RV Water Heater Control Board Failure - Step-By-Step Diagnosis & Replacement

[@bw6078]

Well if you weren't a pro repairing your hot water heater before you are now. Now not only you but you've made us smarter as well. Thanks for sharing John.

[@JohnMarucci]

Many thanks!

[@rondag3569]

I agree. I have full confidence I won't blow up my RV while trying to diagnose my water heater issue

[@rondag3569]

excellent video! Detailed, no fluff or annoying background music, good speed of delivery, thorough. thankyou so much

[@JohnMarucci]

Glad you found it helpful!

[@BudBarnesCarGuy]

I reviewed at least 10 videos before stumbling across your EXCELLENT tutorial. It's the most thorough tutorial for Atwood/Dometic units that I found. Thanks for taking the time to produce and post!

[@JohnMarucci]

Glad it was helpful!

[@pcaballer14644]

Great video! Thanks for taking the time to put this together! My problem ended up being the tiny little fuse on the board

[@JohnMarucci]

Glad it helped

[@calliebarrett742]

Best video I have ever seen. Thanks

[@JohnMarucci]

I'm glad you found it helpful!

[@calliebarrett742]

@JohnMarucci now I need to write down step by step directions. A nice flow chart would be perfect.

[@JohnMarucci]

Most of the video is here in blog form with the charts: johnmarucci.com/2024/03/14/dometic-rv-water-heater-troubleshooting/

[@alomax92]

Haven't watched the video but the associated blog article was incredibly helpful. Understanding the electrical flow makes all the difference in the world.

[@JohnMarucci]

Glad it was helpful!

[@neilpeel8048]

BRILLIANT VIDEO, Thank you!

[@JohnMarucci]

Glad it helped!

[@BVFishing-ej2tg]

Very helpful video. Ordered my new control board

[@JohnMarucci]

Glad the video helped!

[@marcgoldstone7844]

I have an Attwood GE16EXT combo GAS/Electric water heater. I believe there is a design problem on the controller board that causes infant mortality (some might call it a retroactive abortion) of the PCB's transistor that sends 12VDC to energize the Relay mounted behind the heater that sends 120VAC to the heating element. I have had to replace the potted controller TWICE in a 3-year period because the yellow wire was not getting energized. Otherwise, a $0.25 transistor is all that would be necessary. The Propane portion of the heater was working. It is good engineering practice to add a DIODE (1N4001) to clamp the back EMF produced when the relay is deenergized. I soldered the Cathode to the yellow wire and the Anode to the Green wire in position #6 of the connector. This way the new controller's transistor will not be damaged in the future. The PCB's relay that sends power to the Gas Valve may very well have a similar issue but there is no way to add a protection diode due to the potting compound.

[@ChrissySheltonSongs]

Awesome! I took notes! I’m going to try it this weekend. Thank you so much for this video!

[@JohnMarucci]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ralphp3057]

Very good Troubleshooting that style water heater John ! I have a 6 gallon suburban unit with no electronic board . It’s 4 years old . Had no issues so far .Great job explaining what you did ! Thanks! 👍😬

[@JohnMarucci]

Good to hear that your Suburban water heater has been working well for you. I had just under five years and over 600 nights use before the control board went out on mine.

[@st2778]

Thanks so very much! We are having issues after flushing our water tank to remove a bad smell. Previous owner placed an anode rod inside an Atwood, and also failed to place a thermal fuse in line ! Yikes . We will follow your steps today! We promise to not overstep our comfort level as far as safety is concerned, our RV service company does a great job when we need them

[@JohnMarucci]

Please let me know how it goes. Thanks!

[@rondag3569]

An anode rod in an Atwood?!?!?! Hmm, are you sure it's not a Suburban?

[@hotchickenbone]

Thanks again John!

[@JohnMarucci]

Glad it was helpful!

[@cmoldrup]

Could you please provide link to order the board you used. I have the exact same water heater.

[@JohnMarucci]

Here is the link: Atwood 91365 Circuit Board Kit... www.amazon.com/dp/B019COT1HC?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

[@rodngonzo67]

I have a different model heater and the problem with mine is that it works for awhile and then blows the board... After replacing 3 of them , i purchased a dinosaur model board that has a 5 amp fuse.... I still have the same issue but at least its just the fuse instead of a 100 dollar board. Any ideas what could be causing the amps to be so high to blow the fuse? It isnt right away but usually after 10 minutes or so..Loose wire somewhere? Its been a problem since ive owned it and is really a bummer...

[@JohnMarucci]

That is mind boggling. Let me see if I can get feedback to you from an RV tech I know.

[@lipreader411]

Red and orange I got no DC current. My electric and LP Are not working. If I put a jumper on the white and orange the LP works

[@JohnMarucci]

If your unit is identical, Orange is incoming from the switch and should have 12v. If you have power in the battery and at the fuse and the LP switch is on, you should have 12v at the orange at the board. If not, check your LP switch and fuse. Here is a link to the blog with the wiring diagrams: johnmarucci.com/category/r-pod-maintenance/

[@31whiskey]

Hey wife's last name is marucci