Heater blower not working

tater_51 · 01-29-2015, 12:47 PM

Since it's blowing and snowing I thought it's a good time to make some repairs. I have an old Keystone Lite (1998) that's been a gem. Last season the blower quit on the furnace. I have checked fuses (ok) thermostat Ok, battery fully charged, but the blower does not come on?? I even tried removing the thermostat and connecting the wires with no results. Any ideas where to look would be appreciated. I have no idea on even how to access the furnace/blower. Thanks! Terry

scott24 · 01-29-2015, 02:56 PM

Does the burner come on?

tater_51 · 01-29-2015, 03:08 PM

I don't believe it does. I have the gas off right now, I'm getting no response.

scott24 · 01-29-2015, 03:12 PM

If you're positive there's power going to it and its on heat then it seems like a circuit board issue to me. Try turning the fan on at the stat and see if anything happens.

tater_51 · 01-29-2015, 03:32 PM

When I turn up the stat nothing happens. Would the unit be on a fuse or breaker? I checked fuses and all were good, could it be a bad breaker? Who ever listed the breakers had terrible hand writing, can't make out what goes to what.

scott24 · 01-29-2015, 03:36 PM

I think ours is on a breaker. Turn them all off and back on if your not sure which one it is.

Jim & DJ · 01-29-2015, 03:40 PM

Propane tank full ??????

Said the above cause the last time I ran out of propane, the heater would not start until I replaced the the mt bottle.....Oh well !!!!

tater_51 · 01-29-2015, 04:50 PM

OK, this may be a dumb question, maybe my problem is no problem. Does the propane have to be on for everything to work? Will the blower come on with the tanks turned off? Seems to me in the past if the thermostat was tripped the blower would come on regardless of the tanks being open. I realize the ignitor would not fire but it would blow air through the vents. Anyways, I checked all the breakers and they are OK.

scott24 · 01-29-2015, 04:52 PM

If there's a flow sensor then your answer is yes.

**JRTJH** · 01-29-2015, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tater_51

OK, this may be a dumb question, maybe my problem is no problem. Does the propane have to be on for everything to work? Will the blower come on with the tanks turned off? Seems to me in the past if the thermostat was tripped the blower would come on regardless of the tanks being open. I realize the ignitor would not fire but it would blow air through the vents. Anyways, I checked all the breakers and they are OK.

NO, the propane does not have to be on for the fan to operate. If you think about the function of the igniter circuit, the fan comes on, opens the sail switch and that, in turn opens the propane flow valve. So, if the fan isn't working, all the rest of the ignition cycle will also shut down. Whether there is propane to the furnace doesn't matter until after the fan comes on.

There is a 1amp mini fuse in "SOME" thermostats. Whether yours is one of them ????? Otherwise, you might want to use a multimeter and do some checking at the furnace electrical connections. If you've got power into the furnace, then your problem is either the control board or a bad fan motor. With a 1998 model furnace, anything is possible, but I'd lean toward the control board first, followed closely by the fan motor brushes. Good Luck

tater_51 · 01-29-2015, 05:07 PM

Thanks, I'm in for tonight. I'll check it tomorrow and get back with you. I'll open up the tanks and see if that makes a difference, I hope it's that simple.

scott24 · 01-29-2015, 05:52 PM

Its not the thermostat as he stated he bypassed that. As for a lot of gas appliances they have flo sensors on the gas. No gas pressure the switch opens and kills low voltage thus nothing would happen.

bobbecky · 01-29-2015, 05:53 PM

Your heater will be working on 12 volts. That means your power to the heater will be from a fuse, not a breaker. You need good batteries, and gas turned on, before you do anymore checking.

**JRTJH** · 01-29-2015, 06:06 PM

Seems there's a bit of speculation going on here. It looks like some advice is joining home (AC) furnace operation and RV (DC) operation. The two are distinctly different and the only commonality is that they both produce heat. Otherwise, the "beasts" don't even eat the same food......

Here is the link to Suburban's furnace service manual. Read through the section on furnace operational sequence and you'll see there's no "propane flow sensor to initiate the sequence" nor are there circuit breakers in the system. There is no requirement for propane to be applied to the furnace to initiate the fan motor. The sequence of operation starts on page 23. Troubleshooting starts on page 27.

http://trekin.digital-digs.net/Share...ice_Manual.pdf

If you have any problems, PM me and I'll try to walk you through the sequence.

Good Luck

tater_51 · 01-30-2015, 06:12 AM

Thanks for all the great replys. Looks like to access the furnace I'm going to have to remove the electrical panel with breakers/fuses as the furnace is located under the sink behind the panel. They have it tucked away pretty good. I will need to check power at the unit before I can go any further.kk

**chuckster57** · 01-30-2015, 06:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tater_51

Thanks for all the great replys. Looks like to access the furnace I'm going to have to remove the electrical panel with breakers/fuses as the furnace is located under the sink behind the panel. They have it tucked away pretty good. I will need to check power at the unit before I can go any further.kk

Is the panel louvered? If so that's the one to remove, if you remove the breaker/fuse panel screws it probably won't pull out far enough to be of any real use.

Look at the outside where the heater is. If the plate is a small rectangle with two holes then your heater access is inside. If your plate is large ( probably 8x16) then that plate comes off for access.

64tbolt · 01-31-2015, 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRTJH

NO, the propane does not have to be on for the fan to operate. If you think about the function of the igniter circuit, the fan comes on, opens the sail switch and that, in turn opens the propane flow valve. So, if the fan isn't working, all the rest of the ignition cycle will also shut down. Whether there is propane to the furnace doesn't matter until after the fan comes on.

There is a 1amp mini fuse in "SOME" thermostats. Whether yours is one of them ????? Otherwise, you might want to use a multimeter and do some checking at the furnace electrical connections. If you've got power into the furnace, then your problem is either the control board or a bad fan motor. With a 1998 model furnace, anything is possible, but I'd lean toward the control board first, followed closely by the fan motor brushes. Good Luck

Exactly how it works

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