water heater
My water heater won't stay lite after 30seconds. I have had the mother board checked out and it checked out ok. The bottle has plenty of propane. Now what?
Forum Discussion
- Thanks everyone for your help
- Sounds like a bad connection at circuit board......unplugging/plugging it back in cleaned up contact/made a better contact
- The water heater is in a 2000 Newmar Kountry Air. It's a Surban 10gallon water heater. So I put the mother board back in and so far it's working fine. I disconnect the pig tail and reconnected it and slowly opened the propane bottle. The temp.here is only 49degrees.
- If its good for 30 seconds, then flames out, I'd be looking at that control board again. The board could test good if it will run 30 seconds, and still be the culprit.
- What Brand & Model WH???? That info always helps due to the various changes/designs used.
It is NOT the high temp cutoff......Nothing would work if it was that.
Lighting off, running for 30 sec.......that is a main flame proving issue.
Main flame when lit generates a milivolt signal that goes back to circuit board 'proving' main flame lit. Circuit board then holds DC voltage on gas valve until temp reached.
The spark electrode is what signal uses to get to circuit board.
Spark electrode needs to be>
Clean
Directly engulfed in main flame
Have a good clean/tight ground
Good connection at circuit board
No cracked ceramic insulator.
On Atwood all of this can be easily checked in outside compartment.
On Suburban circuit board connection is on backside.
IF it is a pilot flame type WH....then thermocouple is used to prove flame - On the Atwood you have a high-temp cutoff inline. (In between your brown wires. One end plugs into the board and the other end of plugs into the cutoff. Take the cutoff out of line and connect the brown wire from the cutoff directly to the circuit board. If that solves the problem then you just need a new cut off. This happened to me and stopped water heater from working on gas or electric. I went to a camper store and they had them (2 in a blister pak)at $26. Also for Atwood parts check Amazon. Price on there for a circuit board was about $80 cheaper than the dealer. Amazon lister was a certified Atwood dealer. Good Luck.
- When you say flame sensor is that the spark igniter? I had a new one put on last year.
- Clean the flame sensor/thermo couple with either a brass brush or some carburetor cleaner (put rags around it).
They eventually become somewhat insulated with carbon and removing it restores operation.
If it doesn't work after that then I wold replace it but far too many are relaced when all they need is a cleaning.
