# Furnace Problem



## rabbit25 (Nov 26, 2005)

I just picked up my brand new 2006 Outback 26RKS, today. During the walk thru at the dealer, I questioned why the furnace kept shutting off, and not blowing warm air., foolishly I listened to the dealer rep. who stated that it was because the trailer was already up to temp. I should have insisted that it be checked better, because when I got it home (45 miles from the dealer), I could not get the furnace to stay on. it keeps shutting off. It has a remote lite a tv controller, but something is definitely wrong. I called the dealer, Garick RV, Oakland NJ, right away, and of course they were alpologic, and said to bring it right back and they would take care of it. Anyone else have such problems with a new unit. Needless to say I am not very impressed with Garick's service dept, to let this go out the door without making sure everything worked right.


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## johnp (Mar 15, 2004)

Before you drive back try lighting and running the stove (not lit stove no gas in bottles)to purge any air that happens to be in the gas line. Also check while the furnace is running to see if you get hot air out of the outside vent (furnace is lighting at least). If after that and the furnace is lit and running and you still have no hot air or any air you can remove the return vent cover and look to see if the unused 4" blank caps fell out. I had two come out it cut most of the heat output down because the air never left the furnace it was recycling. Or take it to the dealer.

Good luck

John


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## jgheesling (Sep 28, 2004)

I had the same issue when I picked mine up and basically got the same response (Must be in dealer manual somewhere). I was 150 miles from the dealer on my first camping trip and luckly was camped next to a RV Technican. The burner seem to have a hard time coming on and would not stay on very long and cycle off. The Tech came over and said this happens all the time, he went and removed a dirt dobber nest (a big clump of dirt) from the vent and then it worked fine. He said sitting on the lots and also storage at home they will go in and build a nest. I have one of those screens (they have them at Camping World) and I keep mine covered with the screen no problems in three years.


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Congrats on your new Outback









I would check a couple things before you return it.

1 - Battery fully charged or try again on shore power (Furnance will shut off if battery is too low)
2 - Ensure propane is on and air is out of system. Light oven, stove and try fridge.
3 - Check for blockages - is air coming out of the ducts

Good Luck

Thor


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## chipb43 (Mar 22, 2004)

Just in case we are not missing the obvious. How long does it stay on? Are you sure it's not on the timer?


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## rabbit25 (Nov 26, 2005)

johnp2000 said:


> Before you drive back try lighting and running the stove (not lit stove no gas in bottles)to purge any air that happens to be in the gas line. Also check while the furnace is running to see if you get hot air out of the outside vent (furnace is lighting at least). If after that and the furnace is lit and running and you still have no hot air or any air you can remove the return vent cover and look to see if the unused 4" blank caps fell out. I had two come out it cut most of the heat output down because the air never left the furnace it was recycling. Or take it to the dealer.
> 
> Good luck
> 
> ...


thanks for the tip John, I tried the stove bit, thats what the dealer tech said when I called, but I let the stove stay lit for awhile, but it didn't help. No hot air comes out of the furnace ducts. I am pretty sure it doesn't lite. The blower comes on, but shuts off after about 15 or 20 secs. or so. Seem like it senses that it did not lite, and shuts down. I'll fool around with it again tomorrow, we are supposed to get 3 to 6 inches of snow tognight, so can't take it back to the dealer till Thursday. I want to make sure all the bugs are out by mid Jan. I'm going to take it down to Fl. to visit my brothers and bum around for awhile.
Pete


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## Crawfish (Sep 14, 2005)

Like Thor said, sounds like low battery or air in the lines.

"*Let's Go Camping*"

Crawfish


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## rabbit25 (Nov 26, 2005)

jgheesling said:


> I had the same issue when I picked mine up and basically got the same response (Must be in dealer manual somewhere). I was 150 miles from the dealer on my first camping trip and luckly was camped next to a RV Technican. The burner seem to have a hard time coming on and would not stay on very long and cycle off. The Tech came over and said this happens all the time, he went and removed a dirt dobber nest (a big clump of dirt) from the vent and then it worked fine. He said sitting on the lots and also storage at home they will go in and build a nest. I have one of those screens (they have them at Camping World) and I keep mine covered with the screen no problems in three years.
> [snapback]66779[/snapback]​


thanks, i'll check that out tomorrow, if we don't ge too much snow tonight.
ha, can't wait to go south.


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## huntr70 (Jul 8, 2005)

You may even want to check the manual about resetting the remote......strange things happen when batteries are replaced or, I would assume, first installed.

Steve


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## Colorado Outbacker (Jun 6, 2005)

Hello, congrats on the new Outback

My Outback has done this twice since I bought it. Both times was when I either ran out of fuel or had the bottles off for refueling. Both times I had to cycle the heater at least 15 to 20 times in a row before it kicked back on for good. Had to get the air out I guess.

One time I was 35 miles from the pavement, at 10,000 feet in the Rockies, it was beginning to snow, and it was 10PM. Gettin nervous I'll tell ya. To old for camping around the camp fire anymore.

Just a thought for you to try if you hadn't already.

Take care and good luck!


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## Castle Rock Outbackers (Jan 18, 2004)

Thor said:


> 1 - Battery fully charged or try again on shore power (Furnance will shut off if battery is too low)
> 2 - Ensure propane is on and air is out of system. Light oven, stove and try fridge.
> 3 - Check for blockages - is air coming out of the ducts
> 
> [snapback]66786[/snapback]​


And one more...make sure propane tanks are full. Mine did the same thing when they got to about 1/5 full.

