Hi gang! I have an Atwood Hydroflame furnace. It stopped working and we put in a new UIB card and worked fine for about a month. The furnace turns on but will not light. I�ve tracked it down to the fact that the UIB card is not getting any power. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Eric,
I have the Owners Manual for the Excalibur-II Series. I also have a clipping out of Motorhome Magazine (Oct 98) on furnace problem diagnoses. I'd be happy to share with you.
In most cases furnace failure in cold weather is because of low battery voltage and the necessary interlocks don�t operate. The volume of air by the sail switch is what allows power to be applied to Board. Or it could be the sail switch itself That might explain your lack of power at board.
The book says "if a fuse is blown (located outside behind outer door)�..... I guess I�d try that first.
Your neighbor�


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89 Barth Regal 32
Runs like a Deere
New Hampshire

Well now I have an extra dinosaur board for my heater anyways. In trouble shooting my furnace problems I finally broke down and bought a multi-meter (yes Bill H. you�d be proud of me) and finally determined that the real problem was an intermittent thermal cut off switch. The switch would cut off electricity to the board and the fan would still run but no heat. SDIE Note you can take the board out and the furnace still runs but no heat..

The FIX! You might think buy a new switch?..No way. >grin< You take a Hibachi skewer or a wicked long and thin screwdriver and stick it through the squirrel cage fan touching the back of the switch and rap it lightly on the end with another screw driver. [Yes I know �any tool can be the right tool�) and all is well.

Just a side note I had the same trouble last summer with my waterheater and the switch was the same problem. The water heater one is easy to get at and I just took it off and shook it. They�re really cheap switches.

OK. I've got two Hydro-Flame furnaces. Both heat like gangbusters, but both, internittently, squall as though a squirrel cage is rubbing on the housing. I've opened the backs and wiggled everything in reach, and can detect no axial or lateral play in the shafts or the squirrel cages, or any looseness in the housings.

Sometimes it happens on start-up, sometimes when the furnace is running, sometimes not at all.

I can't see any place to lube, and I'm reluctant to delve further without removing the furnaces.

Any suggestions or advice?

That squalling sound, sounds to me like dry bearing in the motors. In my 1978 I had the same problem and tore down both furnaces giving the motors a lube job. Motor RPM picked up and the noise was gone.

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Sounds like you need two new fan motors. I'm not sure if you take the originals apart and put new bearings in them. Thats a possibility.

I agree with Big Bear. It does indeed sound like a dry bearing. A drop of synthetic oil in the right place could be all it needs. Synthetic oil is best for the high heat environment. Or Dri Slide. With Dri Slide, the oil goes away but leaves a residue of molybdenum disulfide.

I would prefer the bearing solution but if you can't find a bearing problem listening in the most probable area then it could be a flame problem. I have had a LP furnace that I super tuned so there was little or no yellow flame tip. What I got was possession by devils in the furnace. Squalling, howling, started high pitched and would oscillate to a slightly lower pitch and back to high. If you can't find a fan problem try closing the air dams ever so slightly.
Tim

Eric,
We had a problem that may (or may not) be similar to yours and traced it to an insufficient ground. The voltage going to the gas solenoid valve was too low. Our ground wire is a flat braided steel cable that runs from the battery assembly and bolts to the chassis just below. I unbolted the cable, cleaned the connection and applied a dab of copper compound and she fires right up now.


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Jack and Daiva
1988 Barth Regal