Manually light water heater?

ColdFeet · 10-01-2018, 02:10 PM

Is it possible to manually light the pilot for an Atwood GC10A-4E?

I'm pretty sure the problem with the water heater is that the circuit board needs to be replaced (connections look good, fuse is good) but that ain't gonna happen till I get home from this miserable trip. I can light it up with a lighter when the valve opens and let's the propane flow, but it shuts off after a couple seconds.

I'm just tired of cold showers! Lol

TheWolfPaq82 · 10-01-2018, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ColdFeet

Is it possible to manually light the pilot for an Atwood GC10A-4E?

I'm pretty sure the problem with the water heater is that the circuit board needs to be replaced (connections look good, fuse is good) but that ain't gonna happen till I get home from this miserable trip. I can light it up with a lighter when the valve opens and let's the propane flow, but it shuts off after a couple seconds.

I'm just tired of cold showers! Lol

I'm guessing you have a bad, out of alignment or dirty Thermocouple (flame sensor). Have tried looking at the position of flame sensor ? is flame hitting it ? or looking to see it there is build up on it ?

formerFR · 10-01-2018, 02:29 PM

sounds like the temp sensor is bad, yep

that little white thingy at the flame : )

ColdFeet · 10-01-2018, 03:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheWolfPaq82

I'm guessing you have a bad, out of alignment or dirty Thermocouple (flame sensor). Have tried looking at the position of flame sensor ? is flame hitting it ? or looking to see it there is build up on it ?

It *looks* like the flame is hitting it and it *looks* clean. Again, I think its the control board since it doesn't ignite on it's own, either. The thermocouple is attached to the circuit board so I'm assuming that it won't work if that's not functioning, right?

To top it off, I have a screwdriver, a pair of scissors, and a steak knife as all my tools are either in the truck or at home. Lol

ColdFeet · 10-01-2018, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by formerFR

sounds like the temp sensor is bad, yep

that little white thingy at the flame : )

Those white thingies are a pain and a half! What should have been and easy fix took me a couple hours to replace one at home!

llr · 10-01-2018, 04:09 PM

I bypassed and ran mine manually in an old unit. However it can be extremely dangerous and the simple fact that you a asking I would suggest not doing it.

Does this possible have an electric element you can use. I didn't see one but it is possible.

**Flybob** · 10-01-2018, 04:21 PM

You can try manually lighting it, but if the control board is bad, it will not turn on the gas valve. Modern WHs have a direct spark ignition so there is no pilot light. This means you can't simply light it and have it work.

ColdFeet · 10-01-2018, 04:57 PM

Nope. No electric element. And you're probably right... I shouldn't be messing with it too much. (After doing some research on the model, apparently, the dealership put the wrong model number down so I was googling the wrong water heater)

I give up on fiddling with this thing. I'll let the warranty deal with it. Between the truck, the water heater, and some business issues at home, it's time to give up and drink some beer.

ColdFeet · 10-01-2018, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flybob

You can try manually lighting it, but if the control board is bad, it will not turn on the gas valve. Modern WHs have a direct spark ignition so there is no pilot light. This means you can't simply light it and have it work.

After spending a few minutes with it right now, I started wondering if it was the circuit board, after all. The valve does open up. It just doesn't automatically ignite or stay lit if I use a lighter.

Scrapper · 10-01-2018, 05:08 PM

The Atwood GC10A-4E is a 120vac/LP water heater. The electric switch is most likely inside at the control panel and the heating element is on the back side of the heater.
See page 23 to 25 of the service manual below. Pg 33 for the electric element.

emoney · 10-01-2018, 05:13 PM

That sounds more like the thermocoupler which is what’s causing the control board to shut off gas because it assumes the ignition is not working. There’s a YouTube video on how to diagnose I think I watched last year but afraid I can’t link it because I barely remember what day it is lol

**Flybob** · 10-01-2018, 05:25 PM

Just a thought. If this is the first time you have tried to use the WH on propane, it is possible you just need to purge the lines which can take several tried. Run a burner on the stove for a minute or two then try it again. Also after several failed attempts the WH will go into fail safe. You may have to pull the 12V fuse for the control board to reset and try again.

Chuck_S · 10-01-2018, 05:26 PM

My popup required manually lighting the pilot flame. Jamming a grill starter in there bent the thermocouple out of place. Check and ensure yours is in the right place of the flame.

I installed an automatic relight system. Current camper flame starts automatically if all the interior switches are in the right locations.

-- Chuck

ncebeemer · 10-02-2018, 02:57 PM

I had a circuit board go bad second trip out with my 2018 vs2715. After many tries of trying to light manually with rapid flame out I called service guy. Found out that a bad circuit board stops ALL attempts at lighting. Had it replaced and all is good.

TranceX2 · 10-03-2018, 08:49 PM

Mine quit lighting on me and I lit it manually with a barbeque grill extended length lighter. Just stuck it down the tube next to the ignitor and had someone turn the heater switch on and it worked until I fixed the issue with the ignitor gap.

ColdFeet · 10-04-2018, 10:25 PM

Thanks for all the replies. Just got home last night from what was supposed to be one, maybe two nights in Albuquerque to see Dierks Bentley. A friend brought up one of our work trucks and the car hauler to tow my truck back to Las Cruces yesterday (that's a whole other story!) and in the process, we dropped the RV off for service at the dealership. As I suspected, it was the circuit board.

I gotta say that the staff at Route 66 Casino and RV Resort were great and were really willing to help out with my possible late check-outs and all my stay extensions because of my truck issues. Nice park and without transportation to go to a grocery store, it was nice having a casino full of restaurants right there. I learned one thing on this trip... bring tablet chargers, favorite movies for the Blu-ray player, and maybe the laptop, no matter how short the trip will be. All I had with me was a dead tablet, my phone, and broadcast TV for 5 days. (girlfriend had to head back home with our neighbors on Sunday so I was all by my lonesome) Normally, I'd have a book with me, but, again, it was supposed to be a one night trip and I left all the important stuff at home. Never again! Lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by ncebeemer

I had a circuit board go bad second trip out with my 2018 vs2715. After many tries of trying to light manually with rapid flame out I called service guy. Found out that a bad circuit board stops ALL attempts at lighting. Had it replaced and all is good.

That's exactly what would happen when I tried to manually light it. Cold showers aren't much fun! Park had really nice showers but who wants to hike all the way to the showers every day??

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