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Old 02-15-2009, 10:39 AM   #1
bw2
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No Electicity to Propane Valve Water Heater

Well, I do not have propane heat for the water heater. I have checked the valve at the water heater and there is no 12v on the brown wire. There is 12v at the switch and through the switch. The wire is gray leaving the switch, and as stated above, brown to the valve at the water heater.

So is there a fuse anywhere? I cannot find one.

Any help will be appreciated.
 
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Old 02-15-2009, 11:46 AM   #2
OntMont
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Which switch are you referring to? The one that is usually mounted on the wall near the kitchen area and includes the pump switch and level sensors? That one must be on, and the red light should come on. If you look closely, you will see that there is another tiny LED next to the switch. When you switch the WH on, that tiny LED should come on briefly while the gas lights, then go out. If it is not doing that, there is a fault, most likely with the ignition system, but could be something else. (You do have gas, don't you? - your other gas appliances all work normally?)
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Old 02-15-2009, 12:51 PM   #3
bw2
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More info, sorry, yes all of the propane appliances work except for the water heater. The switch cited earlier is the one by the kitchen, the light comes on and I have battery through the switch onto the wire heading to the water heater. In reading the "book" I believe the control module may have a problem, I have pushed the reset buttons, but nothing has changed. I believe this module may be the problem. Has anyone removed the module, is there anything I should watch out for in removing? It looks straight forward.

Thanks OntMont
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Old 02-15-2009, 01:10 PM   #4
OntMont
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Sorry, I don't think I can add any more. Perhaps someone else has some ideas.
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Old 02-15-2009, 02:01 PM   #5
KTManiac
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Can you hear the igniter clicking at the water heater when you have someone in the coach turn the switck on? If no, then the controller is not getting juice, or it is otherwise bad.

If you can hear it clicking, but it is not lighting, there is a propane delivery problem. You might check the pilot orifice to see if it has been plugged up by mud daubers, spider web, etc. Spiders seem to love the smell of propane and frequently muck up the works. Or, it could be that there is just air in the line, and you need to keep turning on the switch and waiting for the igniter to quit clicking, and repeating this, until the air is purged from the line and it fires up. On my SOB TT, it takes me about 5 minutes of switching on and off to get the fridge to spark up after I have had the propane bottles disconnected for refilling. It may not be your problem, but I figured that I would just throw that out there.

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Old 02-15-2009, 03:26 PM   #6
Carl n Susan
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KTManiac has got you started in the right direction. I forget what color the wires are and it is dark outside right now. But if you have spark but no ignition, one possible cause is a failure of one (or more), of the two installed, solenoids in the control module that allow the propane to flow to the burner. If you look close at the wiring you can figure out how they work. Disconnect the wires and check each solenoid with an ohm meter. Look for an open circuit. A RV supply house will have replacement solenoids for around $20. A new control module is around $90.

We had this problem last month in Quartzsite. Thanks to WorkerB, it was fixed fairly easily.
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Old 02-16-2009, 01:30 AM   #7
rvfirefighter
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Bob, I had the same problem or least it sounds like it a couple of years ago. I replaced the module, but that was not the problem. I had an RV Dealer in Canada look at it and it was in the reset buttons. They fixed it in 15 minutes and did not charge me a fee and I have not had anymore problems.
I wish I could tell you what they did, but can't. I do know they did not have to replace any parts.

Hope you find out what the problem is soon.
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Old 02-16-2009, 02:32 AM   #8
SlickWillie
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Quote:
quote:Originally posted by rvfirefighter

Bob, I had the same problem or least it sounds like it a couple of years ago. I replaced the module, but that was not the problem. I had an RV Dealer in Canada look at it and it was in the reset buttons. They fixed it in 15 minutes and did not charge me a fee and I have not had anymore problems.
I wish I could tell you what they did, but can't. I do know they did not have to replace any parts.

Hope you find out what the problem is soon.
That is in the line of what I was thinking. Looks like the heater has a high limit switch on it. If that is open, and won't reset, there would be no voltage to the gas valve. Also, I would suppose the thermostat could be stuck open. Dang, if I looked at the right control board, that sucker is about 170 bucks. I would sure check that thing out good before replacing it. Interesting. Keep us posted on what you find. Good luck.
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Old 02-16-2009, 04:39 AM   #9
mtheo
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Bw2, I had the same problem on my last trailer, besure to check the wires coming into your WH, be sure you have power and a good ground before you replace anything. You could be wasting money. My Father-in-law also had the same problem, bad ground to the WH.
Good Luck
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Old 02-16-2009, 04:41 AM   #10
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We've had the same problem several times. The module is seated in a connector and all I needed to do was pull it all the way out and re-seat it. On our 2955 it was mounted to the top of the water heater tank with double sided tape.

I've also replaced the on/off switch on the WH once. It was toasted and wouldn't make a good contact, same disgnostics as you mentioned. Getting the switch was not all that hard, a very thin bladed screwdriver did the trick.
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Old 02-16-2009, 02:47 PM   #11
bw2
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Thanks to all for your help. Here is what I found:
After reading the "book", I came to the same conclusion, there had to be a problem with the high limit breaker. I had already pushed the buttons but nothing changed. So this morning, I turned off the electricity to the water heater. Opened the pressure relief valve and drained the tank of hot water. Then while letting the tank refill with cold water, pushed the reset buttons, and lo and behold the after switching the gas switch back on, the gas flowed, ignited, and all is well.
My theory, I had just taken the 5er out of storage for the winter, filled w the water system, and turned on the electric heat. The limit switch must have been "frozen" or stuck due to a quick temperature change.

That is my thought and I am sticking with it!!!

Again thanks to all for your ideas and directions!!!
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