Fuses Blowing-Need Heat Tonight

[Matt-Paula-NT21]

We are new to camping. One of the 15 amp fuse keeps blowing which causes the furnace and fridge not to work. We are on the road now, no one around to help and it is going down to 42 tonight! Any ideas on what to try to get this to work so we can have heat thru the night is appreciated.

We haven't had this issue before and we have used the furnace a couple times this summer. It seems to blow as soon as the furnace is turned on. We did get it to run for 5 minutes earlier.

We have a NT 21 FBS

 

[Freckles]

Matt:Woke up freezing this morning I did a search under "Fuse/Heat" came up with this post from the past hope it might help.

 

[tmcran]

Do you have voltmeter to check the voltage at the fuse site?

 

[dreamer]

You indicate the fridge and furnace are on the same fuse. Shut the fridge off and try again. If the furnace stays going you know the circuit is possibly overloaded or the furnace or fridge are drawing too much. If one is drawing too much current it will not be long before they will not start. Check to see that 15 amp fuse is the correct size for that circuit. It is possible that it could be 20 amp. The cover of the converter should tell you.

 

[Matt-Paula-NT21]

We do not have a voltmeter. We have tried turning the fridge off, didn't help. The labeling for the fuse does say 15, and we have used the furnace before (with the fridge).

Thankfully we have wi-fi and appreciate all the help, keep it coming. We were able for find a Walmart...bought extra fuses, heated blanket and small electric heater. We shouldn't freeze! Guess we'll bake cookies since the half time oven makes it nice and toasty in here! Will try calling the dealer in the morning...if we get a phone signal!

 

[JohnDar]

The manual for the furnace states the 12V fuse should be no more than 20A. The manual for the refridgerator indicates a 30A fuse for the 12V DC heater unit, if you have a 3-way model. Doesn't sound right to have both on the same fuse. The picture in the HL Owners Manual looks like two different fuses, not both on one. Unfortunately, I don't have access to my BH to actually look at the fuse panel.

 

[LookN4Ward]

There has to be a short. Based on what has been reported, I'm betting it is the furnace fan or wiring because it was indicated that the furnace started. Check the wires that lead to the fan. A wire or wires could have been damaged during transit, possibly rubbing against something. Another suggestion is that a hot or the positive wire came loose and is laying on metal.

I'm not sure if the fan is 12 volt or 110, I surmise it is 12 volt. You could try testing the fan using a 12 volt battery by disconnecting the fan wires and wiring directly to the battery. If the fan runs OK then it is definitely a short.

 

[jbeletti]

Matt,

The refer has some fuses in the back of the refer compartment accessible from the outside, lower vent. Some are glass fuses in black holders and others are blade style. the blade style fuses are behind a black plastic cover behind the refer.

While the refer can work off 110 volts AC power or Propane gas, it still requires 12 volts DC to control some items (control board, I think and the heater wire if you have an ice maker).

The furnace, if it's the standard Suburban we normally use, requires propane and 12 volts DC. It does not run on AC power.

None of this gets you going, just arming you with a little more information.

You mentioned that you turned off the refer. Try unplugging it from AC power as well, just as a quick test. Behind the refer, behind that lower vent cover and usually to the left is a single receptacle with the refer AC cord plugged into it. You can unplug it for your test.

I agree with the others that it does seem odd that the refer and furnace share a 12 volt fuse in the fuse panel. If you can't get hold of your dealer, try Heartland Customer Service at 877-262-8032. Also try Suburban at 423-775-2131.

If you don't have phone service, troubleshooting via email with your dealer, Heartland or Suburban is going to be hard to do.

Best of luck to you.

On edit: I looked at the Suburban website and one of their FAQs mentions that low voltage can be the cause of a furnace to not work. Check your monitor panel to see if your battery condition is excellent. If you are plugged into shore power, the converter should be charging the battery and the top light on the battery condition should be lit. If your battery level is lower, you could be onto something.

If you don't have ready access to it, for reference, the Suburban manual can be found on the Heartland Owners Manuals site here.

Jim

 

[Bob&Patty]

Matt, I have a question or 2. Are you hooked up to shore power or dry camping?? If shore power, what amperage is at the CG??

 

[Matt-Paula-NT21]

Blowing fuses

First let me thank everyone who has replied-THANKS

I'm hooked up to a shore line with no other issues. The flat blade fuse that keeps blowing controls the 12v controls for the refer, the igintor for the stove and the furnace. The fuse is blowing when the furnace is turned on but not all the time. A couple of times the furnace ran long enough to shut down on its own. The next time the fuse blew as soon as the furnace turned on. So for last night I turn the furnace switch off at the thermostat so the refer would work. The refer is working and cooling fine.

Question #1- When the fuse blows the little LED little comes on next to that fuse. If I switch off the furnace at the thermostat the LED light goes out. Is that how it is suppose to work? Or does the LED light tell me anything? There is nothing in the manual about the LED lights.

Question #2 Is the 15v blade fuse the proper size for this circuit? I have run the furnace before without any issues.

I'm going to call the dealer once I get in cell phone range since we just picked it up from them yesterday but not for this problem.

The little electrical heater we picked up from Wal-mart last did the trick for keeping us warm. The smallest one they had with a thermostat.

Thanks again for everyone's help.
Matt and Paula

 

[katkens]

I would pull the fuse box and check the screw connections and wires for a loose wire terminal. I have found a few loose in mine ,that could be your problem , wires overheating or shorting.....Kenny

 

[Matt-Paula-NT21]

Update

I think the problem has been resolved. We were able to take the unit back to the dealer from where we bought it. I talked to them over the phone the next day and we couldn't come with anything that wasn't already checked without a meter. So a big thanks to Avalon RV Center in Medina, Ohio for getting us in and working on the problem right away so we could finish up our camping trip. Of course, after driving to the dealer the furnace ran fine without blowing the fuse. Finally after sometime it blew. The mechanic went over everything and couldn't find the problem. He did find the wire harness up against the flue for the refer so he moved the wires away from that. He also re-routed some wires for the furnace (not exactly sure where these were). He also removed the vent for the refer and while re-installing it he noticed a screw in roof that was right over where the wires run in the roof of the unit. He move the screw to another location in the roof. The whole time he was doing this the furnace ran with blowing a fuse.

Will off we went, we ran the furnace the next 2 day without it blowing a fuse.

Thanks again to everyone that replied to our post to help us on the coldest night in this fall season. A special thanks to Joel (mechanic) and Mike (service desk) for getting us in quickly and doing everything they could to solve the problem.
​

 

[thomasinnv]

the led only comes on when the fuse is blown, AND there is a call for power on that circuit. turning off the furnace canceled the call for power.