The water heater will run for 3 - 4 minutes, then shut off. It's electronic ignition. I watched the flame, & it looks good, but it just quits. I can turn the switch off, wait 30 seconds, then it repeats the above. Any idea what is causing this? The water heater is a propane only unit. The original one is long gone. I can't find any identifying marks on it.
Sounds like it might be the circuit board, or the sensor that tells the circuit board the flame is on. It might just need a good cleaning of the burner area - I'd try that first.
I found that the "Ignighter" did not have a good ground. I cleaned the mounting area with steel wool and remounted it. Worked good. You might have a bad "Heat Sensor"
The water heater will run for 3 - 4 minutes, then shut off. It's electronic ignition. I watched the flame, & it looks good, but it just quits. I can turn the switch off, wait 30 seconds, then it repeats the above. Any idea what is causing this? The water heater is a propane only unit. The original one is long gone. I can't find any identifying marks on it.
the flame sensor may be dirty or not in the flame enough.
Your water heater door may be "sealing" tightly to the side of your trailer and not letting in enough air. Try running the water heater with the door open. If it works properly, then the burner is not getting enough air with the door closed. You may need to release the latch and let the top of the door move away from the side of the trailer when the water heater is running. I have needed to do this in my trailer. I put a cotter pin through the hole in the latch to keep the door from dropping open all the way. You could also check the hinges at the bottom to see if they are aligned properly and/or bent.
Thanks for all the replies. It turned out to be bad ground where the flame sensor mounts, and I replaced the wire connector to it. Works like a charm now!
Well, I thought I had it working, but apparently not. It was back to the same thing again last night This morning it did something different; it ran for 5 minutes and shut off, but after I turned it off, let it sit for about 30 seconds, then turned it back on again, it heated the water up the rest of the way. WTH is going on with this goofy thing??? Is this a circuit board problem, or are those elusive green aliens screwing with me now?