Atwood forced air heater

[EForbes]

Hi guys, does anyone know how to remove the igniter from an atwood 12v gas heater model 8531-iv-dclp? Without removing the entire unit.



Thanks for any help provided

 

[jelag]

I had an Atwood in an older 5er and thought I had an igniter problem... it would not ignite 50% of the time... we had it out and on the bench 5 or 6 times before it dawned on me that when it wouldn't fire, the voltage was a little low... . in checking the wiring, we found that once the power went through the fuse panel and other electrical connections the voltage at the heater was at least 1. 5 volts below battery voltage... we found that the flapper in the air stream that had to move from blower pressure wasn't allowing the heater to move to the next step in its program to start... .

Our heater was dependent on air flow from the blower, and the lower than normal voltage turned out to be the issue... we than rewired the unit and got the voltage drop to less than . 5 volt... and the heater would always start and run.....

BTW- we'd checked the air gap, cleaned the squirrel cage and other functions... but never got the air flow up... until we changed the wiring... . we only assumed that with age the blower, and other items we're just getting tired... .

I know this is in a different direction but hopefully its some help. .

 

[BarryG]

Not that this is any help as I dont have that model of Atwood but I had the same experience as Jelag. The Sail switch (flapper) wasnt moving enough due to low voltage and it would not ignite.

 

[EForbes]

The problem im having is it ignites for about 5 seconds then turns off flame, while blower still going, then it ignites again for the same amount of time with same result.
It could be the limit switch which i located its mounted belowfurnace area and impossible to reach without removing blower moter, i can see switch when removing air duct inside camper, but can barely reach with long screwdriver. I believe on this model that this limit switch reads heat, but can also kill flame if it thinks there no heat in order to stop free gas flow without a burn. But its probably just the igniter/flame sensor, i will check it out when i get a chance. thanks guys