Randy


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## Moosegut (Sep 24, 2005)

huntr70 said:


> You may even want to check the manual about resetting the remote......strange things happen when batteries are replaced or, I would assume, first installed.
> 
> Steve
> [snapback]66795[/snapback]​


Well, there have been a number of "mine did the same thing" responses, so I'll add mine. First time out it was a rainy, cold weekend so I used the furnace. The remote came with cheapo batteries so I replaced them with Energizers. The furnace kept doing what you are describing rabbit25, so I did what Steve suggested above. Of course, *HE WAS NOWHERE AROUND WHEN I NEEDED HIM - I HAD TO READ THROUGH PAGES AND PAGES OF INFORMATION BEFORE I STUMBLED ON TO THAT!!! *









Anyway, when you replace the batteries in the remote (and I suggest you do if you still have the cheapos in), there is a little reset button under the battery cover that you have to push after the change. It's hard to believe that that could cause what you are describing, but that is exactly what mine was doing and the reset cured it. A pen or pencil will be needed to push the reset. I did that and the furnace worked like a charm.

Mine has also shut off, when the main battery went very low. I seem to remember that I tried restarting it a few times before checking my battery meter and that it tried to start, but I'm not sure - it was cold and I was quite comfortable under the blankets and trying to "Git er done" with the remote. I had to get out of bed and go outside to switch batteries







. A battery switch INSIDE is a definite mod in the spring.

Anyway, the main battery must have enough charge to power the circuit board to light the furnace. I switched batteries (I always carry two) and it worked. Surprisingly, the circuit board takes more juice than the fan, so that could be the problem too.

Scott


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## MaeJae (May 12, 2005)

You may have a bad or â€œfrozenâ€ regulatorâ€¦

Even if the stove top works, check the oven.
Light the oven and run one of the top burners.
If the top burner gets low when the oven lights then it is your regulator.

The furnace will not light if there is not enough pressureâ€¦like a bad or frozen regulator or the LP tanks are not full enough.

Good luck 
MaeJae


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## Pastor John (Oct 13, 2005)

I had the same problem with my '05 21rs. When I took it back to the dealer for repair, it turned out to be faulty wiring. I don't have any more details than that, but the repair order states "Repair poor connection under refrigerator". Now it works fine.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Have you tried the "Emergency Furnace" button? It is located on the AC unit of all places. This should work even if the remote is messing up.


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## 2500Ram (Oct 30, 2005)

I thought that only shut it off


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

2500Ram said:


> I thought that only shut it off
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nope. Turns the furnace on to a factory pre-set temperature in case you loose the remote. Turns it off too when you're done.


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## 2500Ram (Oct 30, 2005)

That's good to know when the kids loose another remote


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## rabbit25 (Nov 26, 2005)

great news: I got the furnace working, I spent about 2 hours checking everything I could think of, and kept turning it on an off with the remote, plus with the "emergency furnace" button on the unit itself. Finally I heard a different click, and "presto" heat started to come out of the ducts and it stayed on. Maybe there was air in the lines and it finally cleared, who knows, but it seems to work ok now.
The only thing I notice is it gets really warm before it finally shuts off, but I can live with that. Thanks for all the great ideas, I definitely will change the batteries on the remote thouth.

Pete


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Pete,

Glad to hear you got the problem sorted out. All it takes usually is a little perseverence. Now you can get on with some serious Outbacking! Whoo Hoo!









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## 2500Ram (Oct 30, 2005)

rabbit25 said:


> I notice is it gets really warm before it finally shuts off, but I can live with that.
> [snapback]66927[/snapback]​


Ours is the same way at least 5deg higher than set on remote so I'd say normal. Great news









Bill.


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## jlb (Nov 5, 2005)

Just a note for the future. When preparing my water heater for the winter







I discovered the ignitor electrode with its mounting bracket lying loose on its side in the heat chamber. The mounting screw was coroded and sheared off. Easy fix but something to watch for in all the propane appliances.


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## kjdj (Sep 14, 2004)

2500Ram said:


> rabbit25 said:
> 
> 
> > I notice is it gets really warm before it finally shuts off, but I can live with that.Â Â
> ...


A few of us have fixed this issue by installing a real thermostat for the furnace.

Read post #11 and on.

Clickey here for warm (not hot) comfort


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## Thor (Apr 7, 2004)

Kevin

Thanks for the link. Saves alot of time for the rest of us.









Thor


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## JimWilson (Feb 24, 2004)

Colorado Outbacker said:


> One time I was 35 miles from the pavement, at 10,000 feet in the Rockies, it was beginning to snow, and it was 10PM. Gettin nervous I'll tell ya. To old for camping around the camp fire anymore.


10,000 feet?? I'm surprised it even lit at that altitude.


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## Schubrew (Sep 26, 2013)

I had the same problem in my '05 21RS. After reading through these and other posts I checked the intake and exhaust ports, but found no dirt dauber or other pests present. Replaced the battery (it needed to be replaced anyway... still no burner ignition. Sniffed the exhaust port for smell of propane while the igniter was clicking and smelled propane so the unit was getting gas, but I replaced the regulator anyhow as it was acting funny on our last trip. Pulled the furnace, (Keystone didn't make that job easy as the only way to get at it is under the fridge, no exterior access and I had to cut the wires up in the exterior fridge access area) and all looked good. Didn't relish the thought of disassembling it so I took it to my local Camping World store. Their tech found a bug carcass had clogged the burner jet. I reinstalled the furnace and now it works great.


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