Hello This is my first post so please bear with me. So my wife and I just bought a 2014 Bighorn. we have had it for a month and a half and my heater quit working. I was cleaning the trailer and wanted to make sure slides were open all the way, so i used the proper switch for the slides and when they were completely opened the lights went dim and you could hear a draw on system. Keep in mind I am stationary and plugged in to power pole. Some time very shortly the heater quit working. I control system with a Dometic stat in hall way. When useing heater fan is on auto then scroll down to furnace. That would normally engage heater, no such luck. also the toggle for the water heater has a 12V and a 120V . I use the 12 V because that engages the propane. on top the the toggle there is a red light it used to stay on when toggle was activated but since problem has occurred the red light isnt on. I read a post about the battery and I just put a new on in. I checked the inverter and the inlet is 110 and outlet is 13.6. So I need help please. sorry for long post but wanted to get as much info so yall have intel . Thank you.
Heater in my Bighorn not working [Solved]
- Thread starter james516
- Start date
JohnDar
Prolifically Gabby Member
Re: Heater in my Bighorn not working Help
It’s possible that you tripped one of the mini-breakers when you extended the slides and put a heavy load on the 12V system by stalling the pump. They have a very tiny button on the side, so try pushing it to reset it. Check your 12V fuse panel, too, to see if one of them is lit up (means the fuse is blown).
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It’s possible that you tripped one of the mini-breakers when you extended the slides and put a heavy load on the 12V system by stalling the pump. They have a very tiny button on the side, so try pushing it to reset it. Check your 12V fuse panel, too, to see if one of them is lit up (means the fuse is blown).
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Re: Heater in my Bighorn not working Help
Dane you are correct on the 120 and 12.I have a meter and checked the reciprocal and then while inverter plugged in checked the outlet side. The inverter was slightly warm. I will check the fuse panel for proper voltage . Also when I pulled a fuse the red light didn't come on as is the past prior to this issue. I haven't seen any reset buttons on anything. As mentioned by others. Correct me if I'm wrong but I should be able to use multimeter and touch probes to each side of fuse + / - and get a reading.. thank you for your help. Please keep it coming.
Dane you are correct on the 120 and 12.I have a meter and checked the reciprocal and then while inverter plugged in checked the outlet side. The inverter was slightly warm. I will check the fuse panel for proper voltage . Also when I pulled a fuse the red light didn't come on as is the past prior to this issue. I haven't seen any reset buttons on anything. As mentioned by others. Correct me if I'm wrong but I should be able to use multimeter and touch probes to each side of fuse + / - and get a reading.. thank you for your help. Please keep it coming.
danemayer
Well-known member
Re: Heater in my Bighorn not working Help
The red light next to a fuse will come on when the fuse is pulled, IF there's a load on the circuit - meaning the device is switched ON. If you have a fan in the bathroom or living room and turn it ON, then pull the fuse, the LED should illuminate and the device should stop running.
To take a voltage reading, put the red meter lead on the solder contact at the fuse, and put the black meter read on a known good ground. If you remove the cover from the fuse box, behind it you should find a buss bar where all the ground wires connect. The entry door threshhold is often a good ground too. With fuse in place, take a reading on the side of the fuse that has the LED. If you have 13.2 - 13.6 VDC, power is getting through the fuse. If not, try the other side of the fuse.
Your symptoms sound like there's no 12V DC power coming out of the Power Converter and the battery has run down. If you check DC voltage on the thick red wire that's attached to the Power Converter, with the black meter lead on the bare copper ground wire attached to the Power Converter, you should read 13.2 - 13.6 VDC.
If not, make sure there's 120V AC at the outlet the Power Converter plugs into. Remove and check the 2 or 3 on-board blade-type fuses on the Power Converter with an Ohm Meter. If there's power coming in and the on-board fuses are ok, and no output voltage measured at the Converter, your converter has failed.
The red light next to a fuse will come on when the fuse is pulled, IF there's a load on the circuit - meaning the device is switched ON. If you have a fan in the bathroom or living room and turn it ON, then pull the fuse, the LED should illuminate and the device should stop running.
To take a voltage reading, put the red meter lead on the solder contact at the fuse, and put the black meter read on a known good ground. If you remove the cover from the fuse box, behind it you should find a buss bar where all the ground wires connect. The entry door threshhold is often a good ground too. With fuse in place, take a reading on the side of the fuse that has the LED. If you have 13.2 - 13.6 VDC, power is getting through the fuse. If not, try the other side of the fuse.
