Furnace and gas water heater wont light

[Kbr549p]

Left my 2016 Reflection 313rlst camper for the day with the furnace set to the preset temp (70) we wanted. Came back to a cold camper. I have no idea when it stopped working and how many auto retries may have been attempted, if any.

The furnace fan starts but not getting the little roar that 15 or so seconds later when the furnace is supposed to light. When I flip the switch for the gas water heater nothing happens. Both have been working fine. Propane is on and full. Stove burners put out nice blue flame. Fuse for the furnace looks good and no light on for the furnace fuse. Several days ago I replaced the gas line from the camper to tanks. Heat and gas water have been on and working, until this evening. In the meantime running electric fireplace and space heaters to heat. I have foam skirting to keep the underbelly warmer since i will be staying in the camper through the winter.

What are the recommendations to troubleshoot this? Newbie camper owner here. I would love to find a mobile RV tech (around Charlotte, NC) to address this an other issues I have but they seem hard to find. Help would be greatly appreciated!
. .

[TucsonJim]

Is there any chance that your individual shut off valves were switched to the off position when you were working on the lines? There should be one for each propane appliance. They are mounted along the frame. They look like this:





Jim

[Scott'n'Wendy]

If you check and your appliance valves are on...
How long did you have the stove burner on? They can run for a little while with propane supply off.
It is probably related to your hose replacement somehow. I would start with closing the propane valve, removing the hose and check the tank weight. Maybe there was a leak from hose replacement and you lost a lot of propane?
After that I would look for common causes for both appliances to not work. Such as..how is your battery/12vdc. Maybe low voltage?

Does the furnace produce a clicking sound after the fan has run for 10,15 seconds? If it doesn't...you likely have two issues one being a possible sail sw related problem.

[howson]

Left my 2016 Reflection 313rlst camper for the day with the furnace set to the preset temp (70) we wanted. Came back to a cold camper. I have no idea when it stopped working and how many auto retries may have been attempted, if any.

The furnace fan starts but not getting the little roar that 15 or so seconds later when the furnace is supposed to light. When I flip the switch for the gas water heater nothing happens. Both have been working fine. Propane is on and full. Stove burners put out nice blue flame. Fuse for the furnace looks good and no light on for the furnace fuse. Several days ago I replaced the gas line from the camper to tanks. Heat and gas water have been on and working, until this evening. In the meantime running electric fireplace and space heaters to heat. I have foam skirting to keep the underbelly warmer since i will be staying in the camper through the winter.

What are the recommendations to troubleshoot this? Newbie camper owner here. I would love to find a mobile RV tech (around Charlotte, NC) to address this an other issues I have but they seem hard to find. Help would be greatly appreciated!
. .

A few resources on this forum:

Furnace Troubleshooting By Timing
Furnace Troubleshooting

Give those threads a read and post back here or in those threads if there's a specific question.

Howard

P.S. I found the threads by doing an Advanced Search for threads tagged as "Reference Library" in the HVAC channel. Not sure how to search for a Reference Library thread? Covered in the Forum Use channel.

[Kbr549p]

I am familiar with the battery/voltage issue since the battery drain I had weeks before was due to a failed power converter I have since replaced. When the battery got too low the furnace would not ignite. Interesting that I have the same symptoms.

Thanks for the troubleshooting links. I checked the display and I have 4 lights indicating a full power/charge. The battery shows 100%/13.2v which is what it has been showing since replacing the power converter and the same levels when all was working. The gas line I replaced 6 days ago has worked. Both the furnace and gas water were functioning with the new replacement line. The two 30lb tanks are each 1/2 to 3/4 full. The gas stove is functioning normally. All burners are working, flames are good running for several minutes.

I timed the furnace and 30 seconds elapsed when it went off. I made a poor time estimate included in my original email. I would not know if the furnace went through all the cycles and then lock-up. But what exactly is lock up and how do you unlock it?

I will look for the sail switch on the furnace which is behind my power panel in a hutch. I suspect getting to the sail switch will be some work. Isn't the sail switch exclusive to the furnace?

I did not touch any valves along the frame but will look for those to see if any of these got tweaked somehow.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

I will look for the sail switch on the furnace which is behind my power panel in a hutch. I suspect getting to the sail switch will be some work. Isn't the sail switch exclusive to the furnace?

It is exclusive to the furnace. Listen for a clicking (ignition spark) at the furnace...if you hear it and no ignition...you have no gas at the furnace. Which would then reasonably suggest the water heater isn't getting gas either.

[Jkwilson]

Many gas appliances will try to ignite three times.if the third try fails, the appliance is locked out and needs to have power removed before it will even try to light. Easiest thing to do is pull the fuse for a minute and then put it back and try again.

[howson]

Kbr549p

Cycle the thermostat to Off, then back to Heat to unlock the lockout.

Howard

[Kbr549p]

I left the furnace off all morning. Fired up the furnace again, I am not getting a click/ignition spark. 30 seconds and it shuts off. What is involved to gain access behind this hutch bottom where the furnace is?

[Scott'n'Wendy]

You access from the out side, but I'm not familiar with your exact model of trailer.
Nice decorations by the way.

[BlueSky]

Whenever I troubleshoot a problem I start with 'what's changed' and then identify any common cause failure modes if there are multiple problems. My initial thought was the furnace and hot water heater problems were related (common cause failure) but they don't appear to be based on what you've done so far. Your furnace problems appear to be air flow related which is a permissive for the gas valve to open and the ignitor to energize. It's likely the sail switch but I'd also suggest checking for anything that would cause restriction in the air flow (fan, ducting, etc). The furnace can be accessed from both the outside and inside of the RV.......on your model I'm not sure exactly where the sail switch is located so I can't help with that. I'm really curious if it is indeed the sail switch or turns out to be something else.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Well, I wasn't expecting that. I was expecting it to click and lack of gas being the culprit...to both appliances.
But...are the hot water heater and furnace air inlets close to each other on the outside? Is it possible airways for both got compromised?....something like leaves blown into them at the same time?
Before disassembling stuff, you need to think about anything common. Actually, you said the battery voltage is reading good at the monitor. Do you have a handheld meter? Could you check it at the furnace?

[Lonestar]

Before disassembling stuff, you need to think about anything common. Actually, you said the battery voltage is reading good at the monitor. Do you have a handheld meter? Could you check it at the furnace?

In addition to checking the voltage, wouldn't it be a good idea to check the gas pressure at the furnace before tearing into it? Sure might save some time and work.

[howson]

In addition to checking the voltage, wouldn't it be a good idea to check the gas pressure at the furnace before tearing into it? Sure might save some time and work.

Yep--could be the regulator, too. Could be oil in the gas line, too. Lots of possibilities.

Most likely the OP has gotten professional help at this point. Hope they come back and inform us what fixed the issue.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

In addition to checking the voltage, wouldn't it be a good idea to check the gas pressure at the furnace before tearing into it? Sure might save some time and work.

It might....But the stove works and the furnace doesn't even try to light. Even with no gas the furnace should at least try to ignite. It's what makes me wonder if it's a voltage problem...maybe grounding.