Atwood-Dometic water heater igniter board

[mikec557]

Some other brand 5th wheel, Atwood-Dometic 6gal water-heater 120vac/propane, 2018 model but used full time for 1.5 years.
model number GC6AA-10E

The short version is this... I have only 9.2v from the igniter board to the various wire connections that lead to the solenoid, and the solenoid does not "click" open... though some propane gets through when it efforts to ignite.

The sparker doesn't spark, but a flick-a-bic will ignite what little propane gets past the solenoid during the ignition effort. But the propane will shut off after the failed ignition sequence.

The Atwood trouble shooting guide says it needs a minimum of 10.5v to work properly. I measured the voltage from the wire harness going into the igniter board. It was either 12.4 or 13.4, I don't remember which, but it seems to me it was the full battery voltage.

It would seem to me that the igniter board is failing to pass along 10.5-12+v to the thermal fuse, thermostats, and solenoid... but I would have thought it would just outright fail rather than deliver a substandard 9.2v.

Before I spend $120 on a new igniter board, I thought I would ask for your thoughts and ideas.

Thanks in advance
Mike C

[chuckster57]

If there is a resister in line on one of the “thermostat” connections, remove it and see what happens. Otherwise, I would replace with a Dinasour brand board.

[JRTJH]

This is just a hunch, so take it for "just that" and not as any definitive troubleshooting answer.....

In another thread, you asked about your water pump short cycling. I responded to that with a suggestion about the diaphragm bleeding pressure and how I'd fix it... That was before I read this comment, apparently happening at the same time.....

With this problem and the fact that you've already replaced the control board, I'd make a SWAG that you've got a battery issue. To find out for sure, disconnect your batteries from the trailer and run it "entirely on shore power provided by the converter"... Turn on the water pump and see if it still "runs intermittently and try the water heater to see if it will ignite as it should...

My guess is that things will "work normally"... It'll only take you about 30 minutes and you'll know if you've got a dead cell in a battery or some other issue... If things work as they should, focus on getting your batteries checked. If not, then it's the pump "AND" the control board on the water heater... Seems to me two things shouldn't go bad simultaneously... They "can" but it seems strange...