water heater wont ignite

lpasco · 06-04-2016, 10:22 PM

I have a 2016 jayco 287bhsw with gas only water heater. We are on our first camping trip and the heater won't ignite. It worked last night and this morning but not now. The trailer is level and tanks are good. I ran the stove for a while to make sure the lines were purged. I did the turn on and wait a few min for red light to stay on solid (not starting). I waited several 5 and 10 min rest periods with it off. I can hear and smell propane there but I do not hear it spark to ignite. Anything I should do before I bring it in for warranty?

M109pilot · 06-05-2016, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lpasco

I have a 2016 jayco 287bhsw with gas only water heater. We are on our first camping trip and the heater won't ignite. It worked last night and this morning but not now. The trailer is level and tanks are good. I ran the stove for a while to make sure the lines were purged. I did the turn on and wait a few min for red light to stay on solid (not starting). I waited several 5 and 10 min rest periods with it off. I can hear and smell propane there but I do not hear it spark to ignite. Anything I should do before I bring it in for warranty?

I had the same problem last weekend while out with my RV for the 1st time. I shut everything off and turned it back on. That worked for me. I had to bring my unit in for some warranty work and asked the service rep to ask someone to look at the water heater because of this exact problem. They had to adjust the flame setting or something. Works great now. I haven't read the manual yet. Maybe there are instructions for adjusting it yourself.

Good luck,
Jason

LiftedAWDAstro · 06-05-2016, 07:17 AM

Have someone turn the water heater switch on while you are watching the heater itself. Look and see if there is spark. If not I am not sure how to fix that but if you have one of those long Bic lighters you can put the flame on the thermocouple to heat it up and the pilot should light and stay on. You may have to try it a few times with the helper turning the switch off-on to reset.

bigredray · 06-05-2016, 10:35 AM

Same problem tried everything and would not light so it is at the dealer for work.

Paintinfool3 · 06-05-2016, 10:41 AM

I would have to believe it an ignitor issue ... I am assuming the ignitor would be 12 volt.

lpasco · 06-05-2016, 03:04 PM

Yep. Kinda sucks that I have a list of things wrong already (some I knew about during the walk-around) 2 lights in main room not working, water heater not working, slide way out of adjustment .I went with this because it was built better than keystone, forest river, and Dutchman even though it was lacking slot of features that others had .I guess time will tell.

Paintinfool3 · 06-05-2016, 03:11 PM

Well all those things are relatively easy to fix, I know it doesn't negate the headaches but it will be worth it in the end. Some things even the dealer cant know until they happen which is usually when you are camping

BJR · 06-05-2016, 03:23 PM

We have a new 2016 287BHSW where our water heater cut out on the second trip (last weekend.) What it would do is fire for four or five seconds then cut off. The brown wires that connect to the thermostat connection were the issue. (Thermocouple) It rotates away from the flame but if I turned it counter clockwise and the water heater would stay lit. For me I'll take it in when it's convenient.

Make sure you check all of the connections and make sure they're well seated.

lpasco · 06-06-2016, 05:34 PM

Thank you. When i was camping i wiggled all of the wires and there was a buzzing that changed tones but did not start working. I scheduled a appt for the 15th where they will fix everything. This is why im happy i went brand new (warranty). You are right that i think i will be happy in the end. I would rather have something that is built well for a long term keep than something that is really nice for now and breaks apart shortly.

edatlanta · 06-07-2016, 03:44 AM

Spiders love to spin web's in propane orifices and burners. If you have an air compressor turn off the heater and blow the propane orifice and air tube and burner areas off with high pressure air. I have to do this to mine occasionally and sometimes right after a very hard rain.

jdrumsr · 06-07-2016, 08:58 AM

I had a faulty part of my water heater too when I picked it up brand new from the dealer. I think it's overly common for so many things to be defective on brand-new units.

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