Bad circuit boards on some Atwood water heaters (gas/electric)

VetPartTimer · 09-06-2018, 05:25 PM

The water heater in my 2016 Hurricane 29M quit working on the last day of my last trip. Kept thinking it was a fuse or breaker because there was zero power to the unit but I couldn't find any that were tripped or blown out. The igniter wouldn't spark, no lights on the panel - nothing. Mine is a 6 gal, combo propane electric, model # GC6AA-10E.

Was going to take it to the shop for diagnostic and such, figured it would be a sizeable repair bill. For the heck of it, decided to call Atwood. As soon as I described the issue, they told me they got a bad batch of circuit boards from one of their suppliers (Zhongding - ID'd with a barcode on the circuit board) and would send me a replacement for free. Mine should arrive Mon or Tue next week and it looks like a very simple job to remove and replace. Hope that fixes it, I suspect it will.

So check your water heater and/or if you experience any problems similar to mine, call Atwood and you may be able to get a replacement free of charge. They were very nice - good customer service from them!

As a side note, 2 trips prior the water heater quit working on electric only. I just thought it was the electric element that burned out and figured I would just use it on propane until I got around to replacing it. I suppose the element could still be bad, but I have a feeling when I replace the board that it may work on electric again as well.

And on another related side note, I had my Atwood furnace circuit board replaced under warranty. A few trips after purchase the heater would not ignite when running on battery. It was fine on electric or with the gen running. Thought it was my batteries at first, but they were new and holding full charge. All good after the circuit board was replaced.

So - if you have Atwood appliances and they give you any trouble, keep the circuit board in mind and don't be afraid to call Atwood's RV Owner Tech/Troubleshoot line.

Long & Winding road · 09-07-2018, 07:01 PM

Thanks for the info. Good to know.

LandKO · 09-12-2018, 09:15 PM

I called Atwood (now called Dometic) today because my hot water heater works only on propane but not on electric. I was told by the tech person that the circuit board was probably ok and to verify this, to check for 12v dc power at the white and yellow wires coming out of the board.
Well I got 13+vdc at the white wire and 11.8 vdc at the yellow wire. But I noticed a high piched squeal coming from the circuit board. This doesn’t seem right to me. So, I went to the Dometic website, customer support page and asked if the squeal was normal (didn’t want to wait another 45 minuets on the phone to talk to a real person again).
Waiting on the response.

VetPartTimer · 09-12-2018, 11:19 PM

Mine started out the same way. Electric quit working but it was fine on propane for another 2-3 long weekend trips. Then it quit on propane too. I didn't check voltage or notice a squeal, I simply chose to run it on propane and deal with it later.

Check if your board is the "Zhongding".

My new board arrived today, I'll install it over the weekend and hopefully that takes care of it.

LandKO · 09-13-2018, 02:04 AM

My circuit board is a “Zhongding”. I explained this to the tech rep I talked to and mentioned I had read on the forums that there was a bad batch. She totally ignored my input and said if there was voltage at the two wires I mentioned previously then there was nothing wrong with the board.
I believe the high pitched squeal coming from the board is not supposed to be there. I hope to receive an answer tomorrow. If not I’ll call back and sit on hold for as long as it takes.

VetPartTimer · 09-13-2018, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LandKO

My circuit board is a “Zhongding”. I explained this to the tech rep I talked to and mentioned I had read on the forums that there was a bad batch. She totally ignored my input and said if there was voltage at the two wires I mentioned previously then there was nothing wrong with the board.
I believe the high pitched squeal coming from the board is not supposed to be there. I hope to receive an answer tomorrow. If not I’ll call back and sit on hold for as long as it takes.

PM sent

Paul_Leslie · 09-15-2018, 07:54 PM

Our RV repair man also reported this. He had seen several failures. Also the board part number is different than the one in the manual. A online search showed another p/n for the board. The photo of that board didn't match the installed board.

Thanks.

d33z · 04-16-2019, 04:53 PM

I ran across this thread searching for a solution to the exact problem posted by VetPartTimer but couldn't find much else online about it. I had the same symptoms on the same Atwood hot water heater (G6AA-10E with circuit board 91346). The electric heater stopped heating, gas worked if I lit it manually (for a while) then it stopped working altogether as well. I could hear a faint high-pitched buzz when either of the two modes were turned on until the gas stopped working, then the buzzing noise stopped. I replaced the thermostats, thermal cutoff, igniter, and cleaned/re-terminated all of the connections but still nothing. That's when I started searching for a replacement board, as that was the only piece left that I hadn't replaced on the unit. I couldn't find the exact replacement part so I contacted Atwood, now Dometic, support. All-in-all, they are sending me a replacement board covered under warranty. The replacement board is model#91365, which seemed like the closest replacement that I could find online, but the input and output voltage was a little different so I wasn't for sure.

