Brand New Bighorn has Furnace Issues? Reset Fixes it, but why?

aquiring signal

Well-known member
We took delivery of our brand new 2011 3585RL earlier this month. The furnace worked fine. Then a week ago it wouldn't come on. I went outside, removed 4 screws, then the cover, toggled the switch from on to off & then back on & it fired immediately.

This morning I woke up and it's 53 degrees indoors. I thought the propane had run out, so I hooked up a full bottle & still nothing. Again, I remove the cover, reset the switch and all is well.

But this is unacceptable. I need a relaible unit that I am sure will continue to come on & run if I'm not home. Here's my question - what might cause this? It's working fine at the moment, but I have no confidence in this furnace now. If there's a marginal component, I'd like to address it now rather than return to a frozen trailer. Any ideas?
 

caissiel

Senior Member
When my batteries went down I could not start my furnace for 3 days. The fan would run but no heat at the time though. After the batteries got fully charged the furnace started working and has been great all winter here in northern FLorida. Still don't know why it acted like that other then protection against low voltage kick in the protect the motor and controls.
 

Rickhansen

Well-known member
One suggestion. Make sure all of your vents are open. If you restrict airflow the heat exchanger will run too hot and trip the high limit. (Caissiel's problem was likely low airflow due to low voltage to the fan motor. That prevents the sail switch from making, and not allowing the gas valve to open.)
 

rvn4fun

Well-known member
When our furnance was having the same issue, our propane regulator was set to low. When the furnance would run, if you used the kitchen stove burner the furnance would quit. Had regulator adjusted and have not had a problem since.
 

wonka

Active Member
On our previous unit (not Heartland) it was the sail switch itself. Functioned when it felt like it, amazingly enough that was any time we were awake, but just go to sleep and it would quit. Not always a pleasant way to wake up. I simply turned the switch a touch and added a small piece of duct tape to the flap. This allowed the switch to prove any time there was air movement, and never had the issue again.
Bill
 

gschaaf

Well-known member
Anyone know where air flow return is for furnace. I have a 2011 Bighorn 3185 with problems with the furnace. I called suburban and was told to take it to campersworld they were certified techs for them under warranty. My trailer is over a year old and out of heartland warranty. Campersworld tech said there was no air flow return to cool furnace and it got to hot and suburban will not cover it under warranty. I have to replace circuit board and limit switch. They said I would have same problem unless vented. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place know one wants to take responsibility. Any thoughts is highly appreciated.

Glenn Schaaf
# HOC 1536
2011 Bighorn 3185
2006 F-350 CC Diesel
 

2psnapod2

Texas-South Chapter Leaders-Retired
Anyone know where air flow return for the furnace?

Are thet talking about the return air? Look for a grill in your rig that is probably up high. I'm sore HL would put one in. Without it there would be to much static preasue and you would not get much heat out. Kinda like filling a balloon. After a while it gets hard to fill.
 

Rickhansen

Well-known member
Anyone know where air flow return is for furnace. I have a 2011 Bighorn 3185 with problems with the furnace. I called suburban and was told to take it to campersworld they were certified techs for them under warranty. My trailer is over a year old and out of heartland warranty. Campersworld tech said there was no air flow return to cool furnace and it got to hot and suburban will not cover it under warranty. I have to replace circuit board and limit switch. They said I would have same problem unless vented. I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place know one wants to take responsibility. Any thoughts is highly appreciated.

Glen, I hate to be terse, but Camping World is feeding you a line, me thinks.
I'm not familiar with a 3185, but the RA grille in a 3670RL is above the Kitchen counters. On some other models, I believe it is below the refrigerator.
Did your furnace ever work? There does have to be a return air path from the conditioned space or you could have no airflow out of the heat vents. I can't imagine yours is lacking one. CW might be "certified" on a Suburban Furnace, but they apparently are missing some other key pieces to your puzzle. The circuit boards aren't dependent on furnace airflow for cooling at any rate. Call Heartland Customer Service and let them refer you to a local Heartland dealer to solve the problem. If they didn't provide a proper Return Air path, Heartland will likely make it (and likely) the repairs good under their warranty.
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
I agree with Rickhansen that CW is feeding you a line. On your 3185 look above the closet next to the entry door for the return vent.
When I had my 3400RL the cold air return was on the floor and allowed a lot of cold air in. I blocked it off and never had a problem. There is plenty of makeup air coming in through the basement. And the furnace will not over heat. There are safety measures in place for that.

Peace
Dave
 

gschaaf

Well-known member
Thanks for everybody getting back to me on the problem. I do have a grille above my closet which I took off and looked in there. Lot of wires coming to the switches but do not see any signifigant air passage in there as a return. I'm not a HVAC guy so I'm reaching out for ideas on what to do. Heartland didn't give me a convincing answer to where the return was. If there is one I want to go back to CW and get suburban to cover my problem under warranty. Thanks again for everyones input.Hope to see ya on the road.


Glenn
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
That grill with all the wires in it is just a chase to the basement. The furnace uses that air for heating and then sends it back into the coach. The combustion air comes from the outside next to the "chimney".

Peace
Dave
 

gschaaf

Well-known member
Thanks cookie on getting back to me. I'm going to do a little digging in the trailer tommoro myself and I'll be back to ya and let you know what I have found. Thanks again.

Glenn
 
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