Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Keystone RV Forums > Keystone Tech Forums > Repairs & Maintenance
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 05-24-2020, 05:51 PM   #1
NH_Bulldog
Senior Member
 
NH_Bulldog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Henniker
Posts: 2,012
Water on Gas not working

We are out this weekend for our first trip of the season and where we are staying we can only access a 20a power source. So in order to keep things cool for the dogs and run the AC, we set the water heater to gas (which we have only done once or twice since we bought the camper last year). It ran fine for the first day, and then I noticed the fault light lit on the panel. I couldn’t get the water heater to fire and wasn’t getting a spark. I could use an aim-n-flame during one of the 3 cycles to fire the burner but it wouldn’t stay lit. This morning before we ran the AC I tried it on gas again and still nothing so I tried it on electric and it worked fine.

I did a bit of troubleshooting, power was making it to the control board, the fuse is fine, no lights are showing on the board and no power coming out of the spark ignition. I am guessing a failed Chinese control board, but before I called Dometic/Atwood to see if they will do anything (3 weeks beyond the 1 year warranty) or buy a new Dinosaur board, I thought I would ask what the group thought. Am I on the right track or is there something else I should look at?
NH_Bulldog is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-24-2020, 05:54 PM   #2
chuckster57
Site Team
 
chuckster57's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Modesto
Posts: 20,235
Look at the sparker/flame sensor. I have had limited success removing it, wiping the ceramic with WD-40 and re installing it.
chuckster57 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2020, 02:01 PM   #3
NH_Bulldog
Senior Member
 
NH_Bulldog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Henniker
Posts: 2,012
I pulled the control board and this nice little melt/bulge on the back side. Now the warranty battle begins. Dometic wants me to haul my trailer to a dealer to let them tell me what I already know.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	4C378B79-3576-4354-8968-6F4F095873EB.jpg
Views:	163
Size:	128.7 KB
ID:	27631  
NH_Bulldog is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2020, 03:16 PM   #4
sourdough
Site Team
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: W. Texas
Posts: 17,598
Send Dometic and the dealer the pics. Explain that the board is out and is defective with no need to bring your trailer to the dealer. You can take the board to the dealer and they can check it or Dometic can send you a new board without a bubble....I'm pretty sure it has a 2 year warranty by Dometic.
__________________
Danny and Susan, wife of 56 years
2019 Ram 3500 Laramie CC SWB SB 6.4 4x4 4.10
2020 Montana High Country 331RL
sourdough is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2020, 04:33 PM   #5
JRTJH
Site Team
 
JRTJH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,836
Speaking strictly "outside the box". I'd make a guess that Dometic is reluctant to ship a replacement board to someone with no assurance that the defective board is even out of the "owner's water heater"...

Being a "devil's advocate" I'd wonder how many times someone has "picked up their buddy's water heater control board, called Dometic or taken it to the dealership and said, "Hey my water heater quit working and I found this". Their buddy gets a "free control board" and Dometic's warranty picks up the tab for it from a different water heater.....

I'm making no accusations, I'd suspect that the OP is as "honest as the day is long". I'm just proposing a reason why Dometic told him, "Nope, we won't send you a new board, take it to your dealer for verification"...
__________________
John



2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
JRTJH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2020, 04:57 PM   #6
NH_Bulldog
Senior Member
 
NH_Bulldog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Henniker
Posts: 2,012
I had a recent great customer service experience with Jensen and can only hope that Dometic would act similarly. All I can do is ask right? However, given that the replacement boards are the same as the failed one (which lasted a cumulative total 6 days of use over the past year of use) I ordered a Dinosaur replacement board tonight which by most accounts appears to be more reliable over the long haul. If Dometic steps up, I will have a backup. If they don’t, I will let my dealer handle it later. Our season is shorter than usual this year and we are making plans for the first of our twice yearly vacation trips to Michigan, so I am not going to have my camper parked at a dealer’s lot during prime camping season.
__________________
Rob & Amy
2019 Passport 240BH SL (current)
2024 Cougar 29BHL (on order, due early May)
2022 Ford F250 7.3L Godzilla Crew Cab 4x4
NH_Bulldog is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2020, 05:34 PM   #7
JRTJH
Site Team
 
JRTJH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,836
Rob,

You probably made a good decision with going with a Dinosaur board. I've never had a failure with their replacement boards. I agree with you, the season is too short to let $75 ruin it. And, I was not making any reference to you or your intentions in my "devil's advocate" post. Let us know if the replacement control board fixes your problem.
__________________
John



2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
JRTJH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2020, 05:43 PM   #8
sourdough
Site Team
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: W. Texas
Posts: 17,598
I've had a positive experience with Atwood before Dometic bought them. Rob I would pursue getting them to send you a free board. Might require pics of the board, board and wh without board, model/serial number etc. but I would give it a try - can't beat a free backup.
__________________
Danny and Susan, wife of 56 years
2019 Ram 3500 Laramie CC SWB SB 6.4 4x4 4.10
2020 Montana High Country 331RL
sourdough is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2020, 05:48 PM   #9
chuckster57
Site Team
 
chuckster57's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Modesto
Posts: 20,235
Pic of model and serial is required for the dealer to get a replacement under warranty. Keystone will have a copy of the “build sheet” for your specific unit and can assume that board came from that appliance.
chuckster57 is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-27-2020, 05:54 PM   #10
JRTJH
Site Team
 
JRTJH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,836
Going just a step further with the "Devil's advocate" issue. I'd suspect that a lot of companies that would have "dealt with the public on a caller's word" last year have been closed with no income/profits for the past 3 months. Many of them were having "record earnings" and when there's lots of money, there's "easy to deal with customer service"... Now that the "belt has to be tightened" for the companies to survive, I'd suspect that warranty procedures will be 'tightened up" for most businesses.

