Water heater newbie

Guess he figgered it out or is tired of taking cold showers and gave up?

Thanks to moderator for resizing the picture!!!!!!!

Picture is TOO LARGE...makes it hard to follow info etc


THAT is an Atwood GC10A-4E water heater.....electric.gas combo and uses a Common DC Fused source for controls/functions

Fused DC goes to the On/Off Switches (inside RV) then from switches DC goes to circuit board (Electric/White wire & Gas/Orange wire)

DC then goes to/thru T-stat thru Thermal Fuse (inside the clear tubing---blows at 190*F if flame blows back out of combustion chamber---must replace if blown) and back to circuit board (Brown wires)
*thermal fuse can be removed...wire connected to t-stat to 'TEMPORARILY' operate water heater

When DC comes back via brown wire then Circuit Board sends DC to ECO/Gas Valve......
On Gas it would be FULL DC Voltage to open gas valve and energize Spark Electrode (high voltage spark)
On Electric it would be just a few millivolts so that ECO (Energy Cut Off/Hi Temp T-stat) is incorporated into control loop

On Gas Spark electrode FIRES (Click, Click, Click) and ignites propane from gas valve provided propane is available, orifice/burner are clean and spark electrode wire/connections are good)

On Electric DC is sent from Circuit Board to DC Relay which closes and allows 120VAC to go to element provided AC Circuit Breaker is not tripped, wiring at DC Relay is not bad and element is good (energizing w/o water will burn element out in seconds/minutes)

2A fuse on circuit board protects DC circuits on board...if blown/no functions (and probably a shorted circuit board)

Got a Voltmeter...know how to use it....trace the DC circuits from on/off switches to circuit board and components.

Here is the wiring diagram to follow circuits

Thanks guys! I am going to continue to solve it. The stove works. Here is my water heater panel. All the advice is great keep them coming! Follow link for pic.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EZc6pEzXkAA1AA2?format=jpg&name=large

New to you... It is possible the water heater was bypassed for winterizing last fall. Like others have said, open the pressure relief valve, it's outside behind the water heater cover. If no water comes out, you have no water going in. If that's the case you will have to find the back side of the water heater inside the trailer. Might be behind a piece of paneling being held in by a couple screws, in a cabinet or even under the bed. Once you find it it will be fairly obvious what you need to do to get the water going into the tank. If not google RV water heater bypass for diagrams. Oh, and if it is bypassed and you turned on the electric element, your going to need to replace that once you get the water issue figured out.

1) Make sure the tank is full and the bypass is set so water goes thru the hot water heater. (failure to fill can burn out the electric element in under a minute) To check from the outside feel for heat and if cool, pull the lever on the pressure relief valve with the pump on. Should spit some water out at you.
2) Listen at the outside as someone turns on the heater (electric and gas). You should at least hear a click as it switches on. If not, use a multimeter to check for voltage.
3) If you put it on gas, you should hear multiple clicks as it tries to light. If it's the first time since propane ran out, it may take a few tries before propane clears the air out of the line (after a minute or two without lighting, it will give up to protect the unit). Once lit, you should feel hot air from the chimney.
4) If you put it on electric, you should still hear some noise as the heating element kicks on.

Some simple potential issues:
- Check the breaker is not tripped and the 12 fuse is not blown.
- Make sure the switch is on (possibly an external one also).
- Depending on brand, there might be a reset in the outside panel.
- Make sure propane is turned on and you have propane (try lighting the stove burners to check)

90% chance one of these items fixes the issue.

If one is at a campground and has trouble like that ask around and I'll bet one of the campers will have a water heater like yours and can tell you how it works. Don't be shy. Most people are more than willing to help. Just wear a mask!

Ride S40T wrote:
And remember most water heaters have an inside "On" switch and an outside "On" rocker behind the outside panel where the water heater is drained. Make sure that little guy is "On", too.

Only Suburbans ---outside switch is for Electric Element (OEM)
Inside switch is for GAS
Some RV MFGs will add an Inside Switch for Electric wired in series with outside switch...both have to be on for electic to work (unless burned out due to no water in tank)

Atwood uses Inside switches since 2004 models (combo elecric/gas)
Gas Only...inside switch

Think OPs Dutchmen uses Atwoods

And remember most water heaters have an inside "On" switch and an outside "On" rocker behind the outside panel where the water heater is drained. Make sure that little guy is "On", too.