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Topic: Suburban Furnace heater won't heat (Read 394 times) previous topic - next topic
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Suburban Furnace heater won't heat
Up  at Lake Tahoe, flipped on the heater in the morning.  Starts, does not continue.
Noted that it tries 3 times,   each time flame catches but does not persist.
Reading the pdf manual suggested further tests as related in hardcopy documentation that is sitting at home.
Not a critical issue in 38 deg weather,  just throw another dog on the bed.
Is there something obvious of which I am oblivious?

Kokanee Salmon Festival and Octoberfest tomorrow and Sunday.

Say 27' grey  LD with label saying Olsens in the Raleys parking lot as I type this.  
Joel
Joel & Terry Wiley
dog Zeke
2013  31 IB   Orwan   / 2011 CRV Tow'd LWEROVE
Re: Suburban Furnace heater won't heat
Reply #1 –
"Sa[w] 27' grey  LD with label saying Olsens..."

That was quite likely Annie Olsen! She spent last week parked in my driveway.   ;)   ;D

She could have given you some advice on your furnace. 
Steve S.
Lazy Bones & Cedar
2004 30'IB (Island Bed)
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery
Live for the day!
Re: Suburban Furnace heater won't heat
Reply #2 –
Quote from: joel wiley  - 
Up  at Lake Tahoe, flipped on the heater in the morning.  Starts, does not continue.
Noted that it tries 3 times,  each time flame catches but does not persist.
Reading the pdf manual suggested further tests as related in hardcopy documentation that is sitting at home.
Not a critical issue in 38 deg weather,  just throw another dog on the bed.
Is there something obvious of which I am oblivious?

Kokanee Salmon Festival and Octoberfest tomorrow and Sunday.

Say 27' grey  LD with label saying Olsens in the Raleys parking lot as I type this. 
Joel

Suburban SF 30 Furnace Troubleshooting and Repair

Chris
Formerly: 2002 30' IB
Re: Suburban Furnace heater won't heat
Reply #3 –
Hi Joel. Sorry to hear your heater won't continue running. After three tries it goes into 'lockout'. Pulling the fuse for a few minutes should reset that and give you some more tries. How long has it been since it last ran? A long time? Check the outside vents with a flashlight to peer inside and see if anything built a nest inside. Your propane is good... One person on the internet had some dirt plugging up the jet hole a bit. His flame would go out, but he could partially block a vent and it would run ok until he took his hand away, and the fan would blow out the flame. A bad thermocouple would have the flame shut off after the flame had been on long enough to get the thermocouple hot. That sounds like it fits your symptoms pretty well.  Hope this might have helped. RonB  Hope to see you in Morro Bay again. Instead of #92, we'll be in #93 this year.
RonB (Bostick) living in San Diego
Original owner of "Bluebelle" a '99 TKB
Re: Suburban Furnace heater won't heat
Reply #4 –
Plenty of troubleshooting and fixes in The Companion.
Don & Dorothy
Sold our LD in June of 2023

Our boring always non-PC travel blog
Traveling Dorothy
 
Re: Suburban Furnace heater won't heat
Reply #6 –
Only problem with 'net' solutions at Fallen Leaf Lake is the lack of 'net'.
Anyway, I left it on overnight, during which time it did nothing.  I shut it off and later restarted it and it worked.   Haven't used it in over a year. Maybe purge line issue.

(sending from County Library)
Joel

Sent from Mail for Windows 10
Joel & Terry Wiley
dog Zeke
2013  31 IB   Orwan   / 2011 CRV Tow'd LWEROVE
Re: Suburban Furnace heater won't heat
Reply #7 –
Quote from: joel wiley  - 
Only problem with 'net' solutions at Fallen Leaf Lake is the lack of 'net'.
Anyway, I left it on overnight, during which time it did nothing.  I shut it off and later restarted it and it worked.   Haven't used it in over a year. Maybe purge line issue.

