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Topic: CW and Hot Water Heater Control Board (Read 18 times) previous topic - next topic
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CW and Hot Water Heater Control Board
Yahoo Message Number: 146277
Will rely on the experts to do electrical and plumbing repairs to our '99 LD RB. I'm pleased with my visit today to CW#27. Staff were courteous and competent and had me out the door with hot water in no time. They diagnosed a bad control board and replaced in a jiffy. Board was $259 + about $111 for labor including the diagnostic charge. Cheap? No. But at least we can get back on the road and take a shower!
 Thanks for the tips on cleaning the TB and valve. That's my next project.
 Bessie is 15 this year so we build a fair amount of $ into the budget for maintenance as any RV'er knows is necessary- especially on an older unit.

Todd '99 RB and '02 HOnda CRV
Todd (and Steve)
'17 Winnebago Minnie Winnie and '13 Honda CRV
(Former '99 RB owners from 2012-2016)
Re: CW and Hot Water Heater Control Board
Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 146283
Todd, I'm glad you had a good experiencer with Camping World's service department. As many of us can attest, they are a hit or miss proposition, with more misses than hits in many cases.

I had to replace my water heater's controller board last summer. For others who may find themselves in this situation, it turns out that it's a fairly easy fix even if you're not technically savvy. Rather than inustall another atwood board, I recommend the Dinosaur Electronics Small Universal Ignitor Board (UIB-S), because it's better designed, better built, and carries a longer warranty than the original manufacturer's board.

The Dinosaur board is available for less than a hundred dollars, and installation requires only a screwdriver. All you have to do is remove the plastic cover, remove the screws holding the old board, and pull off a few wires (with push-on lug connectors)... then replace it with the new board and reconnect the wires. All fixed! :-)

Andy Baird

Travels with Andy
As an Amazon Associate Lazy Daze Owners' Group earns from qualifying purchases.
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
Re: CW and Hot Water Heater Control Board
Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 146296
I sure admire those of you who figure out many of these maintenance issues on your own (and save a lot of $ in the process). I spent hours and hours reading online and watching You Tube videos on hot water heater issues. Initially, I was getting a sporadic red light and usually the unit would fire up again after it dried out from a rain storm. Finally, it completely failed to light this spring after coming out of storage. I did luck out in terms of getting a good tech at CW who was able to quickly diagnose the problem and fix it quickly. For those maintenance projects that I have been able to tackle (often with help from this group and Eureka), it is rewarding and part of the "fun". :)
 When it comes to anything connected to the electrical or LP system, I've decided it's "hands off" for me. Just too intimidating and I was fearful of doing something wrong and causing a fire.

Todd
Todd (and Steve)
'17 Winnebago Minnie Winnie and '13 Honda CRV
(Former '99 RB owners from 2012-2016)
Re: CW and Hot Water Heater Control Board
Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 146298
"I did luck out in terms of getting a good tech at CW who was able to quickly diagnose the problem and fix it quickly."

Todd

Congrats on finding one of the few 'good techs' at CW.
It's always a crap shot at CW and, like all houses of gambling, the house has the advantage.
I know too many who had bad days at the CW Casino, especially when taking advantage of the cheap sale installation of major items.

Larry
Larry
2003 23.5' Front Lounge, since new.  Previously 1983 22' Front Lounge.
Tow vehicles  2020 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, 2001 Jeep Cherokee
Photo Collection: Lazy Daze
Re: CW and Hot Water Heater Control Board
Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 146301
I knew I was gambling and was nervous about the whole thing. My mobile guy is good but rough around the edges and expensive. And I doubted he would have parts on his truck (I didn't know what the problem was at that point). Servicing our LD's is like so many things - if you can do it yourself, you can potentially save yourself a lot of money. On the other hand, sometimes it's easier just to let someone else do it.
Todd (and Steve)
'17 Winnebago Minnie Winnie and '13 Honda CRV
(Former '99 RB owners from 2012-2016)
Re: CW and Hot Water Heater Control Board
Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 146476
Dear Andy,

The water heater on my 2007 MB has stopped working.  It's an Atwood G6A-8E.  It ignites, the flame burns for about 6 seconds, then it shuts off.  I cleaned the connections, vacuumed out the flue, checked the position of the spark probe, adjusted the burner tube slider.  Nothing worked.  So I replaced the spark probe.  That didn't work either.  So, hearing about the Dinosaur boards, I decided to order one.  I received the board today.  What's puzzling however, is that the board has 4 mounting holes (one in each corner), whereas the original Atwood board has a mounting hole in the center of the shorter side (i.e. two holes total in completely different locations).  Also, the UIB-S connector is labeled

Power

NC Valve Sense Ground

However, on the wired side of the connector that attaches to the Atwood board's connector, the wires are: Brown = Power NC Blue = Non Ignition light Red = Valve NC Green = Ground

So, the wiring on the edge connector doesn't appear to match.  I was just wondering if you or anyone had an idea what's going on because it sounds like these Dinosaur boards have been easy plug compatible replacements for the original Atwood control board.

Thanks, Mike
Re: CW and Hot Water Heater Control Board
Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 146477
This is why I ordered an Atwood OEM replacement which was identical except for an extra adaptor which was included with the new board. Nothing beats OEM for convenience.
Have you called Dinosaur to inquire about the mismatch? They should be able to help you.
Good Luck, Bob
Re: CW and Hot Water Heater Control Board
Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 146499
Thanks for your reply, Bob.  I went with the Dinosaur board because it was about 1/2 the cost of an OEM board and people seemed to have been happy with them both on this forum and elsewhere on other forums.
 I did contact dinosaur and apparently there's a metal adapter you need to order to be able to screw their board into an Atwood heater without drilling new mounting holes.  I'm gonna order one of those.  I didn't yet receive a response to my follow-up question about the labeling of the Dinosaur edge connector as they'd left for the weekend.  But it sounds like other people just plugged it in and ignored the fact that the labeling suggests the wiring of the connector is different from the OEM board.  I'm just being cautious so I don't blow out the Dino board since the Atwood schematic sure makes it look like the spade connectors differ in their wiring.

-Mike
Re: CW and Hot Water Heater Control Board
Reply #8 –
Yahoo Message Number: 146501
Mike, it sounds as if you did all the right things before ordering the Dinosaur board. I went through pretty much the same sequence of troubleshooting steps.

It's been a couple of years since I installed my Dinosaur UIS-B board, so my memory is fuzzy, but I do recall having to drill holes to mount it. I ended up using small, short sheet-metal screws in three corners, but omitting a screw from the lower lefthand corner because I felt it was uncomfortably close to the bulge of the internal tank.  Needless to say, I was very, very careful not to go too deep when drilling the clearance holes for the mounting screws. (I used the Dinosaur plastic cover for protection--not that that affects mounting.)

As for the connector, all I can say is that I plugged it in and it worked. My 2003-vintage water heater is the same Atwood G6A-8E as yours, so I'd expect it to work for you as well. But if you have any questions, it'd be a good idea to call Dinosaur. Their tech support is excellent, at least in my experience.
 By the way, there's a jumper resistor at the upper righthand corner of the Dinosaur board. If left in place, it causes a 20-second delay between turning on the power and lighting the burner. (I believe this is for furnaces--remember, the UIS-B is a universal ignitor board.) For water heater use, I suggest cutting one end of the resistor so that you get instant ignition. (The jumper resistor is clearly labeled as such on the board.)

Hope this helps! Again, Dinosaur tech support is a good resource.

Andy Baird http://www.andybaird.com/travels
Andy Baird
2021 Ford Ranger towing 2019 Airstream 19CB
Previously: 1985 LD Twin/King "Gertie"; 2003 LD Midbath "Skylark"
 
Re: CW and Hot Water Heater Control Board
Reply #10 –
Yahoo Message Number: 146563
Thanks Andy for the information!  I've ordered the adapter, simply because I'm too chicken to start drilling holes!  :-)  Regarding the connector, I got a reply from Dinosaur for my follow-on question and they confirmed that I should just plug it in and it should work -- same thing you said.  I think part of my confusion is that one of the connectors was labeled NC.  I thought that was NO CONNECT, but Dinosaur said that actually stands for NORMALLY CLOSED.  I'll plug it in once I get the adapter.  Should be in a few days.

Thanks again!

Regards, Mike