Furnace Problems

[mojo3150]

I have a 2020 Jayco Eagle 317RLOK and the furnace is a Dometic DFMD35 and has air but will not ignite. I called Dometic Technical support and they told me it “sounds like a sail switch”. They said they would send me a drawing but I’m still waiting. I removed the panel enclosure in the basement but as you can see in the attached photo it’s a real nightmare trying to do any work in this area. It looks like I need to access the front of this unit but there’s no access door on the exterior side of the RV. Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[ALJO]

I recommend to install an outside access door as service is on the front of the furnace. The ignorance to save a few bucks on manufacturing cost is B-S, because the customer will pay hundredfold on service cost. Removal and install @ 1 hour + Service 1 hour go and figure.

[Jagiven]

You have a true octopus going on back there! Bad news, to remove that furnace, I suspect you would need to demo your sewer pipes (at least from this image).

You might be in luck! If I recall correctly your sail switch is on the same side of the furnace as your water pump (shown in the picture). It is usually up by the front wall.

I suspect you can access it without removing the furnace. Mark the three ducts that are on the water pump side of the furnace and get them pulled back and out of the way. Remove that wall to the right of the furnace too. I suspect you can access the sail switch while laying in the cargo hold. Might suggest an old couch cushion or two to prop yourself up with, so you can use both arms.

Question: what are your symptoms that make you suspect the sail switch?? Fan runs for 30 seconds, then the furnace shuts down?? Something else??

Good luck

[RoadrunnerII]

Our furnace are on our 2017 Eagle looks the same! Rats nest. I cleaned it up a bit.. The furnace flex vents are a simple connection on furnace. Just a simple twist and they come off.. Now you might want to invest in some thick foam. You can't really sit up in there. Too reach it you might want to remove the water pump.. Its scotch connectors and hand tightened plastic fittings
Its a tough location no doubt but doable

RoadrunnerII

[mojo3150]

It's still under warranty so I called a service technician to perform the work. I'll watch what he does and be able to go from there in the future. Having an access door installed on the exterior side of the RV sounds like the way to go. It's still hard to believe that any manufacturer would design something like this with no easy access for repair work. They should be ashamed of themselves. I'm also having problems with the water heater won't run on gas, the refrigerator won't run on electric, the main A/C compressor failed and several USB ports still not working. And I'm going to recommend a Jayco Eagle. Yeah, right. Thanks for the responses.

[TaftCoach]

Wow, that's a terrible list of issues.

[ALJO]

Mojo3150; And all manufactures are like that: just to save $20 for the door and an extra 15 minutes of labor.

[RoadrunnerII]

Originally Posted by mojo3150

It's still under warranty so I called a service technician to perform the work. I'll watch what he does and be able to go from there in the future. Having an access door installed on the exterior side of the RV sounds like the way to go. It's still hard to believe that any manufacturer would design something like this with no easy access for repair work. They should be ashamed of themselves. I'm also having problems with the water heater won't run on gas, the refrigerator won't run on electric, the main A/C compressor failed and several USB ports still not working. And I'm going to recommend a Jayco Eagle. Yeah, right. Thanks for the responses.

Just remember... That furnace, the hot water heater, microwave range vent stove A/C units, all the fancy usb ports are not made by Jayco and are all used on other brands...
Its an industry issue cheap drives everything.
Not defending it
Had our share of issues with slide not working, microwave died, usb ports died, recall on bearings, oxidization on front cap... Jayco fixed everything on their dime.

RoadrunnerII

[LukSky313]

I am having the same issue and looking at the same rat nest as described above. Can anyone tell me where the sail switch access point is in relation to the picture?

[mojo3150]

Field Technician unbolted the furnace and twisted it back from the side of the RV and then reached thru the furnace vent on the exterior side to remove and replace the sail switch. I couldn't see anything so I'm at a loss on just how he did it. Hopefully, this sail switch lasts forever.

[klassic]

Looks like you water pump intake hose has sucked itself flat. You might want to fix that too.