Passport Heater Repair
Hi campers,
I have a Passport 234QBWE Express and though I would share my experience this week with a malfunctioning furnace.
We went out for the first time this season last weekend and I thought I should test the furnace. It wasn't really that cold but I like to make sure things work [I]before[I] I really need them.
I turned the furnace on and the blower starts fine and I hear the burner ignite, but it only stayed lit for a few (3-4??) seconds. It would repeat this burner action repeatedly, but the burner would never stay lit.
I know the burner was actually lighting because if I went outside and felt the exhaust outlet it would be warm for those few seconds. I tried it a few times throughout the weekend with no better success.
At home, I pulled the access covers off and discovered there was no way to service the unit without removing it completely from the trailer. What a pain.
I did notice that the platform the furnace was mounted on was really loose and that didn't seem quite right. In the meantime I went ahead and ordered a tune-up kit that included a flame sensor/ignitor and control board, along with some other parts. I assumed I was having some sort of flame sensor issue.
In the process of researching, I ran across some mention of a furnace not operating properly if the venting is not correct, and after I had it pulled out and could see how it was supposed to be mounted I thought I would rebuild the platform and put it back in to see if it worked.
It did! I believe my issue was the intake tube was not sealed correctly since the loose platform had allowed the furnace to pull away from the wall and the intake tube was not inserted into the furnace correctly.
After everything was apart, I could clearly see where the screws had pulled completely out of the legs of the platform and allowed it to wobble all over the place. Obviously, I added some additional bracing to the structure when I put it back in.
I can't imagine my trailer is the only one with this poor design/construction, so I hope people will find this post and be able to save themselves some money. I didn't even take the parts out of the box, and should be able to return them.
I wonder how many technicians just automatically replace parts, having to remove and reinstall the furnace to do that, and think that the parts were bad when really it was just an installation issue.
Sorry, long post I know, but maybe it will help someone down the road.
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