Ongoing Furnace Issues

[jjdeluca]

So we've been having issues with the furnace in our new 5.0 since the day we picked it up @ Escape back in March.
The furnace starts up just fine & will run until it reaches temperature, then shuts down, as it should. However once the trailer cools down the furnace goes into "failure mode" & never comes back on (I get the single flashing light, every 3 seconds, indicating "air flow" issue).

The first time it happened (day 1) we returned to Escape & had them check everything out. They replaced the sail switch & thermostat, drilled additional holes in the cabinet below the furnace & checked all wiring. However on our trip back home the problem persisted. (I've also tried removing the flex duct altogether & running the furnace, but it still doesn't fix the problem).

In April, the Escape technician suggested another possible solution was to re-route the two blue wires to the limit switch, which I did and had hoped would solve the problem, but no luck - we just returned from a 3 week trip to Yellowstone, Glacier & Banff & had furnace issues the entire trip.

So, more calls to Escape yesterday. The tech says that he doubts it's the circuit board and the only other likely things it might be are the limit switch, or the propane regulator (as another forum member mentioned in a previous post). He's sending a message to Jasmine in After Sales to get me set up with a local service shop here in California so we can check it our further.

I also spoke with tech support @ Dometic and they suggested having the furnace bench tested to determine if it's a furnace issue, as opposed to an installation issue, or some other problem with the trailer. So, hopefully once I hear back from Escape we can get that scheduled with a local repair shop as well.

Being that it's 111 degrees F here in Elk Grove today, the furnace isn't an urgent issue, but I'd sure like to figure out the problem & get it fixed. - I'll report back as I get any new info.
Jim

 

[Rockhead]

Check you propane pressure. Several of us had the same issues and just changed our propane regulator out to a Marshall regulator and have had any more issue except cleaning the sail switch every now n then due dust and pet hair. Be cheaper than getting a bench test . Worth a try. Regulator is $69.00 on Amazon

 

[jjdeluca]

Thanks Rockhead - Yes we're planning to have the propane regulator & limit switch both checked out by a local service shop, under warranty. I realize that the regulator @ $69, is a fairly inexpensive item but I'm reluctant to start ordering parts for a brand new trailer until we're sure we know what the problem is. If both the regulator & limit switch check out then I'll push to have Escape pay for the "bench test".
Jim

 

[Rockhead]

I fully understand about not throwing money around.i went thru what you are going todo on testing. They changed out the sail switch twice n one board. Said it was fixed. First trip to the mountains no heat. Changed out the regulator and have had no more issues since 2019. Hope your issues gets resolved quickly

 

[jjdeluca]

Furnace update

Sorry for the delayed update but here goes:

Back in August, none of the local RV repair shops were able to check the furnace in a timely manner, so I had asked Escape to send a new propane regulator & limit switch, which they did. Unfortunately, neither solved the problem.

I also replaced the flex duct with a rigid metal duct, again with no improvement.

Finally, I decided to order a Dinousar Electronics circuit board (recommended in another Escape Forum thread). Installed the new board and also changed the sail switch (again) and furnace has been working fine ever since.

The kicker is, I put the old board back in and furnace continued working fine.....so, it appears that it WAS the sail switch all along! (Since ETI had replaced the sail switch the day after we took possession in March, I had ruled it out as the problem, but apparently the first two sail switches were defective.)

In any case, I reinstalled the Dinosaur board & will keep the original board as a back-up.
Jim

 

[marsman]

Actually as soon as I read your first thread, I was thinking sail switch. When our first switch failed I had two replacements that I had bought from Escape when we purchased the trailer, the first one worked for a couple of days and the second one didn't work; figured I might have a more serious issue. But I went onto Amazon and ordered 4 more new sail switches. When I changed out the switch for one of the new ones it worked-the furnace has continued working for a full season since. These bloody switches I believe are just a poor design.

 

[splitting_lanes]

I changed the sail switch and had the same problem…. So I tweaked the sail on the switch and put it back in and it’s worked perfectly since. When the heater shuts down, as the fan spins down, you can hear the clicking of the sail switch as it contacts the fan. I slightly over tweaked it, but it’s worked great for a couple years, so I don’t want to mess with it again!

 

[Ron in BC]

I'm curious. When my friends E17 was brand new he had furnace issues. ETI told him that they had started to drill some air supply holes in the plywood base that the furnace sits on because it needed more air flow.

Does yours have ventilation holes drilled beside it on both sides or have they stopped doing that?

Ron

 

[jjdeluca]

I'm curious. When my friends E17 was brand new he had furnace issues. ETI told him that they had started to drill some air supply holes in the plywood base that the furnace sits on because it needed more air flow.

Does yours have ventilation holes drilled beside it on both sides or have they stopped doing that?

Ron

Ours didn’t initially have any holes but when we returned to the factory on day 2 with furnace problems they did drill some ventilation holes from the bottom of the cabinet below the furnace register.