Red light on Water heater disply

Question

I have a suburban 10 GAL DSI water heater.  I run it on propane.  When I turn on the switch, the burner will light but sometime after that, I will notice the lite between the pump and heater button on the display is lit and the water is not hot.  I cycle the switch and the light goes out and the burner lights again.  Any idea what might cause that lite to come on.  I suspect it is the same as the error light on the fridge.  It tells you when there is a problem with it lighting.

wa8yxm · Answer

Fault light. Means the control board did not sense the flame.

I have an Atwood, when it was new I often had to try 3 or 5 times before it would work, after that it kept working.. or if I was able to heat it up electrically it will work after that.. Finally the control board failed I've not had that problem since.

But that is only one cause.

bobbo · Answer

That light merely means the propane burner failed to light. You need to investigate why the propane burner is failing to light. THAT is your problem, not the light.

enblethen · Answer

Flame sensor may not be directly in the flame, dirty ignitor/flame sensor, bad circuit board, or dirty burner tube. Possible that porcelain on ignitor/flame sensor is cracked.
Light is just telling you water heater is not burning and has issue.

kampinguru · Answer

Thank you.  I will take a look at the burner tube and components to see what is wrong.

edatlanta · Answer

Before you get into a lot of work, blow off and around the propane flame area with high pressure air and also the venturi back to the propane nozzle.  Spiders just love propane orifices.  I have to blow mine off a couple of times a year.  Fixes the problem every time.  Also after a very hard and long rain blowing off is required.

Forum Discussion

Red light on Water heater disply

5 Replies

About Technical Issues

Related Content

Atwood water heater problem

Bad tail light wiring

Lights in camper are dimming randomly

Water Heater Replacement Recommendations

Replace insulation inside heater column.