Water heater lighting

Fallin22 wrote:
Suburban sw10d is the model number. I will try to get a picture posted

Thanks for posting that information.

This is a DSI (direct spark ignition) water heater. The basic instructions are to ensure the gas supply is turned on and then flip the water heater switch somewhere in the trailer. It should work automatically from there. You can find manuals for it online with a bit of searching.

Assuming you've already found and tried the switch to no avail...the heater does need 12V power to run (and obviously propane). There's also an ECO thermostat that, if tripped, may need to be reset (I believe there's a red reset button on it).

The heater should open its gas solenoid valve, spark (click) several times, and then stay lit. If there's no sparking and no attempt at lighting, it's more likely something like no power, a bad electrical connection, a bad control board or igniter module, etc. If it clicks and sparks but no flames appear, it may not be getting gas, or the orifice in the burner may be clogged, or the spark electrode damaged or misaligned, perhaps among other faults. If there's air in the gas line it might just need to go through several cycles to clear out the air. If it lights momentarily but doesn't stay lit, probably the flame isn't being sensed properly, which is most likely a damaged or misaligned electrode. (I think these heaters use the spark ignition electrode to sense the flame.)

There are several people here with much more detailed knowledge and experience on the specifics of these heaters.