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Topic: 87 Foretravel grand villa (Read 936 times) previous topic - next topic

87 Foretravel grand villa

Purchasing 86 Grand Villa all circuits are on. furnace fan will not turn on. I'm thinking it's something simple.

Re: 87 Foretravel grand villa

Reply #1 –
The blower may be stuck . If the fire lights, the blower should have power . Give it a gentle kick.    Is this the unit in Brooksville,FL. Very nice .. About 12 miles from my shop.

Re: 87 Foretravel grand villa

Reply #2 –
NO, if no/inadequate air flow, the SAIL SWITCH will not close so the furnace will not light.

Lighting sequence is:

Fan comes on

Sail switch closes and signals the PC board

PC board THEN opens the gas valve and activates the ignitor.
Brett Wolfe
EX: 1993 U240
Moderator, ForeForum 2001-
Moderator Diesel RV Club 2002-
Moderator, FMCA Forum 2009-2020
Chairman FMCA Technical Advisory Committee 2011-2020

Re: 87 Foretravel grand villa

Reply #3 –
If you decide to try a new control board, get the one from Dinosaur.  They are much superior to the OEM manufacturer board.

Dinosaur Electronics Home. High quality circuit boards for RV appliances.
1993 U280 SE 40' WTBI, Build: 4359
C8.3 300hp, 6-Speed, Exhaust Brake
960 watts on the roof (6 x 160)
Sorento (or BOLT) on a Kar Kaddy SS
"Nature abhors a vacuum"

Re: 87 Foretravel grand villa

Reply #4 –
Ok thanks guys thanks.  not in Florida

Re: 87 Foretravel grand villa

Reply #5 –
Make sure there is 12 volts to the thermostat and that the contacts of the thermostat are passing 12 volts to the furnace which has a time delay that will not start the fan for several seconds.
previous 1984 35 ft ORED 250 HP 3208 Cat       
previous 1998 40 ft U295 CAI 325 hp Cummins
previous 2003 40 Ft u320 build #6140 450 Cummins M11.                                                         
1999 Mazda Miata
Ron, Nancy, Tipper the cat, Max The dog
1997 U 270 36 ft build number 5174 8.3 Cummins

Re: 87 Foretravel grand villa

Reply #6 –
If you are talking about the front furnace the 12V is pigtailed off some other device. I don't recall what it is but once you find another 12V device not working, start there. Could even be a fuse. On my '94 it's the couch lamp but I don't recall on my '87.

Also I've had to turn off and on the thermostat a lot of times (30) before it finally lighted. You can hear the clicks.
1994 U280, Build 4490
Deming, NM.

Re: 87 Foretravel grand villa

Reply #7 –
On this age coach (or any coach with standard heater) first thing you should look at is to see if you have a good ground. Clean the grounding lug and the metal where it terminates and try again.

Mike
Pamela & Mike 97 U 320

"It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters."

Re: 87 Foretravel grand villa

Reply #8 –
Quote from: Richard11 –
Purchasing 86 Grand Villa all circuits are on. furnace fan will not turn on. I'm thinking it's something simple.
First, Good for you!

The rivets in the mechanical thermostats become corroded with time and will not pass current. Checking for voltage at the wires is a good place to start, and if all is well there and twisting the wires together doesn't bring joy, removing the cover over the fan will allow you to try turning the fan by hand. Dinosaur Electronics also carries a solid state time delay relay.

Just to expand on Brett's time line,
Thermostat closes sending electricity through the time delay relay.  After that relay warms up it closes and allows current to flow through the fan motor.  Once the fan is up to speed the sail switch closes sending current to the control board.  After a suitable electronic delay to allow any built up explosive gases to be purged from the burner, the control board open the gas valve and provides high voltage to the ignition points in the burner.  It's pretty easy to follow the power with a volt meter.
1992 Foretravel Grand Villa
U225 SBID Build No. 4134
1986 Rockwood Driftwood
1968 S.I.A.T.A. Spring
1962 Studebaker Lark
1986 Honda VF700C
1983 Honda VF750C
Charlie, the Dog was broken out of jail 24 Oct 2023
N1RPN
AA1OH (H)e who must be obeyed.

Re: 87 Foretravel grand villa

Reply #9 –
When we got our coach the front furnace was intermittent.  One time it would work fine - next time it wouldn't.  When it didn't work, the fan would come on but the burner would fail to light.  When that happened, the fan would continue running constantly (blowing cold air out the heater ducts) until I finally turned the thermostat switch to OFF.

I solved the problem by (first) replacing the rusted-out burner tube, and then (second) replacing the control board with a Dinosaur.  Furnace has worked flawlessly ever since.

The Dinosaur board will try 3 times to light the fire before it gives up.  This is handy if you have not used the heater for several moths.  Seems like the gas can sometimes take a while to get to the furnace burner after a long period of inactivity.

Need Hydro Flame Furnace Burner
1993 U280 SE 40' WTBI, Build: 4359
C8.3 300hp, 6-Speed, Exhaust Brake
960 watts on the roof (6 x 160)
Sorento (or BOLT) on a Kar Kaddy SS
"Nature abhors a vacuum"

Re: 87 Foretravel grand villa

Reply #10 –
Quote from: Chuck & Jeannie –

The Dinosaur board will try 3 times to light the fire before it gives up.  This is handy if you have not used the heater for several moths.  Seems like the gas can sometimes take a while to get to the furnace burner after a long period of inactivity.

Need Hydro Flame Furnace Burner

Chuck and Jeannie forget to add that after the Dinosaur board gives up it turns off the fan, waits one hour and tries again.  If the batteries are low, that hour's rest may give you enough voltage for one more furnace run.  Handy at 3:00 AM when you really don't want to get out of bed to fire up the generator.
1992 Foretravel Grand Villa
U225 SBID Build No. 4134
1986 Rockwood Driftwood
1968 S.I.A.T.A. Spring
1962 Studebaker Lark
1986 Honda VF700C
1983 Honda VF750C
Charlie, the Dog was broken out of jail 24 Oct 2023
N1RPN
AA1OH (H)e who must be obeyed.