Furnace doesn't light in cold weather

[Marshfly]

On my last trip to the mountains I had an issue with the furnace. If I turned it on before it got cold at night it would light fine. If we just slept in the bags all night and tried to light it in the morning to knock the chill out, it would never light. The fan would run and you could hear the igniter clicking but you would never hear the whoosh of it lighting. It would attempt to light a few times then kick the fan off by itself. Any ideas of what's wrong? What should I check?

Just now it lit fine while in my 65ish degree garage.

 

[MarkBC]

My furnace had symptoms that sound the same as yours, except that I didn't notice the correlation with cold temperatures.
The thermostat turned the fan on and then I could hear the igniter clicking, but nothing lit, and after a couple of attempts by the igniter the furnace gave up trying.
In the case of my furnace it was determined (by an RV shop) to be a bad propane valve -- it wasn't opening -- and that's why nothing lit -- no propane was flowing to light. The shop guy said this was very rare, a failed valve. The fix was to replace the valve, and that did the trick.
Maybe...your valve only sticks and doesn't open when it's cold?

 

[Smokecreek1]

Me too! In the morning , I hit the thermostat switch, if the furnace doesn't kick right in, I jump out of the camper, run to the front of the truck, start it truck and the furnace lights off! Of late though, I have a new blue top batt, and a solar panel, so my batt is usually in the green (unless I really used the heater that night) instead of the yellow or worse in the morning and the furnace lights off most of the time on the first try-but I'm always ready to start the truck. Over the years, I had to buy a robe to wear in civilized areas for my morning run to the front of the truck ! So for me the battery is the key and just another part of the learning process for owning a FWC.

Smoke

 

[MarkBC]

In the morning I hit the thermostat switch, if the furnace doesn't kick right in, I jump out of the camper, run to the front of the truck, start it truck and the furnace lights off! ...

When my furnace did this behavior -- related to low battery -- the igniter was not clicking. The cause of this behavior is that the fan is not turning fast enough (due to the low battery) to move enough air to activate the sail switch, so the furnace gave up before it tried to ignite.

 

[Smokecreek1]

Sounds good to me, but does the same problem hold true with your Wave furnace too? and/or is this a generic problem with all furnaces? I've been thinking of joining the gang and getting a Wave furnace so this might be an important question for me down the road. Thanks!

Smoke

 

[Marshfly]

When I had the vent covers off I read that you are supposed to run the fan for five minutes without the propane on prior to opening the propane valve. I wasn't doing that. Could that be the issue.

For more clues, even running the stove for a couple of minutes to purge the propane lines wouldn't allow it to light. How would I test the internal valve on the furnace to see if that is the problem?

 

[MarkBC]

When I had the vent covers off I read that you are supposed to run the fan for five minutes without the propane on prior to opening the propane valve. I wasn't doing that. Could that be the issue?

I've never heard that and haven't done that...so I doubt it -- don't know.

For more clues, even running the stove for a couple of minutes to purge the propane lines wouldn't allow it to light. How would I test the internal valve on the furnace to see if that is the problem?

I can imagine ways to test for propane flow...lighting a match comes to mind. But I wouldn't recommend it. I didn't find out what the problem was until I took it to a professional.

 

[MarkBC]

Sounds good to me, but does the same problem hold true with your Wave furnace too? and/or is this a generic problem with all furnaces? I've been thinking of joining the gang and getting a Wave furnace so this might be an important question for me down the road. Thanks!

Smoke

We shouldn't get off-topic from the original purpose of this thread, so I'll just quickly say that the Waves don't have a fan and don't use electricity. Let's take further discussion about the Wave heater off-line or add to an existing Wave thread.

 

[craig333]

I just ran out to make sure mine worked. It did. Most of the time mine won't light its due to low voltage. I have had the regulator freeze up.

 

[Marshfly]

It's not low voltage. I've had it not work in the morning then work 3 hours later after it heated up. I've also had it not work one cold evening after driving all day charging. Also,I can hear the igniter clicking.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

Have you tried the reset switch yet?

On the outside of the camper there is a cover over the furnace.

Remove the 4 screws, gently pull the cover off, and look for a small toggle switch.

Switch it one way, then back to the original setting.

See if that works?

I have a feeling that might not solve it though if the fan is running & and the furnace is trying to light (clicking) .

That would most likely mean it's not getting propane for some reason.

Are the other propane appliances working?

 

[Marshfly]

The stove works fine and the furnace only doesn't work intermittently. I hate intermittent problems. Especially ones that only manifest themselves in conditions that I can't replicate in South Louisiana. Haha.

I'm going to attempt to pull the propane valve and see if maybe it's sticking or something.

 

[norcalhawk]

This is very interesting and what a coincidence. Just last night I was camping in Lassen NP, cold out, temp at ~32 degrees F and somewhat windy. Flipped my furnace switch and the fan turned on as it always has, but no heat. The clicking sound continues ~every 5 sec. or so as it attempted to ignite, but it never did. This furnace failure was a first for me and I have used my furnace prior to this event several times w/o incident. My batteries were in the green zone, all fuses good, one overhead LED light turned on, however when I tested my range the flames seemed weak, but they did light. So, I threw another blanket on.

Now at home... and I did a test and all is good. I have heat and the range lights up with good flames. I think I will still look behind the outside furnace cover as Stan suggested...curious now.

 

[Marshfly]

This is very interesting and what a coincidence. Just last night I was camping in Lassen NP, cold out, temp at ~32 degrees F and somewhat windy. Flipped my furnace switch and the fan turned on as it always has, but no heat. The clicking sound continues ~every 5 sec. or so as it attempted to ignite, but it never did. This furnace failure was a first for me and I have used my furnace prior to this event several times w/o incident. My batteries were in the green zone, all fuses good, one overhead LED light turned on, however when I tested my range the flames seemed weak, but they did light. So, I threw another blanket on.Now at home... and I did a test and all is good. I have heat and the range lights up with good flames. I think I will still look behind the outside furnace cover as Stan suggested...curious now.

That was the same with me. It worked fine for 1.5 weeks of a 2.5 week trip. Then started acting up. That was this summer. I knew that i had no way to trace the problem down in south Louisiana in the summer so I just forgot about it. Now that we might do something for thanksgiving, I need it fixed.

 

[pvstoy]

Cold temps, Weak flame on stove. Pressure from tank through the regulator could have a problem. Don't rule out the tank (what's inside) or the pressure regulator to deliver the proper pressure to the furnance. Low pressure the furnance will say I'm not lighting. Higher the elevation you are the more it will show the problem. That's why it may work at home but....................

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

This topic is interesting.I haven't had a problem,so far,with my heater.The places where we have used it have been mostly Yellowstone.The campgrounds there are about 7.000',so don't know if the altitude would be a problem.
One thing that comes to mind,the members who are having problems do you have a 3 way fridge?
I do.Maybe by having one the flow of propane is closer to the furnace.Does the propane over time leak out of the line when the furnace is shut off?
I know that when I light the 3 way after it has been off for a while it takes a few trys before the propane starts to reach it.
Just some rambling thoughts.
Will keep an eye on this post to see what proves out with the problems.
Frank

 

[Marshfly]

I've got an Engel. No 3-way stove here. We are thinking about running to big bend for thanksgiving. I'll give it a shot them and see if I can replicate the problem.