Atwood Water Heater will not run on propane

[Gsnedike]

We picked up our new 20’ Flying Cloud in early June and traveled to our cabin in upstate NY. Right out of the gate the Atwood water heater refused to lite on propane but would work properly on shore power as it is a duel fuel unit. I found an Atwood service shop in pour area and the rep determined gathering problem to be our circuit board. He ordered one and came back to install it but it still would not run on propane. He then ordered a new ignightor and installed that item upon his return but still no ignition. He checked all the electronics to make sure they were in spec which they were except for the absence of the circuit board sending an ignition signal to the ignightor. He left and said he will be calling the Atwood Tech Line to discuss. Has anyone had any experience with a similar problem? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
George

[vintagemotor]

Open your exterior service panel door and look at the center of the water heater, you will see 2 red wires and 2 brown wires connecting into the unit, there is a diode on one of the brown wire connections, this diode has failed. Most people just remove the diode and plug the brown wire on the term and the water heater starts working. You can search using the main search tab to find the threads discussing this issue.

[centennialman]

I have had this same, exact challenge since buying my Airstream new in 2016. I have had it in the shop multiple times and spent a fortune for repairs. Still will not light on propane. At one point in time, I did the direct wire plug in as described in the prior post. It worked that way but I was told was dangerous since it was not able to go through the fuse and then to the panel.

[OTRA15]

Originally Posted by Gsnedike

. . .
Any help would be appreciated.
. . .

Plenty of recent threads on the Atwood water heater SNAFU.

These "Dinosaur board" search results should point in a helpful direction IMO:

https://www.google.com/search?q=Dino...com&gws_rd=ssl

Good luck,

Peter

[AirstreamInc]

Originally Posted by Gsnedike

We picked up our new 20’ Flying Cloud in early June and traveled to our cabin in upstate NY. Right out of the gate the Atwood water heater refused to lite on propane but would work properly on shore power as it is a duel fuel unit. I found an Atwood service shop in pour area and the rep determined gathering problem to be our circuit board. He ordered one and came back to install it but it still would not run on propane. He then ordered a new ignightor and installed that item upon his return but still no ignition. He checked all the electronics to make sure they were in spec which they were except for the absence of the circuit board sending an ignition signal to the ignightor. He left and said he will be calling the Atwood Tech Line to discuss. Has anyone had any experience with a similar problem? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
George

Hi Gsnedike,

We're very sorry to learn about the issue you are having. Please send us a direct message with your contact information and the last 6 digits of your VIN so we can share it with our Customer Service and Technical Support team. We look forward to helping you get this resolved.

You can also reach Airstream Customer Service and Technical Support at customer_support@airstream.com

Thank you.

[CruizinDux]

This thread is the most current and informative. It is at the bottom of the page when you use Peter's link. Good luck.



http://www.airforums.com/forums/f295...er-179320.html

[switz]

Another good reason why we replaced the stock Atwood/Dometic water heaters in both our 2014 31’ Classic and our 2015 23D International Serenity with a Truma “Aqua Go comfort” instant on water heater that is propane only. Saved about 50 pounds of stored water weight (6+ gallons) and was a smaller physical size too.

[sburrw]

We recently had the exact same problem and just before ordering a new circuit board I discovered it was just a loose wire. When I discovered no voltage on the brown wire that is plugged into the circuit board on the outside of the water heater, I traced it back to a loose wire in a harness that was found inside, laying on top of the insulated water heater. It may not be your problem, but it is worth checking out the simple things first.

[guskmg]

PrecisionTemp RV 550s work good too. I like mine.
guskmg

[RChrisClark]

Originally Posted by AirstreamInc

Hi Gsnedike,

We're very sorry to learn about the issue you are having. Please send us a direct message with your contact information and the last 6 digits of your VIN so we can share it with our Customer Service and Technical Support team. We look forward to helping you get this resolved.

You can also reach Airstream Customer Service and Technical Support at customer_support@airstream.com

Thank you.

Mine is in Windish RV in Lakewood as I write this with the same problem. The circuit board has already been replaced (yesterday). Hopefully that is all and these other issues will not also be a problem.

[rmkrum]

Originally Posted by guskmg

PrecisionTemp RV 550s work good too. I like mine.
guskmg

Yup. Best upgrade ever!

DW likes long, hot showers. The PrecisionTemp paid for itself the first time she took a shower after I had personally installed the unit...and she did not run out of water like happened with the Atwood 6 gallon it replaced.

[Gsnedike]

Originally Posted by RChrisClark

Mine is in Windish RV in Lakewood as I write this with the same problem. The circuit board has already been replaced (yesterday). Hopefully that is all and these other issues will not also be a problem.

Sorry Lakewood for your trouble! The circuit boards are a known problem and Atwood may still be sending out bad boards because the one they sent to my tech appears to have been bad. I have been in touch with Airstream and they are sending my tech a board directly that they believe is a “post problem” board.

My beef with Airstream is there telling me it really isn’t their problem but Atwood’s problem. That statement brought my blood pressure to a boil and I reminded the lady that I bought an Airstream not a water heater. If the stock radio in your new Mercedes didn’t work would you take it up with Mercedes or the radio manufacturer? My unit cost more than most Mercedes and Airstream better get the Atwood problem fixed ASAP. If Atwood remains unresponsive they should be replaced as a supplier. Failing that, Airstream’s reputation for producing a quality product and future retail sales will eventually take the hit!

Just Saying!
George L. Snediker

[Gsnedike]

Originally Posted by vintagemotor

Open your exterior service panel door and look at the center of the water heater, you will see 2 red wires and 2 brown wires connecting into the unit, there is a diode on one of the brown wire connections, this diode has failed. Most people just remove the diode and plug the brown wire on the term and the water heater starts working. You can search using the main search tab to find the threads discussing this issue.

My tech bypassed the diode and it still would not ignite. Hoping the new board from Airstream will fix this problem!

[Gsnedike]

After almost 4 months, many phone calls and 4 visits to my place by an Atwood approved tech our 2018 20’ Flying Cloud water heater is fixed. It took a new circuit board shipment from Airstream to the service tech to fix the problem. Not only wasn’t Atwood helpful they actually made the problem worse by not owning up to the problem they had with the bad boards and then still shipping boards out with known problems. The new board is manufactured by Panasonic and worked perfectly first time. Someone from Airstream needs to do a review of this poor service incident to make sure things happen differently in the future.