Need water heater help fast!

[mike2011]

I'm getting desperate here guys and need some advice fast. Got my family out in the 1999 Southwind and went to use the hot water heater and have problems. When I first turned it on in the motorhome the red light came on and went off as normal. The light then cycled off and on 3 times and then remained on. I recycled the switch a couple of times and each time got the same result. On the third attempt I no longer got any lights and the WH did not fire off. I checked and have no voltage at the switch. I checked every breaker and fuse I could find and found them all good. I just got back from Afghanistan and really don't want to cut our outing short but with no hot water I'll have no choice. Any help is greatly appreciated  

 

[donn]

Gas?  Gas on?  Lines purged?
Then you need to start tracing wires.

 

[carson]

Another word for heater GAS is....Propane.  (Don't get me the wrong way)

 

[gc1966]

no lights has to be a fuse or some safety thing to prevent built up propane to ignite. 

 

[Wavery]

It will make 3 attempts then there is a time delay..... I think it's 10 minutes but not sure. During the time delay period you will have no power.

Make sure that the water heater is full of water (turn on the hot water valve in the galley) until it stops spurting. Check to make sure that you have propane in the tank....... get back to us.

 

[mike2011]

It has been well over an hour and still no power at either the switch or the unit --- the gas (propane--lol) is on, the gas line is purged---stove and heaters are working --- checked and the unit is full of water ---purged the hot water line at the sink and checked the drain at the WH. I feel like I probably have 2 problems. Loss of power due to too many tries to light it and then whatever kept it from lighting in the first place. But I need to fix the power problem first. I have a very basic wire diagram that shows the hot wire from the water heater going back to a fuse panel under my refrigerator. None of the fuses are labeled 'Hot Water Heater" but I checked them all and they are all good. I'm running out of ideas.
Thanks for all the replies 

 

[Jeff]

Did you actually remove the fuses and reinstall? Many times the fuses will corrode just enough to cause and open. Try turning them in the fuse holders while someone holds the heater switch down or watches for power at the switch.

Another test would be to tie the two wires at switch together. If there are three two should be the same color.

 

[SeilerBird]

...and really don't want to cut our outing short but with no hot water I'll have no choice.

But you do have choices. It is possible to take cold water showers and most RV parks and campgrounds have showers.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

What voltage are you expecting? In some recent models the closed switch is just a [digital] signal to the controller board telling it to run an ignition cycle. It's not really powering anything. Not so sure about a 1999, though. What is the Atwood model number?

Check the ground for the circuit board too.

Download an Atwood Water Heater Service Manual here:
http://bryantrv.com/docs2/docs/atwoodwaterheater.pdf

 

[mike2011]

I took every fuse out and did a continuity check on each one---all good. I was expecting 12 volts at the switch but get none either at the switch or the harness back at the WH. There are 2 wires at the switch with no voltage across them. Did the cold shower thing, after Afghanistan that felt pretty good to me but the family isn't into that again--lol. I checked the ground back at the circuit board on the WH--was a little loose---tightened it but no change. The model number is:G6A-8E, Spec: 228097 Serial: 96228022333

 

[mike2011]

Looked and cleaned all connections as per Atwood manual --no change. This one is going to take a while to fix.

 

[mike2011]

FYI: fixed the problem. First found the ground at the circuit board a little loose --- cleaned the paint off an adjacent area and remounted the ground. Also replaced a fusible link located in the wire harness at the unit -- this restored power to the switch. When I turned on the heater inside the motorhome the unit attempted to come on but the flame actually tried to come out of the tube instead of going into the tube around the water heater tank. Cleaned the tube leading into the fire area (from the gas valve) and adjusted the air inlet also just past the gas valve. So far so good!
8) 

 

[gc1966]

glad you got it fixed...  Thank you for your service and yall have fun

 

[mike2011]

Thank you ;D