Atwood GE16EXT Hot Water Heater

[derenzy]

Worked fine yesterday but after a long 7 hour drive today, the hot water heater doesn't seem to be working on electric or LP. LP lighter isn't even trying to light. Checked master breaker, inverter breakers, and fuse at hot water and found nothing amiss. Have 2007 Fleetwood Bounder 38L.

Thanks

Dan DeRenzy

[derenzy]

I'm embarrased to say I didn't adequately troubleshoot my wife's report that we had no hot water. It turns out the electric portion of the heater is working just fine and I assume the reason the LP didn't ignite was because the water was already hot. Anyway, the problem was a loose handle on the kitchen sink so it did not move all the way to the hot water position.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

Dan DeRenzy

[wolfe10]

Sounds like a perfect answer-- and inexpensive!

[RVerOnTheMove]

Please don't feel like you inconvenienced anyone! It's actually good information should someone with a similar issue come to the forum looking for a solution.

[jamesaye]

I was surprised to read a blog with the exact problem I am having, except my Suburban SW12DE Diret Vent gas water heater with Direct Spark Ignition (DSI) is still not heating water after I trouble shot all the same possibilities that Dan attempted. The only difference in our hook-up today and that of our last hook-up, is that we went from a 50 Amp to a 30 Amp hook-up. We are in a 2005 Holiday Rambler Scepter. The water heater runs on either 120v, 12v, or propane. I have electrical and gas aplenty. Don't know what else to do.

[dickandlois]

There are two thermocouples on the water heaters when one has electrical power and LP. There is also a thermal fuse in the control board voltage supply line.

ELECTRONIC IGNITION MAINTENANCE

• The water heater comes factory-equipped with a fused circuit board,

which will protect the circuit board from wiring shorts. If the fuse

should activate, the water heater will not operate. Before replacing

the fuse, check for a short external to the board. Once the short is

corrected, replace the 2 amp fuse with a mini ATO style fuse. Do not

install a fuse larger than 3 amps.

• If the fuse is good and the unit is inoperative, check for excessively

high voltage to the unit (more than 14 volts).

• If the previous two steps did not solve the problem, check the

thermal cut-off (FIG 3-I). The thermal cutoff is a device installed in the

power supply line. This device will shut off electrical power and stop

heater operation when activated. For example, if an obstruction

within the flue tube should occur, as described in the Preventative

Maintenance section, the burner flame/heat may contact the cutoff,

resulting in a melting of the fuse element incorporated in the

thermal cutoff. In order to restore power and proper operation of the

water heater, the obstruction must be removed and the thermal

cutoff must be replaced.

LP thermal protection coupler can fail or just dislodge from the tank surface causing issues.

The thermal fuse can fail do to high temperature,obstruction in the burner tube. Very high temps from sun light and LP heat are combined at times. The other is oxidation at the fuse terminals restricting the 12 volts from the control module.

The other is a failure of the thermal switch controlling the circuit to the hot shot electrical heater. This one has happened to me. Checked the supply going to this switch and that going out.(Relay Failure) No power to the heater element, but good power to the input. Heater element resistance was good.

GAS/ELECTRIC COMBINATION FUNCTION

GAS OPERATION. When the gas switch is turned on, the unit will make three

attempts to light. If for any reason there is no ignition, the unit will

lockout and the red lockout lamp will illuminate. If the thermostat fails,

the ECO will also lockout the unit, requiring resetting. Determine the

reason for no ignition, correct it, and reset the gas ignition sequence

by turning the switch off, then on.

ELECTRIC OPERATION. When the electric switch is turned on, the relay at the

rear of the unit will close and pass 110vac to the element. If the

thermostat were to fail, the ECO will open and lockout the system. To

correct, check the thermostat to assure good contact with the tank

and reset the control by turning the electric switch off, then on.

GAS/ELECTRIC OPERATION. The unit can be run in both gas and electric

modes simultaneously for quick recovery. note: if the gas fails to

ignite, the gas mode will lockout, but the lockout lamp will not

illuminate since the electric mode is still operational. Should you notice

slow recovery, indicating the gas is not working, turn the electric

switch off. The lamp will then illuminate indicating a lockout has

occurred on the gas side. Correct the problem and turn the switches

back on.

Rich.

[derenzy]

Unfortunately, I'm back on the forum with more problems with my Atwood GE16EXT hot water heater.

Up until last trip with our 2007 Fleetwood Bounder 38L, we had no problems with the hot water heater. However, on the last trip, the fault (lockout) light came on with the unit heating on electric. I switched over to LP and worked fine.

Now, as we prepare to depart for Thanksgiving, the electric mode continues to lockout. The LP is now intermittently setting off the fault light as well- just not regularly. I pulled the plugs off the circuit board and cleaned the contacts lightly with steel wool. The small 5 am fuse located on the circuit board is good. Beyond all this, I've done nothing to troubleshoot. Any suggestions?

Is there a good possibility the circuit board is bad/going bad? If so, I'll get a new one asap.

Thanks

Dan DeRenzy

[dickandlois]

Dan, The only item I can think of, is to check the Spark and sense Electrode is positioned properly. Needs to stay in the flame, if the flame blows away from this sensor it cools rapidly shutting down the gas valve.

Note: use a pencil eraser to clean the board contacts.

Rich.

[derenzy]

Thanks Rich.

The LP portion seems to work fine if the RV is running on 12v and not plugged into 50amp. I found a circuit board a couple hours away which I plan to purchase tomorrow. They said if it didn’t work I could return it.