Your symptoms sound like there's no 12V DC power coming out of the Power Converter and the battery has run down. If you check DC voltage on the thick red wire that's attached to the Power Converter, with the black meter lead on the bare copper ground wire attached to the Power Converter, you should read 13.2 - 13.6 VDC.
If not, make sure there's 120V AC at the outlet the Power Converter plugs into. Remove and check the 2 or 3 on-board blade-type fuses on the Power Converter with an Ohm Meter. If there's power coming in and the on-board fuses are ok, and no output voltage measured at the Converter, your converter has failed.
Re: Heater in my Bighorn not working Help
Ok the saga continues . So I rechecked the out let side of converter it is 13.29 and with a load its 13.26. I pulled the fuse panel of wall and checked the input 13.28. I also put a load on fuse panel and pulled fuse from said fixture that was on and red light came on all is good with that. It seems as though there is nothing triggering the start mode at furnace. Could the tstat have gone bad? I checked the battery its putting out 13 + its a new battery I installed yesterday. I checke block in battery compartment all seems to be good. ?????? Help
Ok the saga continues . So I rechecked the out let side of converter it is 13.29 and with a load its 13.26. I pulled the fuse panel of wall and checked the input 13.28. I also put a load on fuse panel and pulled fuse from said fixture that was on and red light came on all is good with that. It seems as though there is nothing triggering the start mode at furnace. Could the tstat have gone bad? I checked the battery its putting out 13 + its a new battery I installed yesterday. I checke block in battery compartment all seems to be good. ?????? Help
danemayer
Well-known member
Re: Heater in my Bighorn not working Help
So the furnace is still not working. And presumably the water heater is also still not working on 12V/propane.
If you cycle the thermostat to OFF and then back on to FURNACE/HEAT, does the furnace blower start and run for about 25 seconds?
So the furnace is still not working. And presumably the water heater is also still not working on 12V/propane.
If you cycle the thermostat to OFF and then back on to FURNACE/HEAT, does the furnace blower start and run for about 25 seconds?
Re: Heater in my Bighorn not working Help
Please reply with a picture of your thermostat. I'd like you to try reinitializing it but we need to know which one you have first.
If you have the small, square, capacitive touch thermostats, image (ignore the bluetooth symbol) >
... here's the process to reinitialize it:
Also, do you have another AC unit in the coach with the same thermostat? If yes, a simple swap of thermostats will be good to determine if yours is bad. Here again, if you have the small, square, capacitive touch thermostats as in the image above, there are 3 wires connected to it: +, - and data. You'll need a very small straight blade screwdriver to remove the wires. The front display panel pulls off so you can access to wires on screw terminals on the circuit board. Take a picture of the wires before removing them and don't short any of the wires together. See this gallery for how the front panel removes and what the 3 wires look like. Ignore the bluetooth mentioned in the gallery as it doesn't relate to your thermostat.
Ok the saga continues . So I rechecked the out let side of converter it is 13.29 and with a load its 13.26. I pulled the fuse panel of wall and checked the input 13.28. I also put a load on fuse panel and pulled fuse from said fixture that was on and red light came on all is good with that. It seems as though there is nothing triggering the start mode at furnace. Could the tstat have gone bad? I checked the battery its putting out 13 + its a new battery I installed yesterday. I checke block in battery compartment all seems to be good. ?????? Help
Please reply with a picture of your thermostat. I'd like you to try reinitializing it but we need to know which one you have first.
If you have the small, square, capacitive touch thermostats, image (ignore the bluetooth symbol) >
... here's the process to reinitialize it:
Also, do you have another AC unit in the coach with the same thermostat? If yes, a simple swap of thermostats will be good to determine if yours is bad. Here again, if you have the small, square, capacitive touch thermostats as in the image above, there are 3 wires connected to it: +, - and data. You'll need a very small straight blade screwdriver to remove the wires. The front display panel pulls off so you can access to wires on screw terminals on the circuit board. Take a picture of the wires before removing them and don't short any of the wires together. See this gallery for how the front panel removes and what the 3 wires look like. Ignore the bluetooth mentioned in the gallery as it doesn't relate to your thermostat.
