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chrisfinncjf

Broke down, AGAIN!

Went to run the furnace to take off the morning chill the other day and the fuse in the thermostat blew :( I replaced the fuse and ran the air conditioner no problem. I then put an ammeter into the circuit to see what was happening when the furnace ran and the current spiked and blew a fuse again. Interesting is that the furnace fan would first start, burner would then kick in, and 10 seconds later the current would spike and the fuse would blow.

I figured the problem was with the furnace control board and even though it's under warranty it would just be easier to fix it myself. The furnace is located under the fridge and has no outside access panel. I pulled off the interior cover to the furnace and the control board is located on the outside wall and is only accessible if you pull the furnace out. Not that big of deal except that it looks like there is no slack in the wiring that would allow you the pull the furnace out (got to love how they build these RVs without considering maintenance). At this point I'm thinking of letting a dealer deal with this mess. Check with the dealer and they are booked out 4 weeks but I was assured that there is slack in the wiring if I wanted to fix it myself.

I ordered the control board from Amazon and got the board 2 days later. I turned off the gas, disconnected the gas line, removed the duct work, and proceed to slide out the furnace....... as predicted, no slack in the wiring. Job just got more complicated! I decided to reach in and cut the 4 wires running to the furnace so I could at least removed the unit. I replaced the control board but also found a over-temp sensor wire that was laying on the chimney tube and was slightly melted. Check with the ohm meter confirmed that the insulation had melted thru to the wire. Likely that this is the true cause of the failure and not the control board but given the hassle of pulling out the furnace I just replaced the board and fixed the wire.

Before installing the unit back into place I created a wiring harness extension and also included connectors so if the furnace has to ever be pulled again it will be an easier job.

Furnace is back on-line and functioning. The issue of scheduling of repairs when on the road just emphasizes to me how worthless warranties are unless you have a major mechanical issue.


'Furnace under the fridge and the wiring extension.





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