1996 Nomad heater won't stay lit

[marknoo]

If I turn the furnace on the blower starts, standing outside near the exhaust I hear the igniter click, hot air comes out of the exhaust for a moment, then stops. The blower is continuous.

The heater has not been used since last winter.

Also, when I opened the hatch to inspect the heater, I went in and started the heater,  it started and kept going for a good 15-20 minutes, but this morning it is back to 1 click, an ignition, and then it goes out.

That is the other thing, I hear only 1 click for the heater, when it goes out it should be trying to start it three times. so 3 clicks.

It is in a 1996 Nomad, I had the board checked about 2 years ago and it was fine but they could have changed.

Atwood 8525 III DCLP

Thanks for any guidance

 

[BIG JOE]

Give all the spade connectors under the hatch a wiggle. especially the one from & to the igniter. If the Heater hasn't been used in a year.. you may have a corroded/intermittent connection ?

Both Propane tanks full ? Switch from one tank to the other.

Again.. if it hasn't used, it may take several more tries.. to purge any air from the propane supply line.

And.. If it's the OEM igniter..It's now 20 years old ?

Joe

 

[marknoo]

Thank you, I just blew it out and I will do all that you said and update on this post. I just wanted to say Thanks right away for your help. Instead of later.

I wiggled the connectors all around, and took off and put back on all that I could get to. There is a 4 or 5 pin connector that goes to the board that had a lot of fuzz inside. I also turned on the second propane tank to insure there were no pressure problems.

I got it turned on and it has been going for 10 minutes or so.
(I also learned that it does not try to ignite 3 times  only, for me it went up to 5 ignition cycles before it turned on.

However, it caused the thermostat to go blank, its a digital readout and it stopped working, there was no blown fuse and when I checked the voltage to the thermostat terminals it read 12.35.

I bought another thermostat, not a digital, one of those kinds that has a slider on the top and the degrees that you want the heater to heat to below. (old school stuff, like I grew up with in the 80s)

I hooked it up, it shows 12.35 at the terminals, there are only 2 wires, a white and red, so I didn't mess that up, but still no fan will start. I don't know what to think.

I took back the thermostat, bought another one, hooked it up and it started. it also cycles on and off now just as it should.
I did learn that if you twist the 2 leads (in my case, red and white) together and the furnace kicks on that either you have messed up the wiring in the thermostat or the thermostat is bad.


Thanks for all the help.