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Topic: Furnace circuit breaker (Read 877 times) previous topic - next topic

Furnace circuit breaker

My zone 1 furnace will not turn on (no fan or heat).  Is there a circuit breaker that I can check?  I might have caused the problem due to my getting the zone and mode button mixed up and cycling thru the settings before I realized my mistake.  The zone 2 furnace works and the zone 1 furnace worked before I hit the wrong button two times. 
Terry
Terry and Cheryl Brown
1997 U295 36'
Build #5066
2006 Jeep TJ Rubicon
1993 BMW R100 GSPD

Re: Furnace circuit breaker

Reply #1
If the front furnace won't work, check for a small switch on the bay door that might be open. On our 36' CAI, the driver side door on the big bay must be closed for the front furnace to work. It prevents the hot exhaust from being blown directly on the door if it is not closed. Sometimes the switch is not adjusted properly.

That's probably not the issue in your case, but it could happen.
J D Stevens
1997 U295 CAI 36' Build #5085
2002 Subaru Outback
Motorcade 16869
Bellville, TX

Re: Furnace circuit breaker

Reply #2
There is a small pop out style breaker mounted on our Atwood 85 series.  You might check and see if this is tripped, and also look for a blown 12v fuse in panel inside.  I can't swear to it, but when I was working on my furnace last week I seem to remember the blower would cycle on even with the control board unplugged so don't be too quick to assume board needs replacement.

Chuck
"Not so  long ago we were a nation of risk takers, riding five million pounds of  thrust straight into space."  Joe Gresh
Chuck Pearson
1996 U295
2018 Can Am X3 TurboRS

Re: Furnace circuit breaker

Reply #3
Terry,
You could swap the controll board with the rear furnace to confirm the condition of the front board.
John Duld
1995 U320C SE 40'

Re: Furnace circuit breaker

Reply #4
Terry,

Did you get your furnace to work? When posting signature shows year & model, it is easier to offer advice.

Re: Furnace circuit breaker

Reply #5
Ok, my 2 cents.....
Just after purchase of my coach; one of the great techs at Oregon Motorcoach Center, in Eugene, Oregon/where I had dropped it off, said to me..............(if I remember this all correctly-yesterdays lunch is tough... but)...?

If you play with this thermostat (mine is a 2001....Duo Therm by Dometic- Comfort Control) 3"x4" unit near the drivers seat. Do NOT play with temperature differences... beyond 2 degrees or maybe it was 4..............if you try to move the temps more, the unit will lock you out for a couple of hours.

I have nothing to show for this input other than words passed on to me...... maybe an other can check it out or verify it.
ron
Coach Build # 5862/40'/2001/U320/Motorcader 17136

Re: Furnace circuit breaker

Reply #6
If the front furnace won't work, check for a small switch on the bay door that might be open. On our 36' CAI, the driver side door on the big bay must be closed for the front furnace to work. It prevents the hot exhaust from being blown directly on the door if it is not closed. Sometimes the switch is not adjusted properly.

That's probably not the issue in your case, but it could happen.

I opened and closed the bay door and everything works as new.  Thanks for the info.  I now have furnace heat in zone 1.
Terry
Terry and Cheryl Brown
1997 U295 36'
Build #5066
2006 Jeep TJ Rubicon
1993 BMW R100 GSPD

Re: Furnace circuit breaker

Reply #7
Hi,

Your suggestion of a temperature ' lock out' of your Dometic 4 button Comfort Control thermostat...are you sure this is what is happening? I have never seen this before. Instead I would believe the push button's switches are intermittently faulty. It is very common for these switches to go bad. Sadly, Dometic no longer supports/repairs these problems; instead they now suggest that you upgrade ($) to their 5 button thermostat to cure the problem. You might check the commercial section of this forum for the repair.
Jim Frerichs
2002 U320 42'

Re: Furnace circuit breaker

Reply #8
Terry, if you need to repair your controller, send it to " Dinosaur Electronics" before you buy a new 5 button unit. They have a web site with info and phone number.
 Regarde, Richard B.
Richard & Betty Bark & Keiko our Golden Doodle
2003 U320T 3820 PBDS
Build # 6215
MC # 16926
2016 Chevrolet Colorado 4X4 diesel

Re: Furnace circuit breaker

Reply #9
Capehorn's coach had the thermostat and controller upgrade in 2011.
Rick & Rhonda
2003 U320 4220  Build #6199
Was
91 36' GV 300 Caterpillar, 92 40' U280 300 Cummins, 97 36' U295 300 Cummins, 2002
U320 450 Cummins
(Guess we're hooked)

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Re: Furnace circuit breaker

Reply #10
Terry and all,

The Dometic 4 button thermostat requires a 12 volt signal from the furnace to be present. If the word "furnace" does not appear on the thermostat display for that zone, you might check to see if the fuse/circuit breaker for that furnace has popped.

Also if the on/off switch is faulty (or has a cold solder joint to the circuit board), you usually will notice the display is blanking off momentarily. This will reset the initial delay of normal operation. Simply wiggling the power switch should demonstrate this problem.

The time-delay circuit components in these older thermostats also can become weak and the turn-on time becomes noticeably longer. This problem is readily repairable as well. Send a PM to me for more information.
Jim Frerichs
2002 U320 42'

Re: Furnace circuit breaker

Reply #11
Hi Terry,
  Jim Frerichs, our member who replied here, offers excellent repairs on these thermostats, and Aqua-Hot electronic controllers. He is, as he says, in the commercial section of this forum. He never pushes his services.
Raymond & Babette Jordan
1997 U 320
1998 Ford Explorer XLT