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Hello, My hot water heater is not working. It is propane but

 
RANDALL's Avatar
  • Answered by:RANDALL
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Customer Question

Hello,
My hot water heater is not working. It is propane but appears to need 120v power. the switch has power in and out. but doesnt seem to have power to the unit. It is in a 94 terry 32' travel trailer.

 

Optional Information:
Year: 1994
Make (other): Terry
Model: travel trailer
Engine: no

Already Tried:
I checked for power at the switch in the cabin. have power in and out. three wires coming to the unit brown, blue, green. green is ground. checked for voltage on other two to ground, nothing.

Submitted: 731 days and 13 hours ago.
Category: RV
Value: $18
Status: CLOSED
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Expert:  RANDALL replied 731 days and 13 hours ago.

Hi: Thank you for coming to Just Answer with your question. My name is XXXXX XXXXX perhaps I can assist you with this issue.

What is the make and model of your water heater. The wires you described are for the 12 VAC power to the circuit board. Get back to me with this and I can assist you further. R.J.

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Expert:  RANDALL replied 731 days and 12 hours ago.

This sounds like a control board or thermal fuse perhaps. If this is an Atwood water heater you can go HERE and get the manual for this. With a 12 VDC test light you can check to see if you are getting power to the control board. If you are and it won't light then the board is most likely bad. You can take if off and into a shop to be tested. Check all the connections to be sure they just don't have some light surface corrosion on them. Usually pulling them off and putting them back on with suffice. If you don't have power to the board backtrack to the thermostat and ECO and see if you have power in and out there. Get back to me with what you find. If you have a Suburban water heater let me know and I can get you to that manual. They operate pretty much the same way. Always good to have the LP pressure checked at the regulator at least once a year. Low LP pressure can cause a host of LP appliance problems..........especially with ignition. R.J.

Customer replied 731 days and 12 hours ago.

what is ECO?

Customer replied 731 days and 12 hours ago.

where is the thermostat? wouldnt that be in the tank?

Picture
Expert:  RANDALL replied 731 days and 12 hours ago.

ECO stands for Electrical Cut Off and is part of the thermostat wiring. The location depends on the make and model. Get me that off the data tag and I can tell you. On the inside right hand edge after you open the inspection cover. R.J.

Customer replied 731 days and 11 hours ago.

atwood mobile products

 

gc6aa 9e

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Expert:  RANDALL replied 731 days and 11 hours ago.

That manual link I gave you will work fine for this........see the section on the thermostat and ECO and thermal fuse. Follow the power with a 12 VDC test light or a multimeter to where the power isn't getting through. If you have power to the control board and still not igniting then the board is most likely bad. You can unplug it and take it in for testing at any RV shop. R.J.

Customer replied 731 days and 11 hours ago.

why is the switch in the cabin 120v? why is there a 120v breaker in the fuse panel if it is a 12v system?

Accepted Answer

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Expert:  RANDALL replied 731 days and 11 hours ago.

That model uses both AC for heating when you want that mode and also electronically fired LP mode for when you want to use LP. Was this the original water heater or has it been upgraded or do you know? The older style have just one plug on the control board and the newer models have two. They use a relay on the rear of the unit to switch back and forth on the A/C portion so it uses just one ECO and thermostat. All the schematics are in the manual. You still trouble shoot it just the same. You follow the 12 VDC power along until you find out where it isn't getting through. It it makes it to the control board and still won't work then the board is the problem. On the AC side it needs to have the breaker on in the service panel and then the heating element needs to be good. That can be tested with a multimeter. Hope that makes sense............if not, explain what you do have and we can go from there. R.J.

Expert TypeRVIA Certification
Category: RV
Pos. Feedback: 96.3 %
Accepts: 7726
Answered: 4/10/2011

Experience: RVDA/RVIA MASTER CERTIFIED TECHNICIAN WITH MANY YEARS EXPERIENCE

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