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Suburban furnace blower fan acting stupid!


nana25k

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Heat works, however the blower fan has begun acting up. It occasionally starts out slow and then " winds itself up"to speed. No strange noise's

Any ideas??

Ron & Linda

Class of 2007
2000 Monaco Diplomat

2005 Honda Element

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" Theodore Roosevelt

"We can't control the wind, but we can adjust our sail"

"When man gave up his freedom to roam the earth, he gave up his soul for a conditioned ego that is bound by time and the fear of losing its attachments."

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Check your connections to the blower motor and ground. Also check the voltage at the blower terminals.

 

Ken

Amateur radio operator, 2023 Cougar 22MLS, 2022 F150 Lariat 4x4 Off Road, Sport trim <br />Travel with 1 miniature schnauzer, 1 standard schnauzer and one African Gray parrot

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Thanks Ken. Guess we will be disconnecting all those heat ducts and taking off the front panel. Ours is under the refer!

Ron & Linda

Class of 2007
2000 Monaco Diplomat

2005 Honda Element

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" Theodore Roosevelt

"We can't control the wind, but we can adjust our sail"

"When man gave up his freedom to roam the earth, he gave up his soul for a conditioned ego that is bound by time and the fear of losing its attachments."

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Observing: 16 year old RV.

 

1) Dust / Lint / Hair-balls ??

Very possible!!

2) Low battery at the moment (or other heavy load on 12-volt like a water-pump ?

We are hooked up to great 50amp shore and water

3) xx [Ken just mentioned connections while I was drafting my replly .....]

Guess this may be my first repair since Ron can't get down on the floor right now

Ron & Linda

Class of 2007
2000 Monaco Diplomat

2005 Honda Element

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" Theodore Roosevelt

"We can't control the wind, but we can adjust our sail"

"When man gave up his freedom to roam the earth, he gave up his soul for a conditioned ego that is bound by time and the fear of losing its attachments."

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A power issue could be at play, but it wouldn't be my first guess. Over time.. oils n dust n gunk can build up at the blower wheels axle points that will increase resistance. Most common symptom is slow start and gradual speed increase. If it hasn't been done in awhile.. it's probably time to get in there and do a bit of cleaning and lube up. Could just be a dust bunny build up, but you'll generally notice a "fwapping" noise with an external obstruction.

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So my next question is this

Its under the refer

I assume that I just disconnect the heat ducts attached to the front, remove the front panel. Can I see the blower wheels??

Or am I looking at pulling the furnace completely out?

 

As I mentioned Ron can't be much help right now.

I do know to turn off the gas and power while I'm in there

Ron & Linda

Class of 2007
2000 Monaco Diplomat

2005 Honda Element

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" Theodore Roosevelt

"We can't control the wind, but we can adjust our sail"

"When man gave up his freedom to roam the earth, he gave up his soul for a conditioned ego that is bound by time and the fear of losing its attachments."

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Thanks looking that up was going to be my next step tomorrow

Ron & Linda

Class of 2007
2000 Monaco Diplomat

2005 Honda Element

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" Theodore Roosevelt

"We can't control the wind, but we can adjust our sail"

"When man gave up his freedom to roam the earth, he gave up his soul for a conditioned ego that is bound by time and the fear of losing its attachments."

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Is there access from the outside. If there is then everything repairable is right in front of you. The only thing that is not is the thermal switch. And it is accessible from the back without pulling the furnace.

If only the exhaust and intake is outside then you need to pull the furnace. To work on it.

 

 

Safe Trvels, Vern

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Are you hooked to shore power Nana K if not more than likely your batteries are low, When was the last time they got checked for water ? and have you checked the voltage on them ?. Your furnace runs off the batteries so that is your 1st check before tearing things apart...Good Luck

Jim Spence

2000 Dodge 3500 1 ton QC 4x4 dually 5.9 diesel LB

BD exhaust brake, 6 spd manual trans

34CKTS Cedar Creek 5er, Trail-Air hitch

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It matters which model of Suburban you have. If you have the older Suburban (as I suspect you do in a 2000 RV) there is no outside access and you have to remove the furnace in order to gain access to the blower and most parts of it. That would be the NT series units and service can be a challenge for that reason. Look at figure 13 on page #14 of the manual that Mntom linked you to and see if that is what you have. If it is, you will need to shut off the propane and disconnect it, then remove the heat ducts, disconnect the wires. You then remove the outside vent cover assembly and the inside you pull the furnace out to work on it. Be sure that if you do this you shut off the propane supply and then use the stove top to burn off as much propane as possible until the burner goes out, just to make sure that you won't be venting propane into the interior of the RV.

 

Newer Suburban furnaces in the SF & SH series will have outside access and will be much less difficult to work on and have outside access.

Good travelin !...............Kirk

Full-time 11+ years...... Now seasonal travelers.
Kirk & Pam's Great RV Adventure

            images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQqFswi_bvvojaMvanTWAI

 

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I have a similar problem where my Atwood heater sometimes can't decide what mode it is in - whether it is FAN ONLY, LOW SPEED, or HIGH SPEED. In my case, the problem seems to be in the thermostat. If I play around with the MODE switch, it will settle down into the correct mode of operation. I need a new thermostat.

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Model is a SF-42. But no outside access

We are hooked up to good 50amp shore power. Our batteries though are in great shape as Ron is very vigilant about all this stuff

 

Thanks for all the suggestions and help. We will try to diagnosis on Monday

This morning it was just fine for the first 2 times it ran. Then it wasn't. So as I said very intermittent

 

Our thermostats are pretty touchy but the fan speed is always set on auto.

I know that the AC and heat pumps are fan speed sensitive to temp set and room temp difference but didn't think the furnace was

Ron & Linda

Class of 2007
2000 Monaco Diplomat

2005 Honda Element

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" Theodore Roosevelt

"We can't control the wind, but we can adjust our sail"

"When man gave up his freedom to roam the earth, he gave up his soul for a conditioned ego that is bound by time and the fear of losing its attachments."

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Would that motor have replaceable brushes?

 

SF-42 has a brushless motor.. as do most as they run quieter. If the coils are going it'll be a motor replacement, but it's not terrible.. maybe $125-$150? It's been awhile. I wouldn't "go there" yet though.

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Well it's too cold today and tomorrow to mess with not having heat while we figure it out. Will post when we figure it out

Ron & Linda

Class of 2007
2000 Monaco Diplomat

2005 Honda Element

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are" Theodore Roosevelt

"We can't control the wind, but we can adjust our sail"

"When man gave up his freedom to roam the earth, he gave up his soul for a conditioned ego that is bound by time and the fear of losing its attachments."

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