I'd guess that the "strictly by the book process" will become the norm where last year this time, Dometic would have sent a replacement board, no questions asked.

I wonder if ASA, Lippert and other RV related suppliers will also tighten up their "expenses in the warranty arena"....
__________________
John



2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
JRTJH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-28-2020, 10:13 AM   #11
NH_Bulldog
Senior Member
 
NH_Bulldog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Henniker
Posts: 2,012
Well, I have good news! Called Dometic back today and this time they said that whether or not I bring the trailer to a service shop is that particular shop’s choice. So I called an authorized service center and they told me what info they needed (along with the board) and to just bring the board in. He said they fail so often that they have a bunch in stock. Made the trip in the car, they tested the old board to confirm it was shot, gave them model and S/N of water heater and my trailer (just over a year old), and they did the swap. Got home, reinstalled it and it fired right up on gas. The dinosaur board should be here Tuesday. I have not decided which one I will use and which one will be the back-up, but at least I have hot water again.
__________________
Rob & Amy
2019 Passport 240BH SL (current)
2024 Cougar 29BHL (on order, due early May)
2022 Ford F250 7.3L Godzilla Crew Cab 4x4
NH_Bulldog is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2020, 07:16 AM   #12
Ghornet54
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Bowling Green
Posts: 18
Control Board.

I was lucky. The first person I contacted at Dometic just sent me a board. Apparently there was a mix up and they set 2 boards. I've had to replace the board with the 3rd one and now it's failed. We tried it this past weekend and it has also failed. Looking for the correct Dinosaur board for replacement.
Ghornet54 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2020, 07:30 AM   #13
NH_Bulldog
Senior Member
 
NH_Bulldog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Henniker
Posts: 2,012
I ordered the Dinosaur UIB64 as a replacement for the original board from Dometic (was a 91346 and what the dealer gave me the other day was a 91365), so if you have either of those boards the Dinosaur UIB64 board will work for you.
__________________
Rob & Amy
2019 Passport 240BH SL (current)
2024 Cougar 29BHL (on order, due early May)
2022 Ford F250 7.3L Godzilla Crew Cab 4x4
NH_Bulldog is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2020, 07:47 AM   #14
JRTJH
Site Team
 
JRTJH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,836
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghornet54 View Post
I was lucky. The first person I contacted at Dometic just sent me a board. Apparently there was a mix up and they set 2 boards. I've had to replace the board with the 3rd one and now it's failed. We tried it this past weekend and it has also failed. Looking for the correct Dinosaur board for replacement.
If you've gone through 3 control boards in a "short time frame" then you've got something else going on besides "bad luck with boards"... What it might be I can't say off the top, but it's not "just a board problem. Have you checked to make sure the contacts on the board are not damaged/burned/arced ?? Is there any visible damage or burned contacts or components on any of the boards?

There's a reason why you're going through boards this fast, it's not "just cheap boards"..... At least, I'd suspect that there's something else causing the failures.
__________________
John



2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
JRTJH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2020, 07:51 AM   #15
Ghornet54
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Bowling Green
Posts: 18
Thanks for the reply! When I bought my camper in late 2018 the board failed almost immediately. I was told by the dealer that the boards are bad. He said he has had to replace numerous boards for customers. He also said that if you get 3 boards chances are they are all bad. I will take your advice and try to track down anything else going on with the heater, but my guess is it's the Chinese boards.
Ghornet54 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2020, 08:10 AM   #16
JRTJH
Site Team
 
JRTJH's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,836
It may be "just bad (and cheap) Chinese boards"...

I'd look at things like the limit switches/thermostats connected backwards, causing them to send 120 VAC to the 12VDC contacts on the board when the high limit switch trips. There's something else going on and this is just one of many "possibilities"....

Then again, it's possible (unlikely but possible) that you've gone through 3 boards in 2 years... On the other hand, I'm still on the same board since 2013 with no failures....
__________________
John



2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
JRTJH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2020, 08:44 AM   #17
Ghornet54
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Bowling Green
Posts: 18
Thank you. I've ordered the board, but this is still VERY good advice to check to make sure I don't damage the new board!


I've downloaded the wiring diagram to check. Again thanks for the advice.
Ghornet54 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2020, 08:50 AM   #18
NH_Bulldog
Senior Member
 
NH_Bulldog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Henniker
Posts: 2,012
If your board says made in China, particularly if it has this name on the side it will fail in time. I only used my original on gas 5-6 times before it failed. The dealer where I picked mine up said they have a large stock of them due to how often they fail. The boards are sealed with potting material so you can’t see what component actually died but it did Melt through the backside of the assembly.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	3D21CD0F-DA1A-4508-A5CE-210B86C23D05.jpg
Views:	162
Size:	172.1 KB
ID:	27728  
NH_Bulldog is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 05-30-2020, 08:56 AM   #19
sourdough
Site Team
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: W. Texas
Posts: 17,598
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ghornet54 View Post
Thank you. I've ordered the board, but this is still VERY good advice to check to make sure I don't damage the new board!


I've downloaded the wiring diagram to check. Again thanks for the advice.

Making sure there isn't a problem causing the board failures is a very good idea. On another note, I have had bad Dometic board failures. I had to replace my Dometic capacitive touch thermostat FOUR times before I got one that actually worked. I was buying them 2 at a time. The dealer said they kept them in stock because of the large amount of failures, Dometic said they had a "bad batch" apparently so it can happen.
__________________
Danny and Susan, wife of 56 years
2019 Ram 3500 Laramie CC SWB SB 6.4 4x4 4.10
2020 Montana High Country 331RL
sourdough is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
gas, water

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates in any way. Keystone RV® is a registered trademark of the Keystone RV Company.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 04:36 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.