Forced Air Heater Problem January 31, 2009, 10:53:52 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98967We have a 2000 30' IB. The heater fan will come on, but there is no heat. This is the first time this has happened. I tried recycling it, and I also turned on the stove burner to make sure that there wasn't air in the propane lines. I would like to access the heater from the outside driver's side to see if anything is wrong. I removed the four screws on the outside cover, and the six screws near the vents. However, as pull back the cover on the front edge, there is a large amount of white caulking holding the vent outlets to the inside vent pipes and preventing the removal of the whole cover. Is this typical Lazy Daze assembly "overkill"? Do I have to remove the caulking to gain access? Or is there something else I can do? I have read about the "sail switch" and I'm wondering if it has become stuck.Thanks for your help!!Kevin Lindsay Garden Grove CA
Re: Forced Air Heater Problem Reply #1 – January 31, 2009, 11:47:51 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98969"The heater fan will come on, but there is no heat."Here are some possibilities, in no particular order: * Low battery voltage (fan runs, but not fast enough to budge the sail switch)* Failure to ignite (carbon or rust on spark electrode is the most common cause)* Stuck sail switch* Too much butane in propane, resulting in low gas pressure (can happen if you fill up in a warm climate and then drive to a cold area)* Blown thermal cutout (can result from running out of propane, or from spiderwebs in burner tube)--see messages a month or two back for info on how to replace this part cheaplyHope this helps!Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/
Re: Forced Air Heater Problem Reply #2 – February 01, 2009, 09:44:31 am Yahoo Message Number: 98971We have a 2000 30' IB. The heater fan will come on, but there is no heat"There is one other possibility, and that is that mud wasps may have chosen to take up residence in your heater. We have heard of this 3 times now.While we have read that it is not advised (by Suburban) to put the mesh grill over the heater outlet vent, I believe that most RVers will now agree that it is a necessity. Mud wasps just love getting in your heater and their nests will cause problems that are really difficult to diagnose. How to determine if your problem? Sorry, I don't know, but I do know this is sometimes a problem with forced air heaters.Let us know what your problem turns out to be,Kate http://cholulared.blogspot.com &http://www.cholulared.com & http://www.flickr.com/photos/83282349@N00/Want to find us? Click below, we're #3096 http://map.datastormusers.com/user1.cfm?user=3096[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Forced Air Heater Problem Reply #3 – February 01, 2009, 10:14:59 am Yahoo Message Number: 98974one more thing that may come into play..the *board* may have gone bad, if your heater is any where near the design as my "vintage" 85. I also believe in So Cal their are certain spiders that like the smell of propane and will build nests in the burner area, but im not sure if we have mud wasps around here.
Re: Forced Air Heater Problem Reply #4 – February 01, 2009, 12:13:32 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98979Quoteone more thing that may come into play..the *board* may have gone bad, if your heater is any where near the design as my "vintage" 85. I also believe in So Cal their are certain spiders that like the smell of propane and will build nests in the burner area, but im not sure if we have mud wasps around here. When we got our '83 in '93, the first problem was an inoperative furnace. The problems were a relay on the circuit board and the microswitch of the sail switch assembly. I cleaned the relay contacts and replaced the microswitch, lubed the squeaky fan motor bearings, and the unit performed flawlessly until this year. This summer I discovered a 'gas' smell from the unit when off, which turned out to be a leaky gas solenoid valve in the unit. I replaced that, and it just keeps on truckin'...Steve
Re: Forced Air Heater Problem Reply #5 – February 01, 2009, 01:38:08 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98981Heat. This is the first time this has happened.>> This recently happened to me as well... It was a failed circuit board and had to have it replaced. They charged me 154.97 for parts and 104.00 for labor for a total price of 270.21Good Luck!Ellen[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Re: Forced Air Heater Problem Reply #6 – February 01, 2009, 07:07:17 pm Yahoo Message Number: 98982If you have to replace the controller board, I suggest a Dinosaur board rather than Suburban's version. The Dinosaur boards are better built and more rugged, according to most folks I've talked with.Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels/