Atwood hotwater heater issue November 16, 2017, 11:06:27 am Hi-I'm having an issue with my Atwood hotter heater.It starts fine but in a 5 or so minutes it will shut off.If I leave the water heater on it will light again on it's own but as before shut off after a few minutes.I checked the kitchen faucet to see if the water was warm. It was not.Any ideas what could be causing the problem?Thanks.Mark
Re: Atwood hotwater heater issue Reply #1 – November 16, 2017, 11:37:42 am The problem may be due to a bad (possibly loose) thermocouple. (You may want to have the issue checked out by an RV tech.) 1 Likes
Re: Atwood hotwater heater issue Reply #2 – November 16, 2017, 05:10:21 pm Mark, I can think of a few things that might be wrong. You could have a bad thermocouple which is getting hot and shutting things down, but usually they self-destruct when that happens. If that were happening, the most likely cause would be blow back from the burner.You could have a dirty connection or loose connection at ANY of the connections. I suggest that you remove each of them and polish them either with paper or a pencil eraser, then use a drop of De-Oxit (sp?) contact cleaner before putting them back together. You will have two for the thermocouple, two for the thermostat, two for the ECO, and one on the board. Those are fairly easy and safe to service while the heater is off. You could have a bad thermostat that cuts of the heating too soon. The same could happen with the ECO. The thermostat and the ECO can be bypassed for testing purposes by connecting a wire between the two spade connectors that hook up to them. DO NOT DO THAT FOR LONG! If you heat the unit too high by bypassing those cutoffs, all kinds of bad things, from scalding you to a steam explosion could occur. Rather, stand there and hold the jumper wire in place just long enough to see if the unit still cuts off. If yes, move to the next component. If it does not cut off with you holding the jumper wire bypassing either the thermostat or the ECO, the component you are bypassing is bad. You could have a bad board. The igniter is also the burn sensor. If it decides that there is not enough heat being produced by the flame, it will shut the unit down. Those are all possible, but the most common cause of something like this is a bad contact. Clean them all.Ken F in NM 1 Likes
Re: Atwood hotwater heater issue Reply #3 – November 17, 2017, 05:08:17 am Mark-Our 1997 MB had the same symptom, and a loose ground wire was the cause. It is a green wire. It can get loose or corroded. Remove the screw that holds the ring connector down, clean it up, and retighten. Here's a link to a Web site to which I refer when troubleshooting Atwood water heaters.Mark 3 Likes
Re: Atwood hotwater heater issue Reply #4 – November 17, 2017, 12:41:16 pm Good information on that Atwood water heater troubleshooting link; thanks for posting it. 1 Likes
Re: Atwood hotwater heater issue Reply #5 – November 17, 2017, 04:00:02 pm Quote from: l1v3fr33ord13 - November 17, 2017, 05:08:17 amMark-Our 1997 MB had the same symptom, and a loose ground wire was the cause. It is a green wire. It can get loose or corroded. Remove the screw that holds the ring connector down, clean it up, and retighten. Here's a link to a Web site to which I refer when troubleshooting Atwood water heaters.MarkCan we add the link to the Companion? — Jon
Re: Atwood hotwater heater issue Reply #6 – November 17, 2017, 11:39:05 pm Quote from: Jon & Loni - November 17, 2017, 04:00:02 pmCan we add the link to the Companion? — JonI will add it to the Hot Water Heater topic.Chris
Re: Atwood hotwater heater issue Reply #7 – November 21, 2017, 10:32:33 am Had a problem with ours on the trip we just returned from. When the check light came on trying to get it going, I went outside and noted it was sparking fine, but no gas delivery. I tapped vigorously on the valve while it sparked, thinking from the symptoms that the valve might just be sticking from low usage, and then there was ignition. Subsequently, the heater worked normally the rest of the trip. Now that I'm home, I will do further checks.Steve
Re: Atwood hotwater heater issue Reply #8 – November 21, 2017, 04:11:34 pm Any time my water heater has balked I have blown compressed air into the opening and crud has flown out the other side. It has fired up nicely afterward.Good luck! Dave
Re: Atwood hotwater heater issue Reply #9 – November 21, 2017, 05:29:37 pm Steve, sounds like you have a problem with the propane valve. That is not, repeat NOT, a repair job for a lay person.I recommend a qualified service person to deal with it. A phone call to Atwood should be helpful in finding a certified tech in your area.Ken F in NM
Re: Atwood hotwater heater issue Reply #10 – November 21, 2017, 06:18:06 pm I agree it is likely a valve problem, but it might not even require service. If it DOES need replacement, I don't think that is a difficult DIY repair to do securely. It could also be a weak solenoid - an issue I recently had with our old Maytag clothes drier, and also an easy fix. But, we heat hot water on the stove for washup, so only use the hot water heater for showers, and then only heating once to 104 degrees for two showers. I think the valve may have become a bit sticky from low usage.Steve
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