Atwood Hot Water GC6AA-10E issue - weird

[Chalk]

Looking for some troubleshooting advice for the above mentioned HW heater.

LP Gas part of the heater quit about a week ago...did the normal TS checked continuity on thermostats and fuses...determined that the circuit board was bad. Received a new CB and installed...fired right up worked great. Next day turned on and all good....day three turned on and nothing...same issue as before.

Hear a clicking sound and slight smell of gas, but no ignition and the lights on circuit board are not lighting up. They did when it was working.

Electric side of HW works fine.

Have tested for voltage to CB, all good, have tested continuity to TSTAT and ECO - good.  CB LEDs are not lighting up and there is no spark coming out - tested with volt meter.  Also checked voltage coming off the CB to the stats and gas valve and they all have around 7.5 to 7.9 coming out except for the lock out circuit.

Any thoughts?  Find it odd that a new CB died after only two good cycles, but power is at the board, inspected and scrapped all connections - hate to spend another $150 and I have other issues.  Also just topped off the LP tanks.  

 Worked fine prior no issues....new Premier 30RIPR had only five months old.

[GlennWest]

Check orfice for trash.

[Chalk]

GW - clean as a whistle

Gas valve is cycling - three times and then going into lock out...no spark

Noticed the left LED on the board appears burnt.  Monitored the voltage coming in for a good while to see if the power supply was spiking.  Brand new board really only one use out of it and no more spark...puzzled.

 

Edited November 4, 2018 by Chalk

[Kirk W]

Welcome to the Escapee forums!

The fact that you hear a clicking sound tells me that it is trying to ignite the propane but for some reason, it isn't doing so. That is probably the most common failure that propane RV water heaters experience. I would wager a pretty good amount of money that your problem is in the igniter probe. I strongly suggest that you replace the igniter probe as it most likely has failed. You might be able to remove it, clean it and adjust the gap properly and get it to work for a time, but most of them will fail again soon. If it were mine I would buy a new ignitor probe and install it. 

Edited November 4, 2018 by Kirk Wood

[sundancer268]

On other sites, http://www.irv2.com/forums/f54/atwood-water-heater-problems-389804.html people are complaining about Atwood water heater circuit boards failing right and left.  Rummer has it that they are having problems with the supplier and their quality control.  Others have had failures just like your board working only for a day or two.  If your Igniter electrode checks out I would replace the board.  If the replacement is on your dime, I would get a Dinosaur board instead of the Atwood problem child.

[Kirk W]

10 hours ago, sundancer268 said:

I would get a Dinosaur board instead of the Atwood problem child.

As one who has repaired many RV water heaters, I would agree with the last part of this post. I only use Dinosaur Electronics for any of the circuit boards that they supply. 

[Wrknrvr]

  Now this little trick may or may not help.

 

 There is a little 1/4" drive screw holding the ignight assembly to the tank. It is on top. Loosen that and tighten it. Maybe three times.

 Now another little trick for that style water heater is to make sure the igniter wire is not touching the outside door when the door is closed. You can look at the door on the inside and possibly see a trace where the wire is leaving a mark.

 

just a thought,.   Vern

 

 Dino board would be better also

[JimK]

Replace the igniter.   You don't want to know there was nothing wrong with the board, but your problem will end. 

[Chalk]

Did order a new dinosaur board and trying to return the other.

Did pull back the foam over the ECO and one of the plastic tabs on the ECO was outside the metal.  Kind of crooked....manual talks about if the leads short it infers to circuit board damage. 

Appreciate the responses 👍💪

 

[oldjohnt]

If you smell gas (can feel and/or hear gas valve opening) and hear the clik clik clik  snap snap snap my guess not being there is the board and its  HV coil/transformer (has a wire from it to ignitor tip) is working so Id suspect a bad ignitor tip assembly such as a hairline crack or carbon trace or short or not adjusted properly. On some models I have removed the wire off the HV coil/transformer and replaced it with a jumper wire from there to 1/8 inch from sheet metal have gas off but cycled the heater to see if its producing a spark. If so and the gas valve is being operated again check the ignitor tip assembly.

Also if the ignitor tip assembly isn't well grounded it wont throw a spark. Maybe inspect (rust or loose screws) the mounting screws to insure a good ground. Ignitor tip and/or fixing bad ground or connection is way cheaper then a new board

 As a past used RV dealer and 48 year RVer Ive never had a Dinosaur replacement board go bad yet

John T

[Kirk W]

2 hours ago, Chalk said:

Did order a new dinosaur board and trying to return the other.

Are you saying that you had already replaced the circuit board? Did you order an ignition probe? 

[oldjohnt]

3 hours ago, Chalk said:

Did order a new dinosaur board and trying to return the other.

Even if the old one turned out to be okay (like maybe it WAS the ignitor tip or a bad connection or ground instead of a bad board) a spare Dinosaur board isn't a bad item to keep as a spare !!! But that's still a fair amount of change if its not needed, your call, see what happens... 

John T 

[Chalk]

Replaced the board and it started working - replaced the ignitor, ECO and Tstat as well (stimulating the economy 😎)- fired right up - works like a champ again...though it was new to start with hmmmm.

