How to fix my mistake?

[guntertl]

Sooo... we've had pretty good luck with our Atwood so far (G6A-8E, had it two years with a lot of fulltiming ( about 13 months and counting all told.)) Can't believe this hasn't happened before today but we ran out of water (fresh water) while the water heater was engaged. Turned off the water pump and then refilled the tanks. Tried taking a shower and realized that I hadn't turned water pump back on. Did and...no hot water. Now the hot water pump won't light. Turn it on; no light, no attempt to ignite, nada.
I checked the board and everything is connected and breaker and thermal shut off are continuous. Is it stuck in lock out? Haven't blown it out or anything yet (it's going to be a field repair, we're here for another week with the closest RV shop of any sort 25 miles away)
Thoughts or suggestions? It would seem this would happen sometimes but I didn't see anything on the boards Fortunately, it's hot enough right now I don't mind the cool showers but my wife cried when it was her turn!
Thanks in advance and happy 4th everyone!

[swampthang7]

shut down all electric service for a few minutes. Power up,then turn on the water pump,and then the heater. If this does not work,use a continuity tester to test the water heater element.You will also want to check the low voltage fuses by the converter.

[robert claus]

Wow. Interesting. When you turned the water pump on after filling the tanks, it should have filled the water heater, which of course should have fixed the low water level safety. I don't have an answer, but maybe this bump will put it in front of someone who does.

[cwf]

Do you get a red light when first turn on the gas WH switch?

If you do but no hot water, remove and clean the igniter probe

[Foiled Again]

I recently started getting smuts from my water heater - and not liking to mess with propane appliances, snagged the local "mobile RV repair" guy when he was visiting our campsite.

He did a thorough cleaning - which was embarrassing - because it looked like something you'd see a chimney sweep clean out, then he actually adjusted the hinges on the bottom of the DOOR to stand out a bit from the side of the Airstream and let a bit more air into the ignition chamber. Apparently most of the soot buildup was from burning with too little oxygen and again apparently Atwood has known this is a problem generally.

Anyway if you fulltime and leave the water heater running most of the time you need to have it serviced or service it yourself once a year; mine had been closer to two years. In your case I agree with turn everything off for a minute or two and then reset. Of course .... you have checked to make sure you didn't run out of propane, right? (I ALWAYS seem to run out at 3:00 AM).

Paula

[guntertl]

Thanks all for the suggestions.

I've checked all fuses (converter as well) and nothing blown. Disconnecting all power (battery and shore) for 5 minutes did nothing for the problem; still no light or attempt at ignition. I'll have to pick up a continuity tester in town as I don't (but should) have one with me. Propanes not the issue. I don't usually leave the water heater on as we only use it for showers. This was a case of bad timing (water running out while it was on.) I saw some talk about replacing some solenoids (right term?) as opposed to the whole circuit board which costs $100. Looks like I'll be investigating that option now.

Thanks again and enjoy the holiday!

[n2916s]

With the switch "on" and while studiously avoiding the high tension wire that leads from the board to the igniter, gently wiggle all the other wires.

Worth a shot and usually does the trick.

Mike

[Okiestreamer]

Have you called Atwood to see if they can help? 574 264-2131 Might be worth a shot.

[guntertl]

No I haven't. Good idea, Duh!

Thanks

[guntertl]

Originally Posted by n2916s

With the switch "on" and while studiously avoiding the high tension wire that leads from the board to the igniter, gently wiggle all the other wires.

Worth a shot and usually does the trick.

Mike

Ummmm, is the high tension wire the one that connects to the thermostat? Separate from the wiring harness? thanks I'll try it when it stops raining!

[n2916s]

The high tension lead is thicker than the others and leads from the control board down to the igniter.

Mike

[guntertl]

Yeah, tried your suggestion and nothing. Calling Atwood tomorrow but likely will just buy a circuit board and install myself. Seems pretty straightforward. Thanks for the suggestion.

[Sbb]

Good luck, sorry for ur trouble, I am of no help, but had to say....wow you full-time in a 19' Bambi? I am impressed.

[guntertl]

Originally Posted by Sbb

Good luck, sorry for ur trouble, I am of no help, but had to say....wow you full-time in a 19' Bambi? I am impressed.

Yeah, me, my wife and 160lbs of dog! Get's pretty tight on rainy days. Needless to say I spend a lot of time outside!

[guntertl]

Well got it fixed! For all the bad mouthing Atwood gets they were very helpful. Got a person first try who was able to walk me through a few options none of which involved replacing the circuit board. I was able to test the thermal cut off just by taking it off and plugging in the wire directly. Worked first try! I had inspected the cut off and it didn't look blown but didn't have the continuity tester to test it. Getting one of those today!
Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

[Rollster]

Originally Posted by guntertl

Well got it fixed! For all the bad mouthing Atwood gets they were very helpful. Got a person first try who was able to walk me through a few options none of which involved replacing the circuit board. I was able to test the thermal cut off just by taking it off and plugging in the wire directly. Worked first try! I had inspected the cut off and it didn't look blown but didn't have the continuity tester to test it. Getting one of those today!
Thanks everyone for the suggestions.

We, too, found Atwood to be very helpful when we had a problem.