Popfla · 04-16-2019, 06:14 PM

My water heater decided last month that it only wanted to operate on electricity. It refused to ignite on propane. The coach was going in the shop that week anyway, so that was added to the list.

When I picked it up, the service advisor showed me the Zhongding circuit board that they had replaced. There was a very prominent bulge on the back of the board. He advised me that he heard that there may be a recall on those boards in the near future.

packrfan2001@yahoo.com · 04-19-2020, 01:47 AM

I have a problem with my 2018 29M G6AA-10E electric hot water heater with circuit board 91346. I know that the circuit board is at fault so I contacted Dometic to see if my board was one of the bad circuit boards they put in. He stated that since my LP is working they will not replace the circuit board for free. They also mentioned that since my board does not have a bugle in the board they will not replace it and told me to contact their service department. The board is the problem and I never even got to use my electric hot water heater.

**16ACE27** · 04-19-2020, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by packrfan2001@yahoo.com

I have a problem with my 2018 29M G6AA-10E electric hot water heater with circuit board 91346. I know that the circuit board is at fault so I contacted Dometic to see if my board was one of the bad circuit boards they put in. He stated that since my LP is working they will not replace the circuit board for free. They also mentioned that since my board does not have a bugle in the board they will not replace it and told me to contact their service department. The board is the problem and I never even got to use my electric hot water heater.

Just get a Dinosaur board.

Pete'sMH · 04-19-2020, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 16ACE27

Just get a Dinosaur board.

X2. Just get a Dinosaur board. And don’t look back. My 2019 water heater works on both electric and propane but when on propane the igniter sparks continuously about once every 3 seconds. My mobile repair guy cleaned the contacts and that fixed it - for about an hour. I can do the same thing and it never lasts more than a few cycles. Called Dometic and they said it’s probably the board but since it CAN work normally they won’t replace it without further diagnostic work. Cheaper to just buy a new board!

packrfan2001@yahoo.com · 04-22-2020, 11:44 AM

I brought a Dinosaur Circuit card for my 29M Motor Home over Dometic, the Dinosaur card has a 3 year warranty and is made in the USA and was cheaper than the card that came in my 29M. I am not sure why the motorhome industries has not ditched Dometic for the Dinosaur circuit card for the gas/electric hot water heaters! Thank you Pete's MH.

LandKO · 04-22-2020, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LandKO

My circuit board is a “Zhongding”. I explained this to the tech rep I talked to and mentioned I had read on the forums that there was a bad batch. She totally ignored my input and said if there was voltage at the two wires I mentioned previously then there was nothing wrong with the board.
I believe the high pitched squeal coming from the board is not supposed to be there. I hope to receive an answer tomorrow. If not I’ll call back and sit on hold for as long as it takes.

As a follow up to my previous post almost a year and a half ago, Dometic sent me a replacement board. It did not fix my issue. Further troubleshooting revealed a pinched power wire in the water heater junction box on the back of the heater (not an easy thing to access). The wire had arced to structure and burned through. That’s why the circuit breaker never popped. It came that way from the factory.
Another example of why a thorough inspection prior to taking delivery is necessary.

txc2936@yahoo.com · 08-08-2021, 08:41 PM

I have a 2021 THOR ACE and just found the 110 VAC side doesn't work, after trouble shooting i found i have 12 Vdc to the white wire on the board, however, there is no power to the Yellow 12 VDC to the RELAY on the back of the heater, If i jump the white and yellow, i can hear the relay click behind the unit. All other issues are ok, Cont., thru the thermostat. Are you saying Attwood wont warranty if you have the LP side?

txc2936@yahoo.com · 08-09-2021, 11:50 PM

Thanks for all the help. I just replaced my Hot Water Heater Circuit Card with P/N 91365. I get all the HOT water i need now. Something must have shorted out between the White and Yellow wire on the board. $162 dollars to CW and I'm fixed! THOR warranty will cover expenses.

I think for all the new RV ers out there. The secret to RV ing is to fix issues as they come up. Do not wait till all the maintenance issue Pile up. There are a multitude of 1/2 hr jobs associate with keeping the RV healthy. If you capture these as things break, you will do better than waiting for all these issues.

Alot of these maintenance issues can be covered by warranty and You Tube has plenty of video's on repairs. For me, 1/2 of the enjoyment of RV ing. is actually working and keeping this RV running.

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