Water heater not working

Teleman wrote:

rk911 wrote:

Teleman wrote:

Teleman wrote:

rk911 wrote:
to clarify...is your issue the light or there is no hot water? are you heating the water with LP or electric? LP tank empty? other 120vac appliances working?

No ignition. Plenty of propane. It's as if the switch itself is bad, though that may not be the case, but if the switch was bad the symptoms would be the same.

Sorry. It's an Atwood. I'm using it with LP.

LP only model or LP/Electric?

LP/Electric. Using it in LP mode.

ok, good. on our atwood the light only comes on when ignition has not taken place. turn on your WH, wait 10-15 min and check water from a sink. you should feel it gettjng warm. after another 15-min it should be hot.

motor aid means that engine coolant is routed past the hot water tank when driving. that heats the water in the tank so no need to run the LP or electric when driving.

Cleaned the multipin connector on the board and it fired right up. Indicator light still isn't working but a minor issue I'll address later.

OP....
With a 2000 Vintage I suspect you have an Atwood GCH10A-3E model


1ST...need to verify that you have 12VDC to the GAS On/Off Switch
2nd...need to verify that you have 12VDC from Gas On/Off Switch to the 'thermal fuse' (in the clear tube) via Brown wire
3rd....need to verify you have 12VDC from thermal fuse to/thru t-stat and back to circuit board via other Brown wire

If thermal fuse is BLOWN...no DC to circuit board
If blown...blow back from combustion chamber due to dirty orifice, burner, chamber. Blows when exposed to flame at 190*F

IF you have 12VDC thru all the above components to circuit board...then circuit board is Bad

Suspect 'thermal fuse' has blown

Bobbo wrote:

BFL13 wrote:
Specs for that RV say only that it is a "10 gal gas/electric w Motor Aid"
So model of the Atwood still needed. (what is motor aid?)

My previous Winnebago Class C had a functioning "motor aid" water heater. Just like a radiator hose runs to your vehicle heater to heat the vehicle in cold weather, a radiator hose runs to a pipe running through your water heater. It heats the water in your water heater while you drive so that when you park, you already have hot water.

I should hear the burner ignite. On my old coach there was a lighted rocker switch that when activated would light and I'd hear the whoosh of the burner lighting from inside.

Bobbo wrote:
On LP mode, the indicator light means the WH burner DIDN'T ignite. No light is a good thing. Turn it on, wait 30 minutes, and see if you have hot water.

My older Atwood gas only WH has the rocker switch with red light. The red light comes on and then goes out when it starts.

Thanks for the motor aid tip. Our 1991 C has that for its own set of heating ducts in the RV part. Not sure if it does the WH. I have never tried it. ISTR a dash control under on the left for that.

I learned about that set of radiator hoses going to the back the hard way, when one burst soon after we bought this old C. It was under the doghouse. We needed a tow. Good Sam saved us again! :(

BFL13 wrote:
Specs for that RV say only that it is a "10 gal gas/electric w Motor Aid"
So model of the Atwood still needed. (what is motor aid?)

My previous Winnebago Class C had a functioning "motor aid" water heater. Just like a radiator hose runs to your vehicle heater to heat the vehicle in cold weather, a radiator hose runs to a pipe running through your water heater. It heats the water in your water heater while you drive so that when you park, you already have hot water.

On LP mode, the indicator light means the WH burner DIDN'T ignite. No light is a good thing. Turn it on, wait 30 minutes, and see if you have hot water.

Specs for that RV say only that it is a "10 gal gas/electric w Motor Aid"
So model of the Atwood still needed. (what is motor aid?)

Besides above things to check, does your board have the little 2a blade fuse at the top?

The light comes on powered by the circuit board via the blue wire.
Open outside water heater access, clean the multi-wire connector with white pencil eraser.
Turn on interior switch. check to insure that there is 12 volts DC on the brown wire at the connector.
Check to insure the green wire has a good ground connection. Check ground connection on the back side of the electric gas valve.
Clean and adjust the ignitor inside the burner tube.

rk911 wrote:

Teleman wrote:

Teleman wrote:

rk911 wrote:
to clarify...is your issue the light or there is no hot water? are you heating the water with LP or electric? LP tank empty? other 120vac appliances working?

No ignition. Plenty of propane. It's as if the switch itself is bad, though that may not be the case, but if the switch was bad the symptoms would be the same.

Sorry. It's an Atwood. I'm using it with LP.

LP only model or LP/Electric?

LP/Electric. Using it in LP mode.