22 replies to this topic

[rustyshackleford55]

Hey everyone, not sure the model but its a 2018 FWC Hawk Atwood furnace.

 

I noticed that when the furnace has been running for several hours, in cold weather ( below 10 degrees ) that eventually the furnace stops firing the ignition.

 

I don't hear "click click click". The fan comes on for 10-20 seconds, and then goes off. 

 

If I turn the furnace off for an hour or so, and retry, the furnace fires right up. So it seems like the furnace is in some sort of state that is preventing the ignition from firing.

 

Any ideas?

[Advmoto18]

One of several things...

1. No propane to burner - for whatever reason, even intermittent

2. Open external access door and check that the aluminum tube does not have a bird's nest or other debris in it

3. T-Stat failed. Can pick one up at any RV supply store for ~$15. The T-Stat is in the compartment behind the external access door; behind the black foam.

4. Behind the external access door is the potted circuit board. If it fails the entire thing must be replaced. This happened to me on a trip and I had Amazon drop ship one to me on-the-road. Rather than point you to the one I bought, best to enter your Attwood furnace model into Amazon's search window to make sure you get the right unit.

My troubleshooting went as follows...
Propane gas - check
No debris in unit - check
Replaced T-stat - no help, unit still inoperable
Replaced potted circuit board - unit works fine

I have no idea what caused the board to fail. But 2 nights in sub-freezing temps in northern AZ, in the snow, was enough for us and I paid for overnight Amazon delivery.

Edited by Advmoto18, 19 March 2019 - 10:07 PM.

[pvstoy]

Hey everyone, not sure the model but its a 2018 FWC Hawk Atwood furnace.

 

I noticed that when the furnace has been running for several hours, in cold weather ( below 10 degrees ) that eventually the furnace stops firing the ignition.

 

I don't hear "click click click". The fan comes on for 10-20 seconds, and then goes off. 

 

If I turn the furnace off for an hour or so, and retry, the furnace fires right up. So it seems like the furnace is in some sort of state that is preventing the ignition from firing.

 

Any ideas?

 

Just to add... it is a 2018 model, are you within the warranted period with FWC?

 

If so I would be contacting them for a solution also.

Edited by pvstoy, 19 March 2019 - 10:26 PM.

[Advmoto18]

Just to add... it is a 2018 model, are you within the warranted period with FWC?

 

If so I would be contacting them for a solution also.

Mine was under warranty as well when it failed.  

 

If you read FWC's fine print, you are only covered by Atwood's warranty, no extra warranty from FWC.

 

And Atwood has a notorious reputation fulfilling warranty claims.  My calls to them were nothing more then wasted time and frustration.  Getting the furnace up and operating was paramount to my wife's happiness so I repaired the unit on my own dime as quickly as I could.

 

A northern AZ FWC dealer was unable to help, but, offered every tool I needed and didn't have.  The local RV dealer carrying Atwood products had a 6 week backlog to simply troubleshoot the unit.

 

The unit is very simple in design.  The problem can can almost always be traced to the T-Stat or potted circuit board. 

[rando]

This is a real reflection on the sad state of affairs in the RV industry and in particular QC and customer service.  Unfortunately FWC has subscribed to this bogus sub-contracting of warranties.   

 

If the alternator in my Tacoma has an issue, Toyota addresses it, not Denso, and they do promptly and give me a loaner vehicle while mine is in the shop.   If the hard drive on my laptop is flakey,  Apple doesn't send me to Samsung to fix it, they fix it in store or give me a new laptop.  The idea that the components in your camper are warrantied by their manufacturers is passing the buck. 

 

But back to the problem at hand - how is your battery?  The ignitor draws a bit of current and if you have a battery that gets weak in the cold, it may be enough to trip the low voltage shutoff (if the furnace has one).   Once the battery rests for a while it may come back enough to start another cycle. 

[pvstoy]

Thanks for putting that in perspective.  It is a real eye opener as what falls on the owner to do.  I find that the middle man that is having the problem does all the work and keeps the ball rolling just to have something fixed or problem solved.  A lot of hours you don't get paid for.

 

I did forget about low battery voltage.

[camelracer]

Try checking your battery voltage when this happens. If after running for several hours the voltage may drop enough so the fan doesn't run fast enough to engage the sail switch.

[Happyjax]

When I first started researching truck campers I was astounded by the concept of paying $20-$40,000.00 for something and have the builder hand you a bunch of manuals so you could contact the maker of that particular product when you have issues.....really people?

 

This is only allowed because we the buyers allow it. If we refused to purchase under those restrictions the builders would have to acquiesce and do their damn job!

[Advmoto18]

Good point about battery voltage.

 

But if you're running the house battery(ies) (other than LiFePO4) below 50% capacity, ~12.1V, you're killing your battery and vastly reducing its lifespan.  You will be replacing the house battery every 12 months or perhaps sooner based on use and continual deep state of discharge.

Edited by Advmoto18, 20 March 2019 - 12:12 PM.

[Advmoto18]

Regarding FWC warranty, or lack thereof for installed components, I did not know that was the case until after I took delivery.  I think most buyers are not aware of this because we didn't know to ask the question.

 

But, I wholeheartedly agree that if an installed component fails, one should be able to take the camper to any FWC dealer and get the component repaired or replaced if still under component manufacturer's warranty.  Dealers should be carrying things like T-Stats and potted circuit boards for the furnace and perform the required maintenance for the owner.

 

But, current practice will not change until owners and prospective buyers demand change.  After all, it will only diminish FWC's bottom line resulting in increased prices for buyers of new units.