Furnace problems again
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URL: http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=3662
Printed Date: 07 Jun 2025 at 2:30pm
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Topic: Furnace problems again
Posted By: yellowstonestu
Subject: Furnace problems again
Date Posted: 26 Jun 2013 at 9:26pm
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I posted my previous problem with my furnace problem. Furnace ran on 12 volt, but not on 110. My RV dealer replaced the thermostat. I checked it at the shop on 110 before I pulled it home (100 miles away). I was camping in some high mountain areas this week-end (38 degrees at night with no shore power available). I tried the furnace on 12 volt and no "click, click, click", no fan, no nothing. When I got home I checked it on 110 shore power and it worked fine, checked on 12 volt and again nothing. I called the shop today and was basically told that my problem was impossible. Insinuation - I must be crazy. This is far from my first RV and know a little about running the things. Battery shows full power on the monitor panel, gas in the tanks, etc. Refrig works on 12 volt, H2O heater works on gas, lights work nice and bright, water pump works on 12 volt. Basically everything with any battery power works EXCEPT for the furnace.
Any ideas out there as to what may be wrong? Not much confidence in my service tech. Thanks for any help!!! ------------- Yellowstonestu & Bela the Vizsla 2008 Toyota FJ 2015 RPod 179 (Pod #2) |
Replies:
Posted By: furpod
Date Posted: 26 Jun 2013 at 10:01pm
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The furnace only runs on 12v. BUT.. when you are plugged in, the camper is getting it's 12v from the converter, and not from the battery..there is a possiblity of corrosion or a bad connection, maybe on the ground side, that the battery can't overcome but the converter can....? That's the best I can do without insuati... er.. anyway.. How was the camping otherwise?  ------------- |
Posted By: yellowstonestu
Date Posted: 26 Jun 2013 at 10:23pm
Camping was great, kayaking super, fishing great (catching not so good  ------------- Yellowstonestu & Bela the Vizsla 2008 Toyota FJ 2015 RPod 179 (Pod #2) |
Posted By: techntrek
Date Posted: 27 Jun 2013 at 2:01pm
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Yeah, you are crazy. We all are for towing around small homes on wheels while burning $4/gallon gas. I agree you may have a bad connection. That is the only explanation I can think of for it running from the converter but not the battery. ------------- Doug ~ '10 171 (2009-2015) ~ 2008 Salem ~ http://www.rpod-owners.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=1723 - Pod instruction manual 
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Posted By: Outbound
Date Posted: 28 Jun 2013 at 11:22am
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I suspect that this isn't a furnace problem, rather a problem at your converter, or a battery problem.
A few things I'd check: - multimeter on resting battery: voltage. On a charged battery, this should be between 12 and 13 volts - multimeter across thermostat wires - again, this she be slightly above 12 volts - with your r-pod connected to your vehicle and vehicle running, does the furnace work? - move the furnace wiring to a new slot on the converter and use a new fuse. Alternatively, as a long shot, it could be a resettable fuse on the furnace. Try disconnecting the negative lead on the trailers battery, leave for 30 minutes and then reconnect. Then try the furnace again. But, my gut feel is low voltage... check the testing voltage, make sure everything else is off (fridge particularly) and try the furnace again. ------------- Craig :: 2009 RP171 towed by a 2017 F150 |
Posted By: yellowstonestu
Date Posted: 28 Jun 2013 at 10:12pm
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Thanks for the great advice. I plan to check voltage on battery this week-end. It is a newer battery and shows full charge on the rv monitor, but I know this isn't necessarily accurate. All good ideas! ------------- Yellowstonestu & Bela the Vizsla 2008 Toyota FJ 2015 RPod 179 (Pod #2) |
Posted By: Anthony Valenzano
Date Posted: 29 Jun 2013 at 9:29am
| Just found an interesting problem with my battery system. I was having problems with my furnace in the past, and I just found that my battery disconnect switch is dropping 0.68V at 12 amps. That may not seem like a lot but it's the same as if I had 20 feet of 14AWG wire in there. That's enough to cause the furnace to fail firing up. |
Posted By: madisonprep01
Date Posted: 18 Nov 2013 at 11:20am
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I have a similar question. I have a 172T and I'm having furnace issues as well. I replaced the batter and it's putting out 12v. I've pulled the analog thermostat on the wall off and crossed the wires just to try and get the fan to turn on...with no results! I tried changing the fuse out and I noticed that when I pulled the old fuse, the Red LED warning light did not come on. This makes me think I've got a converter problem. You mentioned that we should try to wire the furnace lines up to a different slot on the converter, but how should I got about doing this? I have two slots that are empty and have new 7.5 Amp fuses that I could add. Any thoughts? ------------- Brannon 08-Kia Sedona |
Posted By: mtbmitch
Date Posted: 18 Nov 2013 at 4:13pm
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I found that at the main ground buss (where all the ground wires are tightened down with screws) that the main ground wire hooked to the chassis was almost loose. The screw holding it down was a full turn loose. This would cause a voltage drop. Also the ground wire from the battery that attaches to the frame(left forward underneath) as well as the ground near the back from the frame to the ground buss had a big voltage drop. The factory did not scrape away the paint where these grounds are attached but rather rely on the surface area of the screws as a contact area. This will allow low amperage without a voltage drop but a higher amperage will cause the voltage drop to possibly not allow your heater to work. Also the main forward positive connector underneath the trailer and exposed to the elements had lots of green corrosion. That was on my trailer that lives in dry Idaho. ------------- enjoy the fresh air |