No red light, no ignition, no hot water!

[flygunz]

Went on a day trip the other day, and when I returned, the water heater had stopped working. No red light, no ticking/ignition. Looking at the schematic, troubleshooting order should be remote switch, themal cut-off, fixed temp stat, control board, non-ignition light. Does that make sense? Not an electrician, so don't want to start on a wild goose chase. Any obvious culprits from my description?

Also, besides the 2A fuse on the control board, is there a 20/30A breaker? Can't find one listed in the breaker box, but all the lights/outlets that I think would be on the same circuit are working anyways, so I doubt it's the tripped if there is one.

Read backposts, and none of them had the issue of the redlight, ignition not happening at all.

Oh, 2006 Safari, Atwood 6 gal, electric start, full of propane

Thanks in advance!

[mshamilton]

I have the same problem, 2005 Safari, I found the 20amp fuse #6 on my panel. My 2amp and 20amp fuses were ok. I did find on the water heater an inline sensor. I believe this cuts off the propane when the water reaches the correct temp. Since it was connected at both ends, I pulled it out and plugged in the wire to the panel. Water heater works, light comes on etc. WORD OF CAUTION, since I bypassed the sensor, the propane is lit and on all the time. NOT A SAFE REMEDY. We were very cautious not to leave it run all the time, just long enough to shower and do dishes. Since this just happened this weekend, I do not have a source for the replacement. You might try the same thing. But again, it is not a safe remedy. Please be careful. When I do find the part, I'll buy two

[ROBERTSUNRUS]

Hi, Twice on my trailer the water heater failed to light; It was the thermister. What happens is the burner tube get a partial blockage from insects or spider webs. The flame flares up, over heats the thermister, and the igniter stops working. The first time this happened to me, I disconnected the thermister and hooked the brown w/ white tracer wire directly to the panel. [bypassing the thermister] By then the blockage had burned out and I had a normal flame. Now I carry spares.

Note: I do not recommend that you bypass the thermister for more than a simple test. This is a protection devise.

[flygunz]

Thanks for your replies. Once I dug into the system, it is super easy to troubleshoot with nothing more than a test light. In my case, the thermal cut-off was bad as indicated by current to, but not out of. A 10 second replacement and i was bathing with hot water! Due to the non-ignition light being the last part in the schematic, any part that is bad prior to it on the schematic will cause the red light not to come on because it will not get electricity. Oh, my replacement came with TWO thermal cut-offs. Not realizing this, I ordered two so I'd have a spare, and now I have 3 spares. Oh well, cheap at $22 a kit. I'd also recommend anytime you have a problem with the water heater, clean the burner and all the electical connections while you are in there. Kind of exposed to the elements/corrosion and you know spiders/daubers love areas like the water heater area. Thanks again. J

[dmac]

I just moved into the trailer last night, after having it stored for 8 months. I was taking a shower today and the water went from warm to cooler in about 30 seconds. I looked at the water heater, seemed to be working... although the red light does not come on. Eventually I found the problem, operator error... I had opened the valves to allow water in/out of the water heater, but I left the bypass valve open too! I feel like an idiot!