water heater not working

[Montreat]

I have a 2015 Fleet purchased in September 2015. I have tried to operate the water heater and it will start, run for a couple of minutes and then shut off. The water begins to get warm. Once it shuts down it does not restart. I called the dealer and he said he didn't know anything about it and suggested I write four wheel camper. I sent two emails to four wheel camper about two weeks apart with no response. I live a couple thousand miles from the dealer and factory. Can any of you experienced folks tell me what I should check out? I don't believe it ever worked as at the initial delivery we just filled the tank and then checked that it came on. Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[Old Crow]

I don't have a water heater but your post reminded me there's an Atwood Water Heater Troubleshooting guide .

 

[Wandering Sagebrush]

I would call FWC service for some trouble shooting advice, and authorization to take it to a local RV repair facility for warranty work if it isn't a quick fix. I would also provide feedback to them about the dealer response.

In the interim, dig out the literature that came with your camper and find the WH documentation. It will have trouble shooting steps for most of the common problems

 

[Old Crow]

Montreat-

You may have a defective component but I'm wondering if you have an insect nest partially obstructing air flow. You might take a look at the thermal cut-off to see if there's evidence of discoloration. If there's a problem with the flow through the burner, the flame is deflected to the thermal cut-off. When its temp exceeds 190 (because of the deflected flame), the logic board senses that and sends a signal to the gas solenoid to shut down gas flow. That might explain why it doesn't restart for a while-- the thermal cut-off has to cool off or the logic board has to run out its time delay (perhaps!)

See this video starting at 1:20 and also read the Thermal Cut-Off section of the manual (below #11) for more info.

Steps 7 and 8 tell you how to clear an obstruction.

If the thermal cut-off doesn't appear to be discolored, I'd probably try taking a look at the unit in operation at night to see if I could see the flame deflection.

PS- I assume you have an Atwood 6-gallon water heater and the troubleshooting manual applies to yours.

 

[Montreat]

Thank you both for the suggestions. I have reached out to four wheel campers and have found that they do not return emails or phone messages. My next step will be to contact Atwood directly for hope for a solution.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

Hello Montreat

Can you call or e-mail me your phone number or contact information ?

Service = svc@fourwh.com

Stan (me) = stan@fourwh.com

Toll Free at: 800-242-1442

We can send you a new circuit board for the hot water heater. Easy few minute swap that should take care of the problem.

Not sure why you have not gotten a reply back yet? : (

What dealer did you buy your camper from ?

We will be in Asheville, NC in Oct if you need us to look at your camper while we are there?

Stan

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I have a 2015 Fleet purchased in September 2015. I have tried to operate the water heater and it will start, run for a couple of minutes and then shut off. The water begins to get warm. Once it shuts down it does not restart. I called the dealer and he said he didn't know anything about it and suggested I write four wheel camper. I sent two emails to four wheel camper about two weeks apart with no response. I live a couple thousand miles from the dealer and factory. Can any of you experienced folks tell me what I should check out? I don't believe it ever worked as at the initial delivery we just filled the tank and then checked that it came on. Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[Montreat]

Received an email from the dealer asking me my mailing address. A few days later and I received a new circuit board in the mail, easy to swap out and seems to have repaired the problem. Thanks to Stan for helping me correct the problem.

 

[Stan@FourWheel]

Good news.