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Re: Heater in my Bighorn not working Help
Good morning guys let me say thank you for all your input. The water heater is working fine on 12V propane. When I try to engage the furnace nothing happens, the blower fan doesn't come on. Here is a pic of the Tstat. Yes I have another in master bedroom and will switch them. With that the fan mode and AC mode work on Tstat.
Good morning guys let me say thank you for all your input. The water heater is working fine on 12V propane. When I try to engage the furnace nothing happens, the blower fan doesn't come on. Here is a pic of the Tstat. Yes I have another in master bedroom and will switch them. With that the fan mode and AC mode work on Tstat.
danemayer
Well-known member
Re: Heater in my Bighorn not working Help
You probably have a control unit in the ceiling, just above the air conditioner's air return. The thermostat communicates with that control unit to operate both the furnace and the air conditioner.
When the thermostat calls for heat, a relay in the control unit will click as it closes, sending power to the furnace to start the blower.
If the fan doesn't start, AND there's no click, the problem is likely in 1) the main fuse box supplying power to the furnace, through that relay, 2) the relay not working properly - not a common problem, or 3) a wire problem at the thermostat, or 4) a bad thermostat - not a common problem.
Something else to check: cycle the thermostat mode to OFF and press the + or - button to read the ambient temperature as the thermostat sees it. If you have a heater in the basement, the hot air will rise behind the wall the thermostat is mounted to, making the thermostat think the ambient temp is so high that the furnace doesn't need to start.
If you hear a click, but the blower doesn't start, you may have a loose wire or bad control board at the furnace.
You probably have a control unit in the ceiling, just above the air conditioner's air return. The thermostat communicates with that control unit to operate both the furnace and the air conditioner.
When the thermostat calls for heat, a relay in the control unit will click as it closes, sending power to the furnace to start the blower.
If the fan doesn't start, AND there's no click, the problem is likely in 1) the main fuse box supplying power to the furnace, through that relay, 2) the relay not working properly - not a common problem, or 3) a wire problem at the thermostat, or 4) a bad thermostat - not a common problem.
Something else to check: cycle the thermostat mode to OFF and press the + or - button to read the ambient temperature as the thermostat sees it. If you have a heater in the basement, the hot air will rise behind the wall the thermostat is mounted to, making the thermostat think the ambient temp is so high that the furnace doesn't need to start.
If you hear a click, but the blower doesn't start, you may have a loose wire or bad control board at the furnace.
Roller4tan
Well-known member
Re: Heater in my Bighorn not working Help
Same issue I had. 12v power to control board on the furnace (had to remove cover outside). Relay on furnace control board not picking up. Replace that control board with the Dinosaur brand, worked fine after that. Have your furnace model available.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjPoIXZ6NDYAhUB3FMKHSo4BDQQFgjlATAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dinosaurelectronics.com%2F&usg=AOvVaw1zdTEJxagmAWqoL5g3wNKR
Same issue I had. 12v power to control board on the furnace (had to remove cover outside). Relay on furnace control board not picking up. Replace that control board with the Dinosaur brand, worked fine after that. Have your furnace model available.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjPoIXZ6NDYAhUB3FMKHSo4BDQQFgjlATAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dinosaurelectronics.com%2F&usg=AOvVaw1zdTEJxagmAWqoL5g3wNKR
rxbristol
Well-known member
Re: Heater in my Bighorn not working Help
Well the saga has ended. the motherboard was bad. The tech suggested trying a surge protector . That might have been the cause. I learned a lot about how things work through this saga. Thank you all for the input. Call this case closed.
Well the saga has ended.
the motherboard was bad. The tech suggested trying a surge protector . That might have been the cause. I learned a lot about how things work through this saga. Thank you all for the input. Call this case closed.Swhoward1971
Member
I’m having a furnace problem as we speak it quit 2 days ago when i cycle it on I get a click and about 30 to 45 seconds later another click. Nothing comes on. Did you have a similar occurrence?
danemayer
Well-known member
A click overhead when the thermostat calls for heat is the relay that sends 12V DC to turn on the furnace blower. If no blower, check your fuses. If fuses are ok, you probably have a loose wire at the furnace, or a failed control board.
Sorry for the delay in my response. My problem was solved and I didn't look back. To answer your question no I didn't have that response. When the tech showed up and turned my tstat to heat he heard a click but only once. I guess my hearing is going. He used a multi meter and the was no power to blower. He popped a new circuit board in and instantly problem resolved. He installed a Dinosaur brand. Hope that helps. Good luck
