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bob_proctor's avatar
bob_proctor
Explorer
Sep 11, 2019

Atwood waterheater wont light

I have a 2004 Southwind class A m/h with a Atwood GC10A-3F hot water heater. .Problem is that it will not light--the propane valve opens--the ignitor sparks but the burner will not light. When I turn the propane switch on inside the coach I hear the propane solenoid open and the ignitor sparking but no flame. I found inside the fire box just below the fire tube and ignitor a small metal tab about the size of a dime-- looks like it should be just about 1/2" infront of the flame. Is this a deflector to help ignition. I can light the burner with a bbq lighter with no problem.
  • Ours worked on electric, but would not light on gas. It was the circuit board. Works great now.
  • you said it lights with a match. so I,d say your deflector fell off like you said ,should not be loos on its mount. or have a rv tech come out and re attach it.
  • If it doesn't ignite at all its likely:
    - Low propane pressure. Even though it will light with a lighter it may not have correct propane pressures and may be insufficient to light from spark. Not likely but possible.
    - Weak spark. Since you indicated it is sparking, it could still be too weak to ignite. This could be caused by mis-adjusted igniter, bad igniter, or bad control board.

    There are a number of other possibilities but most of them would result in the flame igniting but not staying lit.

    Here is a link to a troubleshooting guide I found with a google search. I'm in no way affiliated with this web site, just found the guide has helpful troubleshooting information...