Second board in less than a year in our SLX water heater

[markscns]

If I had to go back and do it all over again I would have never ordered a SLX with only a gas water heater. Nothing is worse than being out camping and having no hot water when the DW wants to take a shower. With the brand new trailer last year on our 3rd outing it failed, went to dealer and had it replaced hoping it was a one out. Happened to order a spare on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Went to leave this past Friday, and no hot water again, replaced it with my spare and fired right back up. Going to contact Jayco to see if it's time for them to replace the water heater, we should not have to replace a $100 board twice a year. These dometic boards are junk.

[Stingray75]

Could there be a poor 12v connection or bad ground causing the failure? I wouldn’t expect to replace 2 inside of one year.

[jloco]

It's a Dometic water heater? Not an Atwood?
Are you sure it's the board? I've replaced the thermal cutoff diode on mine. 2 for $18 on Amazon. It could be a bad connection as Stingray mentioned.
In any case, contact Jayco. Perhaps they'll reimburse you for the one you bought. Or bring the bad one to the dealer and get it replaced with a new one under warranty so you'll have another spare.

[norty1]

I never heard of them but they are in use.
https://www.dometic.com/en-us/us/pro.../water-heaters

Hopefully someone can give you some assistance either at Jayco /Dealer or a direct contact with their customer service.

That type of service record does not sit well with campers or companies who install them in rv's.


I see they also have a gas/electric model. maybe that would be a option worth while.

[markscns]

It is an Atwood 6 Gallon Gas only water heater, the board that goes bad is a Dometic board that ignites it. I would think at this point, I should not have to invest in a dual electric/gas water header, that should be on Jayco's dime.

[markscns]

The bad board is back at the dealer waiting for a replacement, so Jayco is covering the cost of their bad board again. My concern is long term, I fear I will be replacing this board twice a year through the life of the RV.

[White Ox]

My Atwood water heater control board (gas and electric) failed last week. It's made by the same manufacturer as the one you linked to on amazon - I know by the Chinese name. It also looks just like yours with an additional 4 conductor connector on it at the top (assuming this is for the electrical control side). I removed it and carried it into my dealer Friday morning - they tested it and gave me a new one to install on the spot.

I spoke with the owner of the campground I'm a seasonal in - he said if I need to replace it again after the warranty is up, look into "dinosaur boards" - they come with a 3 year warranty.

[norty1]

Originally Posted by markscns

The bad board is back at the dealer waiting for a replacement, so Jayco is covering the cost of their bad board again. My concern is long term, I fear I will be replacing this board twice a year through the life of the RV.

I'm not suggesting it's not a warranty problem. Just don't let it go past the warranty period.

[markscns]

Everything else about our Jayco has been perfect so far, I ordered yet another replacement board to store in the RV on the wife's request. Last year when it went bad she did not like having to use the public showers at the campground as she said they were dirty. She said having a spare on hand is worth it. Thanks for the tip on the dinosaur board after the warranty period I may look into it. I figure when Jayco sends out the new board I will have two for the next year. I am asking Jayco to swap out the unit though as it should not go through two boards in a year.

[LuckyDuck]

Originally Posted by markscns

It is an Atwood 6 Gallon Gas only water heater, the board that goes bad is a Dometic board that ignites it. I would think at this point, I should not have to invest in a dual electric/gas water header, that should be on Jayco's dime.

We have a 2018 SLX with the 6-gallon Atwood gas water heater. Flip the switch inside and it ignites immediately — so far. I’m curious — when your board fails, does the pilot just fail to fire up?

[Campingteacher79]

I was surprised when I found out my SLX that's coming to me in 2 weeks came with a gas only heater. I've asked my dealer to install a gas/electric, I hope they have it ready when I pick it up. Ever thought of upgrading?

[markscns]

Originally Posted by LuckyDuck

We have a 2018 SLX with the 6-gallon Atwood gas water heater. Flip the switch inside and it ignites immediately — so far. I’m curious — when your board fails, does the pilot just fail to fire up?

All you hear is clicking noise like it wants to fire up, but never does. It clicks several times, then stops for a few minutes and then tries again then stops, and so on.

[markscns]

Originally Posted by Campingteacher79

I was surprised when I found out my SLX that's coming to me in 2 weeks came with a gas only heater. I've asked my dealer to install a gas/electric, I hope they have it ready when I pick it up. Ever thought of upgrading?

I have considered it, but that comes at a cost of over $500 + dealer install charge. That would cover at least 7 boards that could fail. It's more economical to change out the boards.

[damammel]

There has been a bad batch of boards recently. I’m on my 3rd counting the original board. They don’t all seem to fail the same way. My first lost spark but would still allow gas if I manually lit it. The second board would not maintain gas flow or spark. Here’s a link to another discussion and there are a few links leading to other topics about the boards in it.

https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f7/water-heater-does-not-start-56454.html

[BJR]

Similar issues back to 2016:
https://www.jaycoowners.com/forums/f...sue-57419.html

Mine didn't work out of the factory and now the replacement board didn't work out of the box.

The Amazon price is cheaper than eTrailer but it may make sense having a spare on-hand.

[Adventure_waiting]

Trailer brand new 3 months old and have already had to replace my board. Contacted Atwood and they won't replace defective part because I didn't go to a dealer. It's not that easy in some cases I live in mine.

[White Ox]

Originally Posted by Adventure_waiting

Trailer brand new 3 months old and have already had to replace my board. Contacted Atwood and they won't replace defective part because I didn't go to a dealer. It's not that easy in some cases I live in mine.

If it's not easy to get your entire camper in to the dealer due to living in it, take the control board out, take it to the dealer and ask them to test it while you wait. If they don't have a test fixture, ask them to put it in a known functioning water heater and test it that way. If they hem and haw, tell them your camper is 5 hours away in a seasonal spot and they are more than welcome to send a tech up to it to test it in your rig. My guess is they'll take the easy road out and test it for you on the spot.

I did the above and they exchanged mine under warranty because it failed the test. I also told them of the rash of bad ones out of the box, so they also tested the new one prior to me driving that 5 hours north to install it.

[Vegas22]

SLX new last year, water heater has gone out twice. Called the dealer and asked when I can get in, “We are one month out on appointments “ ��

[Campingteacher79]

I'm dealing with this right now, my water heater lasted about 10 days, and then went out. I got a mobile RV tech out here and he feels it's the board as well, as everything else checks out. He's ordered me a new one, and should have it installed by Friday. I'll then talk to my dealer about it, as my dealer's 5 hours away.

It seems like mobile techs can get things done faster, at least in my experience.

thanks!

Kevin

[ifallsguy]

You might want to check out Dinosaur Electronics Home. High quality circuit boards for RV appliances..

Everyone who talks about their boards say they are much better than the Atwood boards. Especially in hot conditions. Also from what I understand much better warranty on their boards and less expensive.