Just to recap - checked continuity, power and ground and all was good....the circuit board ignitor part was not clicking nor were the LEDs working (they did when the CB worked); ECO was not installed correctly IMO from factory.  The gas valve worked and the CB would go into lock out after the third attempt.

New to all this, but 98.999% sure it was the CB failing again after 2 uses - not sure if it was the ECO being potentially grounded.

 

Have a dinosaur board now...hope I get three showers this time 🙄🤣

Thanks for all the help 👍

[oldjohnt]

37 minutes ago, Chalk said:

 

Have a dinosaur board now...hope I get three showers this time 🙄🤣

CONGRATULATIONS and thanks for the feedback. FWIW I've yet to have a Dinosaur replacement board go bad. With BOTH that new Ignitor and Dinosaur board you may be good to go for yearsssssssssss now. I think replacing the Ignitor was a good thing to do while you're at it (as well as T Stat), as I've seen many of them develop problems.

  John T

 

Edited November 6, 2018 by oldjohnt

[Kirk W]

3 hours ago, Chalk said:

Replaced the board and it started working - replaced the ignitor, ECO and Tstat as well (stimulating the economy 😎)- fired right up - works like a champ again...

Because they tend to fail with age, I always replace the ignitor probe if I replace a circuit board. 

[Christner]

Not sure if anyone is still following this thread,but just in case, I have a water heater issue also. In my case the heater fires up and runs awhile then shuts off. Then when I open the hot water faucet, I get maybe a half cup of hot water, then a cup or two of tepid water, then cold again.  It's an Atwood model G6A-8E with a 04/22/14 date label. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks, Larry

[Kirk W]

2 hours ago, Christner said:

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. 

What it sounds like to me is that your water heater bypass valve is open along with the inlet and outlet valves. 

               

I suggest that if you have future problems you may get more response by starting a new thread.

 

Edited January 5, 2019 by Kirk W

[beemergary]

Glad you got it working. In my old age have found just replace one part at a time and not just throw parts at it. I would have tried a gas lighter to eliminate a gas valve problem-circuit board.

[SCClockDr]

17 hours ago, Christner said:

Not sure if anyone is still following this thread,but just in case, I have a water heater issue also. In my case the heater fires up and runs awhile then shuts off. Then when I open the hot water faucet, I get maybe a half cup of hot water, then a cup or two of tepid water, then cold again.  It's an Atwood model G6A-8E with a 04/22/14 date label. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks, Larry

I'd look for a mixing valve at the hot outlet. If present they are known for failing due to scaling. Many remove it and manually regulate the discharge temp with the bypass valve. One last thing to check is the outside shower. If both valves are open with the shower head valve closed hot & cold will mix.

Water heaters with mixing valves maintain higher tank temperatures. This coupled with mixing in cold creates an apparent larger capacity tank.

There is a scalding risk if the mixing valve is eliminated and no cold water is mixed via the bypass.

[Christner]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!  Found a valve handle that looked promising, turned it and WHAMO, I had a nice hot shower!  You all are the best!!  Love the support from these forums.

Larry

[junior87]

Ok i don't know much about rv water heaters but I have been experiencing a problem with mine. Where the fire is shooting into the hole to heat up the water heater, the fire is coming out is supposed to be a straight blue flame and I can't get enough pressure to create that blue flame. I've already melted the 2 watt fuse once and was kinda hard to find another but found one at our local rv store. Im trying not to melt another. Yalls help and comments would be much appreciated. Thank you

[Wrknrvr]

  You do not put more pressure to get a blue flame period. It must be about 11” water column give or take. It needs to be adjusted with a meter. It is around 1/2 lb pressure, so a gauge will not work. It has to be adjusted with a meter.

  The flame color is adjusted by sliding the air vent tube on the burner tube.  I guess you could call it a air vent tube?

  Just loosen the little set nut. Then slide the tube back and forth for flame adjustment.

  Now there could be dirt in the oriface that is causing the problem.

 

  But adding pressure to the system is definitely a no no no no. It has to be adjusted properly..

 

   Vern in a T-shirt 

[Kirk W]

Welcome to the Escapee forums!

If the water heater is experiencing flame blow-back that fuse is there to protect you from fire and is supposed to open. I wonder if your water heater heat exchanger has something blocking the burner tube. Was the water heater working and then suddenly started to do this, or might it have been in storage and something built a nest in the burner area?

[junior87]

Yes the water heater was working before and is now experiencing fire blow back. The blow back melted the fuse it had before and I had to find a new one. Now I I don't put the new one on cause worry of it melting again. Regardless of me moving back and forth the air vent tube it will not adjust the flame and it stays the same amount of flame fully closed or fully open. As for the pressure in the line it was working when I first moved into the trailer about 5 months ago. I barely open the propane tank and its been sufficient amount of pressure for the flame, and now there's flame kick back and I don't know why. Thank yall for your responses its much appreciated.

And thank you kirk 🙏 for the warm welcome

Edited January 21, 2021 by junior87

[Danandfreda]

Sounds like bad propane regulator or it’s set to high