Troubleshooting An RV Furnace With A Dirty Sail Switch

Certified Mobile RV Technician Darren Koepp troubleshoots an RV furnace that's not heating due to a dirty sail switch.

[carolineua]

Darren, I can’t thank you enough for making this video! Had this exact problem and was able to fix my furnace by myself while camping. No more cold nights in the camper. You saved the day! Thank you for being so concise, too!

[Ponykeg]

Your great. I love your direct no time wasted descriptions and directions and clear common sense approach to find the problem. You save me so much time. I can't thank you enough.

[happylandlord]

Darren for the win. Short video, to the point, solved the problem, earned a thumbs up and subscriber. Well done.

[lakesideterri]

Thanks so much for making this video! The sun had just set and after feeling a bit of a chill realized the furnace quit. We were able to fix it ourselves thanks to your video! There was just a small bit of fuzz interfering with the sail switch but it was enough to make a difference. Now I'm feeling more confident as well as warm while the temperature continues to drop. Thanks again!

[chrisforbes]

Thank you so much. I saw another video that made it look like if I didn't hold my breath right, the sail switch was going to shatter into a million pieces. You're straightforward video gave me the confidence to go tackle this same problem in northern Maine at 6°. Can't have it failing at these temps! Not once, not at all. Actually had a propane technician come inspect our rig last year when it did this and he fixed it but didn't tell us how. So thank you again for saving us time, money and giving us peace of mind.

[TC-prnk]

Wanted to add to the multiple thank you comments for providing a clear and precise video to fix our RV heater. You saved the weekend!

[eTek]

Came back at 11pm on a cold night and heater wasn't working. This video saved the..night! Haha thank you for making such a quick and straight forward video!! Also I will add that the sensor had the smallest amount of dust on the switch, which I guess was enought to prevent it from being read. It wasn't nearly as dirty as what was in the video.

[Strapps]

You saved us again! Great videos. It takes a massive amount of knowledge to be able to explain complex problems in simple terms.

[RBG-trce]

It's good to hear from a professional. What I'v found at large RV centers near me is that the "technician" doesn't know anymore than I do. They just want to start replacing parts or the whole unit.

[drgummibear]

Spot on Sir. I've had the exact same problem with my furnace. Your fix is correct and so easy that anyone can take care of this problem. Only problem is that something like this always becomes a problem at 3am on a cold night. Right when you need it most. If that happens, sometimes you can get lucky with a well placed thump on the furnace sail switch area (with the furnace cover still installed), while it is purging and you can get it to light and maybe at least get you through the night, so that you can do a proper inspection and cleaning in the daylight hours. This trick worked for me. It's worth a try at 3am. Cheers!

[GDRVMajorIssues]

Very helpful video as we had this happen this morning. A couple people on my site (Grand Design RV Major Issues - FB) told me about this and so I found your video to walk me through the problem. -Pete

[racheldoyle]

Thank you! So happy I found your channel. Our snail switch had lint on it, cleaned it and it’s working perfectly now.

[axeman]

I had the same issue. Took the sail switch out, and sure enough, it was caked with lint and dog fur!! Reassembled everything and it works like new!! Thanks for the info!

[kathrynb]

Oh thank you so much. This was my problem. Who knew?! Love the way you explain the workings so even if we go to someone like you we know what we're talking about.

[RobertSmith-xzkp]

I found your video after a very cold night and morning. You hit my problem right on the head! Next dog will be hairless! Thanks for the great video!

[patriotprospector]

Thanks brother just fixed mine. It was a dirty sail switch. Furnace is running Great now!

[MarkJonesRanger]

Thanks as well. After watching this video I had my furnace fixed in about 10 minutes. Thanks!

[freetoroam]

Thank you for the tutorial. My two year old camper furnace (Atwood) quit working so I found your video, and sure enough the sail switch was dusty. Not sure whey it was so sensitive to light dust, but I blew the dust off and it works great now!

[NuncaaRetroceda]

Thank you very much, my heater was doing exactly this. I figured it sail switch but had to idea where it was. Fixed in under 5 mins! Warm trailer again :)

[johnoneil]

My sail switch wasn't dirty, but I just moved it on and off a few times and that did the trick for the furnace to ignite. Thank you very much for the video!!!