Water Heater, Go out on me?

[wld1985]

93 Coachmen Travel trailer, My brother has been staying it in for the past few weeks everything has been working good.. Last night he called me and said the water heater was'nt getting Hot anymore, so he swapped to a new propane bottle. Now the propane wont even lite, is the gas controlled by the valve at the water heater? Possibly some electronic went out and not allowing gas to flow through?

[wld1985]

Yup..Looks just like that one.. I'll have to dig into it tomorrow after work and see what I can find..
Thanks

[Old-Biscuit]

Does it look like this one........



That is an Atwood gas only with ignitor.

12V DC power (from DC Dist Center....fused) goes to ON/OFF Switch. From switch it goes to T-stat (brown wire) thru T-stat to module. From module to ECO (red wire) thru ECO to gas valve to ground. High voltage comes from module to ignitor (until main flame lights off)

SO....with On/OFF switch ON you should have 12V DC to t-stat (brown wire). No 12V DC then bad fuse, bad fuse connection, bad switch etc.

Just need to follow the 12V DC and find where it stops

[wld1985]

I have checked all the Fuse's and Breakers.. There all Good, I do have a ground fault in the Bathroom that will not reset.? Not sure what all it controls but everything else in the camper seems to work.. HE is plugged up to shore power and the 12volt battery is only a few months old..
It is an Attwood (GS6) I think is what i read .. I do not hear any clicking now like I heard before, we moved the camper to drain the tanks and relevel it and now that is when the WH stopped working/ Lighting...
Yes it is GAS only water heater.. Looks to be the orignal one, so 20+ years old. It might be time to change out to a new model.

[mobeewan]

Check the regulator at the cylinders. I just replaced a gas only Suburban water heater today that had a bad gas control. I noticed water was dripping out of the bottom of the gas control when taking a closer look. The water heater kept shutting down every once in a while al by itself. The water heater was also 7 years old so I decided to replace it instead of just replacing the gas control. I could not get it to stay lit. When trying to fire up the new water heater it would run a about a second or 2 at a time and then blow out and the orifice chamber would keep a flame like a pilot light. After several tries I switched the regulator over to the other cylinder just in case the hater heater wasn't getting good gas flow and it fired up and ran properly. There is nothing wrong with the first cylinder so it looks like I will need to replace the regulator. Even though water was leaking from the gas control I think the regulator was causing the water heater to not stay lit.

[Old-Biscuit]

Better info can be posted IF you would post Brand & Model of water heater.

Suburban...Atwood

Gas only, gas/electric combo.

Pilot, pilot with ignitor, electronic sparker

Etc.

Different issues......different brands......different fixes.....different models

Help us help you with more info

[Boband4]

Agree with all! Remeber that the red light next to switch only comes on when the water heater doesnt lignt. If everything has been working then the light should never come on. I am saying this to remind you not to throw parts at the problem until you confirm it. You said you jumpered around the switch and the wh control made a clicking. Am I correct that you dont get the clicking without the jumper?
I had some similar problems a few years ago and had to replace the gas valve at the heater. Turns out there two different sizes of input lines, and of course nobody had my size in stock.

[chevyman2]

Could be a little insect mess in the gas line, or in the flue itself, you may have to clean the lines. If that is unsuccessful, then try pulling off the plug on the circuit board of the W/H and see if the contacts are clean. Go turn on the switch, then reapply the plug on the board. (BTW) do you have any 12 volt inside. If not, then check your fuses (if plugged in to shore power) or replace/charge the onboard battery (12 volt supply) if you are dry camping. (I know you said he has been staying in the unit for a few weeks, so I imagine you are plugged in to shore power.

[wld1985]

MitchF150 wrote:
Are you getting gas to the stove top?

When you turn the HW swtich off/on, do you hear a 'clicking' at the HW and is there at least a spark attempting to light the gas?

You should also hear the solenoid valve on the gas line open just before the igniter starts sparking.

Could still be the switch itself, so it won't hurt to start there either..

Good luck!

Mitch

We are getting gas to the stove, I do not hear the clicking I use to hear from the water heater.. Also I do not smell any gas from the WH itself, so I am thinking that solenoid has gone out not even allowing gas to flow through.. We even tried light it with a match..

I did take a piece of wire and jumper the switch and that made alittle noise on the control box of the WH.. But nothing to start a flame or even burst a smell of gas through it..

[MitchF150]

Are you getting gas to the stove top?

When you turn the HW swtich off/on, do you hear a 'clicking' at the HW and is there at least a spark attempting to light the gas?

You should also hear the solenoid valve on the gas line open just before the igniter starts sparking.

Could still be the switch itself, so it won't hurt to start there either..

Good luck!

Mitch

[wld1985]

coolbreeze01 wrote:
And make sure he has power.

Ya that is the other thing we are wondering.. Did the switch go out? The light never worked on the switch, I bought the trailer about 6 months ago and this is the only time Its been used since i've had it.. So I think i will make a trip to the RV store tomorrow and buy a new switch..

[coolbreeze01]

And make sure he has power.

[jc1843]

If you swapped out the cylinder, you may have air in the lines. Try to light the stove to help purge the air. That will also show if there is propane in the lines.

[dan-nickie]

wld1985 wrote:
So Air Locking it? What could we try to narrowing it down?
thanks

Open the valve very slowly.

[wld1985]

So Air Locking it? What could we try to narrowing it down?
thanks