Problem with water heater - 2018 Classic

par Claude and Jackie 2020-10-15, 07:30

I am having a somewhat inconsistent problem with my water heater. When having a problem, I turn the switch on, red light comes on but nothing happens. There are two small led lights on the water heater above the connection for the ignitor. The one on the right is lit.
Next time I used the trailer, everything worked fine. I have lots of propane and lit the stove to try to get any air out of the line. Now it doesn’t work again. I did change tank in the meantime.
Any advise??

par Pierre T 2020-10-15, 19:02

@Claude and Jackie

Hi! Here is what I would do before going to the dealer,

What is the make and model of your WH

Can you hear the thick, thick,thick, out of the igniter ,no thick,thick,= no spark=no flame also gas valves have to open,

Before going to the dealer I would first check all terminal connections for a loose or coroded contact.

Remove the 12v fuse that feeds the WH at the fuse pannel.

Check ALL contacts, pull each one of them out, inspect, and push back in ,ONE AT THE TIME.

Do not forget the multipull connector on the circuit board ( if the connector is a flat cooper looking strip you can lightly and gently polish the strip IF NEEDED , by using a pencil erasor).

Follow the colored wires to the ECO, STAT, GAS VALVES also check the connections of the green wires going to the frame of the WH (ground wires)

Many of the intermitent problems (not all) with WH are caused by bad contacts because of there exposure

Good luck

Pierre

par Claude and Jackie 2020-10-15, 20:43

I will try that. I have a feeling that there is no gas getting to the water heater. I changed the gas line from the tank to the trailer. There is gas at the stove and furnace (both work) but the water heater is at the end of the line.
I’ll play around with it tomorrow.

Thanks

par Claude and Jackie 2020-10-15, 20:44

Trailer is a 2018 prolite classic

par Claude and Jackie 2020-10-15, 20:47

Do you have any idea what the two LEDs are that are located on the circuit board above the ignitor connection. Both of those are lit when the switch is turned on.

par Claude and Jackie 2020-10-17, 12:28

Further to my problem, I waited a day and tried the hater heater again. This time it started, ran slightly yellow for 30 seconds and then was completely fine. My feeling is that there was air trapped in the line that took a while to be pushed out by the gas. Perhaps this could be accomplished by restarting the heater several times. Starting the heater must open the valve so perhaps each time it is opened a bit more air escapes before it is closed due to lack of flame? This is speculation - does anyone know the answer?

par Pierre T 2020-10-17, 19:23

Air in the gas lines is normal after a bottle change or line change and can cause the water heater to fail to ignite, the igniter will try again I think 3 times, and then shut down.

After a reset (on off switch) it will repeat the procedure, eventually the WH should start and work properly (after the air has passed trough) ,

I think your speculation is good since you changed the tank in the meantime

No I don't know what the 2 LED's are for, I am still searching