(sending from County Library)
Joel

Sent from Mail for Windows 10
Ah, Fallen Leaf Lake. A true jewel, and I liked that cell reception was near zero. Spent 35 summers there with the family (not in the LD). Priceless. — Jon
(Former) ‘06 TK “Albatross.” And (former) Vespa 250.   Alas, no more; both are gone.😕 Great memories remain! 😄
Re: Suburban Furnace heater won't heat
Reply #8 –
If it lights and then goes out, it is most likely the flame sensor is dirty. They get dirty and wont complete the flame proof circuit.
They are kind of tricky, do not change any gaps, sometimes compressed air will clean things up.
1994 MB
Re: Suburban Furnace heater won't heat
Reply #9 –
Quote from: Jon & Loni  - 
Ah, Fallen Leaf Lake. A true jewel, and I liked that cell reception was near zero. Spent 35 summers there with the family (not in the LD). Priceless. — Jon
Quote
Wander a whole summer if you can…time will not be taken from the sum of your life.
J. Muir
Joel & Terry Wiley
dog Zeke
2013  31 IB   Orwan   / 2011 CRV Tow'd LWEROVE
Re: Suburban Furnace heater won't heat
Reply #10 –
Back from a pre-Christmas trip to the beach at Bodega Bay.  Heater worked once among about a dozen attempts.  Not a major problem on this trip but heading down US 395 toward Quartzite next month promises to redefine 'nippy'.   I got as far as pulling the outside cover off.  It looks like I have to pull the furnace out to get to the circuit board, and seemed like a good point to ask for advice.  I deferred running the tests in the Suburban troubleshooting manual because 1) I didn't want to tap into the wires at the beach and 2) 95% of the results ended with 'replace board.  I found a couple of online videos for pulling them out of trailers, but given the the trailer construction quality, I was amazed the trailer didn't fall apart.   They said the furnace is secured with a single screw, but that doesn't sound like the LazyDaze way.  I'd appreciate hearing from someone who has done this before I boldly go at it.

I'll wait to order parts until I have a better idea of what I'm getting into.
Joel
I found Dinosaur doesn't sell direct to the public by found them on Amazon,  along with limit and sail switches.  For the extra $18, I figure I should replace them to avoid having to do this again too soon.  
Joel & Terry Wiley
dog Zeke
2013  31 IB   Orwan   / 2011 CRV Tow'd LWEROVE
Re: Suburban Furnace heater won't heat
Reply #11 –
Quote from: joel wiley  - 
Back from a pre-Christmas trip to the beach at Bodega Bay.  Heater worked once among about a dozen attempts.  Not a major problem on this trip but heading down US 395 toward Quartzite next month promises to redefine 'nippy'.  I got as far as pulling the outside cover off.  It looks like I have to pull the furnace out to get to the circuit board, and seemed like a good point to ask for advice.  I deferred running the tests in the Suburban troubleshooting manual because 1) I didn't want to tap into the wires at the beach and 2) 95% of the results ended with 'replace board.  I found a couple of online videos for pulling them out of trailers, but given the the trailer construction quality, I was amazed the trailer didn't fall apart.  They said the furnace is secured with a single screw, but that doesn't sound like the LazyDaze way.  I'd appreciate hearing from someone who has done this before I boldly go at it.

I'll wait to order parts until I have a better idea of what I'm getting into.
Joel
I found Dinosaur doesn't sell direct to the public by found them on Amazon,  along with limit and sail switches.  For the extra $18, I figure I should replace them to avoid having to do this again too soon. 
Suburban SF 30 Furnace Troubleshooting and Repair
Formerly: 2002 30' IB
Re: Suburban Furnace heater won't heat
Reply #12 –
Thanks Chris,  I read thru that post.  Did the repair person have to pull the furnace out to replace the board?  When I looked, it didn't seem like I could reach it.
Joel & Terry Wiley
dog Zeke
2013  31 IB   Orwan   / 2011 CRV Tow'd LWEROVE
Re: Suburban Furnace heater won't heat
Reply #13 –
Quote from: joel wiley  - 
Thanks Chris,  I read thru that post.  Did the repair person have to pull the furnace out to replace the board?  When I looked, it didn't seem like I could reach it.
No.  He got it out very easily. I just looked at the photo again. That curved piece of metal attaches to the 2 screw holes in the fan housing and the board snugs into the left somehow.

Chris
Formerly: 2002 30' IB