water heater issue

[rockcandymounta]

2016 Dutchman Denali 5th Wheel.

I blow out all water lines to winterize my RV. So first trip out electric hot water not working at all and gas only getting warm not hot.

When I attached water to the rig, I started bleeding the air out of the lines and then remembered that I hadn't flipped the valve to fill the hot water tank. I did that, then turned on the hot water control on the kitchen and bathroom sink.

I am getting no hot water at all on the electric side and just warm water on the gas side.

The circuit breaker on the service panel is on.

I did a search for hot water issues and saw some talk about perhaps air being in the tank.

Also, I haven't run the bathtub faucet yet. When we get to our next destination, I may pull the plug in the tank, let it drain and refill it.

Will update in about 400 miles

[fourthclassC]

Howdy, while I have used Dinosaur boards in the past (they are excellent with excellent support from my experience) I suggest you check the gas assembly completely for any spider web blockage or clogged jet. Also check the thermocouple for location and function. The thermocouple must be hot (in the flame) to keep the gas valve open. Try to rule out all before changing any circuit boards.

[AllegroD]

I would drain the WH and close the pressure valve before refilling.

[rockcandymounta]

I did not try to light the tank with n o water in it. I do not use the water pump. I always hook up to shore water. One less thing to winterize. I always have the hot water faucet open. Otherwise there is no other way to know when the tank has filled.

I have pulled off each terminal connection and checked them for corrosion. I will try to replace the ignitor and see if that helps.

I tend to think its the module based on the fact that at one point, when turning on the gas switch inside the rig, I would hear the gas valve open, I would hear the ignitor clicking away.

Like I had mentioned at one point, I was able to manually light the flame using a long reach ignitor.

Thanks for the input.

[JimK-NY]

My Atwood manual and the instructions on the cover door for the heater both say do not replace the electronic module! Lots of people waste money on this without doing the proper troubleshooting.

The worst is trying to light the heater when the tank is empty. Sounds like that was already an issue. I tape off both the switches for electric and propane heating when the tank has been winterized and drained. When it is plugged and the valves are in the correct positions it should be easy to tell the tank is filling. The pump should run for several minutes while it fills the tank. You do so with a HW faucet opened! Leave the pressure relief valve shut! The tank should have air in the top to help with expansion.

Next step is to check the electrical connections. You can pull off the snap connectors and reattach. The next step is to replace the ignitor. While waiting for a new part you can clean the ignitor and check the gap. That sometimes works at least until you can replace the unit.

In your case, the next step would be to find someone who knows what they are doing and how to further troubleshoot the unit. 90% of the time the unit should already be working after replacing the ignitor.

[enblethen]

Compare yours to this one.
U1B 64

[rockcandymounta]

Thank you for the Link to Dinosaur. I have sent them an e-mail with my module part number and my hot water heater model number. I was unable to find the needed part using their cross referencing tables.

The HWH is Atwood GC10A-4e and the module is 91346

[enblethen]

I would suggest Dinosaur Electronics version.
Dinosaur Electronics
Amazon
Call Dinosaur to get exact part number.

[rockcandymounta]

After going back and reading what I have said in various posts, I think Im confusing a lot of people. We have hot water. Because the electrical side is working properly. However, even though a few weeks ago the gas valve sounded ok and the ignitor sounded ok.

Previous tests I could hear the valve and the ignitor clicking. But todays test, neither sound was heard.

Now I want to replace the module on the gas side. I am pretty sure its the module. I have read about the Barracuda brand replacement module but googling it hasn't helped. The module I need to replace has part number of 91346. Goggling that part number brings up a lot of modules similar to the one I have but not an exact match. Does anyone know where I can cross-reference a replacement for my module? Hopefully a Barracuda.

Thank You

[fyrflie]

I don’t know if you have this document, but it may help with your troubleshooting .

http://techsupport.pdxrvwholesale.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Atwood-Master-Water-Heater-Manual.pdf

[rockcandymounta]

So, just now I went out and did a manual lighting of the gas side. So, the valve is good. What's weird is that when it is going through its 'trying to light cycle', it sounds like the ignitor is clicking. So, should I lean towards a module replacement of just an ignitor replacement?

[rockcandymounta]

Well, we have been in our spot for close to 3 weeks and I thought I would tackle why my gas side isn't working. I turned off the electric heater, turned on the gas heater and listened. I did NOT hear a sound out of the gas valve, but the ignitor did try to fire off the heater. The heater is an Atwood Model GC10A-4E I did a continuity test on the 2 amp fuse for the module, and it is good. There's also a fusible link that tests good but the contacts were a bit corroded. I had read somewhere about replacing the module with a barracuda brand module. I have not been able to google that brand of module.

The electric side of the hot water heater has seemed to have quit heating also. We had super hot water on that side. I don't see anywhere on the heater where the electric element would be located. Also, would it be worth replacing the thermostat board? They appear to be fairly inexpensive.

[rwynkoop]

Sound like it is working now to me.

[wnjj]

Make sure the bypass valve is turned all the way. It also could be broken. If you have more than one valve (e.g. one feeding the cold inlet and one along the bypass hose) make sure both are in the correct position. You could be filling the water heater and still bypassing in parallel.

[enblethen]

Check your faucets to insure that the valves are off. Check the outside shower to verify that the faucet is shut off and the control on the head is shut off, do the same in the shower.