Furnace Woes on my new Palomino

[Frizlefrak]

OK, I have a thread going on in the trailers forum, but thought I'd look for some insight here.

Here's the rundown:  2012 Palomino 30' TT.  Bought it new in May.  4th trip out, furnace quit working about the third day.  Woke up in the middle of the night quite chilly.  Double checked that I had propane, then cycled the thermostat off and back on again.  Furnace lit fine and worked the rest of the night.  The next night, it wouldn't come on at all.

Took it to the dealer.  They replaced a limit switch under warranty.  Here's where it gets fun.  Went to pick it up, battery was dead.  That should have been my first clue.  One of the lot guys used a battery box so we could hook it to the truck.  Towed it home, used jumper cables to get it off the truck.  Charged the battery and plugged it in.  Guess what doesn't work?  Yep....furnace won't come on.  I also have no water pump or panel display.  Checked the fusebox, and sure enough, 15A fuse is blown.  Replaced fuse, furnace comes on, and everything else works.  Great.  But in about 5 minutes, it dawns on me that it's not shutting off.  I turn the thermostat (electronic) to off.  Furnace continues to run and heat the trailer.  I'm about to go pull the fuse when it beats me to it.....furnace goes off.....due to a second blown fuse.

I'm beyond frustrated at this point.  Yes, I can take it back to the dealer (who, by the way, left BOTH my propane tanks on) but what should I be looking at here?  Thermostat?  Circuit board on furnace? It won't shut off and it's blowing fuses. Mind you, this is a brand new trailer....no mud dawber nests etc.

If I can nail down the issue, I'll just fix it myself instead of letting these clowns mess it up again.  I'm quite capable if I know what to look for. 

Any suggestions?

 

[Alfa38User]

Get out your trust VOM and take the front cover off the thermostat. Check for voltage on the "W" lead (usually a white wire) and the W may be marked right on the thermostat.

If you find 12V on the W lead, you have found the reason for no shutting off, likely a defective thermostat. A temporary fix would be to remove the thermostat from the wall and remove the 12V supply wire. Insulate it!!

Blowing fuses ? Try the above first then suspect the furnace. Makes and models of the components involved would be nice.

 

[John From Detroit]

Step one in every electrical device service manual,, (A step which is almost never followed) is "Remove power" (Unplug, disconnect battery, etc.)

It may be that they simply turned off the batteries and the converter has not the  oomph to make the furnace.. Furn.  Before you start using inventive language,  Check the voltage AT THE BATTERIES under the following conditions.

No load, (Lights and everythign else off, Not plugged in

Lights on

Plugged in

If all readings are the same.... Batteries are disconnected.

 

[Frizlefrak]

Thanks John and Stu.  As soon as I get a chance, I'll get out my voltmeter and run some diagnostics.  Appreciate the help gents. 

 

[jenjen]

I cant be much help problem solving, but I am curious who your warranty is through?  I work for a dealership that sells XtraRide and the have tech support over the phone for just this type of issue.  They don't want their customers to have to go through the trouble of getting their RV to a shop and wait for repairs if it's something you feel you could fix yourself with a little help. 

 

[Frizlefrak]

Well, it's currently back at the dealer I bought it from.  Dropped it off last Friday.  Warranty is manufacturer (Palomino / Forest River).  I'm assuming the furnace manufacturer is involved on this, since it's not actually the trailer itself with the problem but a sub-component.

The service manager was quite embarrassed and promised a better outcome this time.  We'll see.  She said they would refill my propane bottles for free for my trouble too. 

I'll update the post once the trailer is home.

 

[Frizlefrak]

UPDATE:

Dealer called today.  Technician found a harness between the A/C and the furnace where two wires had fused together, which was why it wouldn't shut off and kept popping fuses.  They are getting authorization from Forest River to repair under warranty. 

Texas Lemon Law states they get 30 days and 4 repair attempts before the Mfg has to buy it back.  That's the LAST thing I want....I love this trailer, and this would be a last resort.  I'd rather modify it and split the A/C and furnace onto two separate thermostats if it comes to that, but it can be used as leverage.  We will see what happens.  I paid cash for it, and if they ever want to sell me another one.......

Stay tuned.....

 

[Frizlefrak]

UPDATE v 2.0

It's home, and it's fixed. 

Dealer says a wiring harness that runs between the furnace, thermostat, and A/C unit had melted two wires together.....thus shorting it out.  Why, they couldn't tell me....perhaps pinched together when the unit was built, perhaps the initial limit switch failed and overheated it.  Explains why it was (fortunately) popping fuses.  I don't even want to think about what could have happened.

Forest River covered it all under warranty.  From what the dealer tells me, it was extensive work to replace.  Glad I caught it within the first year.

Anyhow....time for a winter camping trip now!!

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Indeed - lucky to catch it under warranty!