I have an annoying problem with gas water heater - when I switch to ON, after a few seconds the heater clicks on and you can heat the gas burning but after about 5 seconds it shuts off. I reset the switch to OFF then ON again and same thing happens. After 5 or 6 attempts, the heater finally stays on and works normally. Any ideas?

Hi,

What brand is your HW  -  If it is a Truma have you must have the outside vent cover off.  I think on all brands you must have reasonably high battery voltage -   Perhaps try when connected to 240v & the battery charger on  to see if it improves the start up.

David 

Hi if it is a surburban it should make 3 attempts before you have to use the switch to turn on /off

If its taking longer than the three attempts to stay on then you can take the outside cover off

THEN PRAY someone comes on and explains this better than me.

in side is a metal box on the right hand side,ithink its called a flue take that off only 2 screws, 

behind that is a metal gadget going into a hole you need to get that out and at the end is like 2 forks 

if you clean them up, rub with sandpaper, put it all back together and it should start first time.

If you don't fancy that i did ask at our local repair place before i tried. They said $160 for a service

Regards Glenn

P.S they probably do a lot more than that for $160

Thanks for your help Glenn, I'll give it a go and see how I go! And yes, it's a Suburban. Watch this space!

Thanks Glenn, you are a veteran champ! I found your instructions very easy to follow (you shouldn't under-sell yourself!) and quickly located and removed the fork which was very dirty and rusty. Cleaned it up to look like a new one, reassembled, and it now works like a charm. Thanks again, Bula

Thanks for your reply, and glad to be of help.