Suburban Water Heater Wiring Issues

Dry Camper Thanks, exactly what I needed to know. Helpful answers like that are what makes this forum a Great resource!

G and D wrote:
If the reigniter is dangerous and should be removed how is the pilot relit?

The original Suburban control module does the reignition. It also controls the gas valve. It limits the number of retries, then shuts down so you aren't pouring gas out while trying endlessly to reignite.

The typical problem with a modified design is that the replacement unit does not properly perform all the safety functions. Some are wired so that the gas valve is always open when the WH is below temp. The thermostat is wired to turn on the gas line. That works if the gas successfully lights, but not if it fails. If the gas does not light, you are pouring gas out ....

I don't know the specs on that reigniter. Perhaps it performs all the safety functions of the original design, but perhaps not. It's not an area where I'm comfortable making changes. I had a WH that threw flames 6" out the side of the RV when turned on. It was a blocked gas line - wasps. There are enough safety concerns without trying to redesign the WH system.

My preference would be to take it back to stock. I certainly wouldn't keep it as is until I was certain that the reigniter was designed to perform all the safety functions of the original design - specifically, it must at a minimum turn off the gas if it fails to light. Even if I knew it did that, I wouldn't be certain that it did everything else needed to keep me safe - so again, I'd want the originally designed control.

Edit: Older WH's were manually lit and had a pilot light. They had a device that allowed gas flow only when the pilot was lit. If the pilot went out, the gas to the pilot also shut off after a minute or so due to the absence of heat. Reigniters were sold that did nothing more than attempt to relight the pilot when it detected the absence of heat. Gas flow continued to the pilot for a short while after the pilot went out, and the reigniter could get the pilot lit before the gas shut off.

Those reigniters did not control gas flow - that was done with the heat detection of the original system, so installing those was safe. Those reigniters are cheap, but aren't suitable for an RV WH originally designed with an electronic reignition system. Such systems do not have the gas shutoff system as they don't have a pilot light.

It may well be that there are reigniters sold that can safely replace the original control system. I probably shouldn't have said your system is unsafe - I suppose it could be. I don't know anything about the design of your modified system - but I'd hate to learn later it wasn't safe. Please be very careful if you decide not to fix the original system.

Dry Camper you are right in that I didnt know the reigniter was a modification. Thanks for the picture thats what I have without the reigniter. It appears that the po unpluged the ingniter and ground and replaced them with the red wire from the reigniter.

Having googled reigniters they are used to reignite a pilot that has gone out. If the reigniter is dangerous and should be removed how is the pilot relit?

Thanks for the constructive input.

Chris Bryant wrote:
How you can ask about wires being cut and disconnected and say that it not been modified is beyond me.

I suspect he just didn't recognize that what he was seeing was a modification. I've seen broken/disconnected wires and loose connections on devices that worked fine, so it's not always obvious that what you are looking at is an intentional modification.

That said, I completely agree with you. It appears to be a modified WH and that modification is very dangerous for the reasons you posted. I'm sure the OP will get it corrected and back to a safe condition with help from here.

Here's a picture of a non-modified Suburban. Note that the reigniter is not in this photo:

The reignitor is the black box- it should not be there. The ignition module should be inside the coach- they are not mounted to the water heater, but are left up to the installer to attach in the cabinet. It will be at the other end of the original spark wire with the boot, along with the wiring harness:


The original ignition module, though good aftermarket boards are available:

I don't know what schematic drawing you are looking at, one for the added ignition module or the original for the water heater. Regardless. the schematic should show how all is wired and the presence of the important parts of the gas system.

As Chris has posted, if the gas valve is being held open under all conditions when power is present, you are looking at a very bad situation. There could be a gas build-up if the ignitor doesn't operate and you could blow up the RV, yourself, and anything nearby. Your stated history of the operation of the added ignition module and gas system, points directly towards this dangerous situation.

This is an item that needs to be serviced by a trained technician, regardless of expense. Ask yourself this: Would you travel down the road with a leaking fuel system on your engine, trying to elicit advice from the internet?

Chris Bryant wrote:

G and D wrote:

Chris Bryant wrote:
Didn't we go through all of this in this thread?
That water heater needs to be put back in stock condition, with the correct circuit board and correct wiring.

The problem was discussed previously with someone concluding that the water heater had been modified which is not the case. After a detailed review of the heater it is now apparent that it was not modified, some or the wires were diconnected as outlined in the posting . That is why I am seeking help properly reconnecting the wires.

I am sorry, but you are wrong- that heater has been modified, and the reignitor being used is not what is supposed to be there. If you want to blow yourself up, be my guest, but for others reading this I feel compelled to give accurate information, which is-

The water heater was modified to use a reignitor as ignition source, rather than the proper ignition module. The reignitor has zero safety features, and does not control the gas valve, so the gas vaslve was wired in parallel with the reignitor to simply open when power (through the thermostat) is applied.

This is very dangerous, and as I said in the previous thread, you should get someone who knows what they are doing to put it back stock.

How you can ask about wires being cut and disconnected and say that it not been modified is beyond me.

Chris

Looking at the picture it shows wiring to the gas valve that looks to be consistent with the schematic. When you say reignitor are you referring to the connector to the electrode? Where is the ignition module located and how can I determine it has been changed.

Using photobucket I was able to post the pictures with each question in the first post.

Old-Biscuit, I am trying to connect everything to original stock condition.

Earlier before I knew there were wiring issues I did manage to light the burner with a match and it seemed to work well. When I checked later the burner was out. I assume (doing a lot of assuming because I dont really know) the water heated up and the gas shut off but didnt reignite late because of the wiring issues.

Thanks for the help.

George

G and D wrote:

Chris Bryant wrote:
Didn't we go through all of this in this thread?
That water heater needs to be put back in stock condition, with the correct circuit board and correct wiring.

The problem was discussed previously with someone concluding that the water heater had been modified which is not the case. After a detailed review of the heater it is now apparent that it was not modified, some or the wires were diconnected as outlined in the posting . That is why I am seeking help properly reconnecting the wires.

I am sorry, but you are wrong- that heater has been modified, and the reignitor being used is not what is supposed to be there. If you want to blow yourself up, be my guest, but for others reading this I feel compelled to give accurate information, which is-

The water heater was modified to use a reignitor as ignition source, rather than the proper ignition module. The reignitor has zero safety features, and does not control the gas valve, so the gas vaslve was wired in parallel with the reignitor to simply open when power (through the thermostat) is applied.

This is very dangerous, and as I said in the previous thread, you should get someone who knows what they are doing to put it back stock.

How you can ask about wires being cut and disconnected and say that it not been modified is beyond me.

Chris Bryant wrote:
Didn't we go through all of this in this thread?
That water heater needs to be put back in stock condition, with the correct circuit board and correct wiring.

The problem was discussed previously with someone concluding that the water heater had been modified which is not the case. After a detailed review of the heater it is now apparent that it was not modified, some or the wires were diconnected as outlined in the posting . That is why I am seeking help properly reconnecting the wires.