[wolfe10]

Many RV shops have PC board TESTERS. Check with the shop you are using to see if they have one. If so, pull the old board and have it tested before you replace it.

And, as Rich said, before assuming the board may be bad, unplug the connector and use a pencil eraser or a good electrical cleaner such as De-oxit to clean the connection and board.

Verify that you have `12+ VDC to the PC board AND that you have a good ground (ground wires/screws are a source of issues).

[derenzy]

Thanks to both of you, I appreciate it.

I'll take the board with me to be sure.

[gwcowgill]

Did the board cure it? I am having the same problem on my 2009 Bounder, works on gas but not on electric.

I get the fault light when the heater is on electric. I am suspicious of the heating element but have no way of testing it without removing the heater. There is no way to get to the element that I can see without removing it.

Any tests I can do to confirm my suspicion?

[gwcowgill]

After posting earlier today, I went out and cleaned all contacts and the green ground wire and it is working fine now.

[wolfe10]

Excellent. Thanks for the update.

[vaper3921]

Hope okay under this post. Our water heater suddenly started leaking last night. Felt wet carpet and discovered water in the cabinet. Turned everything off and checked outside. Water dripping from pop-off valve. 1989 Beaver Marquis. Not sure if leak in tank or just the valve. Camping world tomorrow. Thoughts on tank or valve?

[wolfe10]

vaper3921,

It could be nothing more than that the air pocket has diminished. Start by turning off shore water and water pump. Open the pop-off valve until it quits draining. Close and pressurize.

If it leaks again replace the valve-- most box stores have them in stock. NOT RV specific.

[Mel148]

Yes I have a 2010 discovery 40g with a Atwood ge16ext 10 gal after getting it out of Cummins repair for a turbo replacement now the electric side is not heating the water but the propane side works fine I am getting 110 voltage to the back of the heater but the red indicator light at the switch in the control board up front barely lights up for just a second when I flip it on is there a fuse under the black junction box at the rear of the water heater my manual isn't clear about this and I haven't tried to remove it because it's really tight or do I need to look elsewhere

This is my first post and New to FMCA

Thanks

Joe

[dickandlois]

Joe, Welcome to the FMCA Forum!

Think your model water heater has a fuse for the 110 volt hot shot heater element on the main control board. Fuse size might be between 15 and 20 amps depending on the wattage of the element.

The other possibility is the temperature safety opened, if the water level for the water heater was low and the electric heater was turned on.

One needs to manually reset it and it is often mounted to the back side of the tank. There is an access panel one can remove to press the reset.

BUT turn off the ac power before reaching inside the access hole. No need to get a shock !!!

Then power it up again and see if it starts to make hot water-if the tank is already hot then you will need to delay the test until things cool down. LP temp point is set higher then the hotshot cut off point.

Rich.

[Mel148]

Thanks for the info I think you are referring to the black junction box on the rear of the tank under my closet floor The temp dropped and I went ahead and winterized the coach so I will have to check it when I de winterize it early next year I will post the results then Joe

[Mel148]

I de winiterized my coach this past week and replaced the 2 amp mini fuse on the water heater board outside although I don't think it was blown.Un plugged some connections and turned the 120 v circuit breaker on and off in the main fuse panel and it started to work again

.Not sure what was wrong maybe a loose connection or some got bumped when replacing the turbo but all seems good now.

So now we are getting it ready for the rally in Perry a week from now.Looking forward to it.

Thanks Joe & Darlene

2010 Fleetwood Discovery 40 G

[manholt]

Joe.

Let Attwood take a look at it in Perry.

Carl

[Mel148]

Was planing on doing that among other things

Joe

[BruceN53]

So my 2007 Fleetwood Excursion 39s with the GE 16 EXT Atwood is not working on the electric function. LP works fine. I've been reading all the replies and trying to decide what to do first. Perhaps cleaning the circuit board connectors and check that 2amp mini fuse. Would you all agree as a start. Joe did you get any help from the Atwood people?

Bruce

[dickandlois]

Bruce, It never hurts to clean the circuit board contacts. Your control board might have a 20 amp fuse Ac power fuse that has failed also.

Just make sure the power is off before working on the connections and checking fuses !

Rich.

[BruceN53]

Rich, I don't know if this has any impact on why it won't work on AC. This being a new coach for me, I'm learning things " the hard way". We took it over to a near by campground in early spring to open it up, push all the buttons, and test all the systems. Everything was working except, no hot water. Since I was on full hookups I wanted to use the electric option on the HWH to conserve the propane. Long, long story...I found out that water was not getting in the HWH tank because this coach has a 2nd bypass valve on it. This was after 3 men tried to help me diagnose why water was not filling the tank. I finally got a hold of the previous owner and he told me, yes it's located in the bedroom vanity. Sure enough, if you stick your head in and look right, there it is! Yeah, we have water in the tank! Of course, the only way to access it is when the slides are out because the bed blocks the vanity door. Anyway, It makes sense now as to why the propane flame kept going out- no water= overheating!

I did find the 15 amp breaker today for the unit but it was not tripped. Fleetwood sent me schematics for the coach and I will look at them. Do you think that there is another fuse for this to work on electric?? I cleaned all of the contacts last night but don't know if it helped. When I flip the "electric" switch on for the HWH can I check for voltage back on the tank's circuitry somewhere? I thinking something happened that day when I tried to heat it without water in it, probably a safety device opened.

Bruce