask the SM if they would repair it while you are there. They should have spare boards, or if not, do what they did on this one (another Atwood failed control board) after my first tryout trip - go take one off another unit - fixed it while I stood there. They know they will get reimbursed so it's just a matter of if they will do that for you or make you go through all the hoops, time and trouble. Explain you are about to leave on a trip and you need the furnace. Maybe they will help you out.

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by sourdough

Sorry Ron. I saw this and meant to return to it yesterday. Your issue sounds exactly like one I had; ran just long enough to get a wisp of warm air and stop - it was the control board. The furnace was an Atwood 35k. I don't know if yours is or not. It should say inside the furnace (outside access).

If that is the case and it is under warranty there would be a couple of scenarios I guess. Get a board, replace it and see if it works on your dime or take it to the dealer. They will probably require you to bring it in. If so I would ask the SM if they would repair it while you are there. They should have spare boards, or if not, do what they did on this one (another Atwood failed control board) after my first tryout trip - go take one off another unit - fixed it while I stood there. They know they will get reimbursed so it's just a matter of if they will do that for you or make you go through all the hoops, time and trouble. Explain you are about to leave on a trip and you need the furnace. Maybe they will help you out.

Thanks sourdough, thats some good info and not somethign I had considered. I will bring it up to the dealer and see what they say about that! Thank yoU!

[ronheater70]

So looking at my paperwork, its hows a DOmetic Furnace
Model DFSAD12,DFSD12,DFSD16,DFSD16, DFSD20,, BLAH, BLAH AND ABOUT 6 OTHERS.. All operate out of the same owners Manual. Am I to assume the same control board for each? Cause I tried, although not forcfully to remove the outside door off the furnace held on by 4 screws to inspect it and I cant get it off unless maybe I put more force on it than I am conftorable with.

[sourdough]

It appears the furnace is just to the right of the hot water heater access. You can remove the four screws but I figure the front is then sealed with butyl tape around the edges. It sticks very well. You will have to gently pry the edges up until the tape starts to let go. Do it slowly and evenly or you will bend that thin sheet metal cover. The little vent should just be pushed into the furnace exhaust and may take some "wiggling" to get out. On my trailers there was no need to remove the 4 screws around the exhaust outlet. I observed one dealer tech trying to get mine off once after I rounded the back corner of the trailer; he was wrestling and prying on the cover and I warned him not to be pulling on one end....but too late he had bent it slightly before I got to him. Not enough that I, personally in front of him, couldn't straighten but just be aware it can happen. The control board should be just inside and the manual, covering all those model variations, would seem to me to indicate the same control board will work on them.

Edit: when removing the cover you should make sure you have butyl tape on hand to replace the old (I use a plastic scraper). I carry black and white 3/4" wide. Not really hard to remove....nothing like silicone.

[Tom N OH]

Originally Posted by ronheater70

So looking at my paperwork, its hows a DOmetic Furnace
Model DFSAD12,DFSD12,DFSD16,DFSD16, DFSD20,, BLAH, BLAH AND ABOUT 6 OTHERS.. All operate out of the same owners Manual. Am I to assume the same control board for each? Cause I tried, although not forcfully to remove the outside door off the furnace held on by 4 screws to inspect it and I cant get it off unless maybe I put more force on it than I am conftorable with.

Use a wide putty knife with a layer of masking tape on the blade to pry it off. Tape side against the wall to prevent scratches, of course.

[ronheater70]

Originally Posted by Tom N OH

Use a wide putty knife with a layer of masking tape on the blade to pry it off. Tape side against the wall to prevent scratches, of course.

Good information, thank you guys!