Electronic pilot stopped working

and can't restart it.

The unit is an AOSmith ProMax GCVL-50

with a GasControl/Temperature Knob control unit

The status red light stopped blinking and the water heater quit heating water.

So I attempted to light the pilot doing the following:

Turned the Control Knob to Pilot and pressed the knob in and at the same time clicked the Igniter button repeatedly for 90 seconds. Red Status light did not start blinking. Waited 10 minutes and repeated this process maybe 8 or 10 times.

No results.

I did notice when I pressed the Control Know in the Pilot position in and at the same time clicked the Igniter button, looking through the viewport window I see a small blue flame lighted and would stayed lighted as long as I held the control button in. Wouldn't this indicate the unit is getting gas? Also the gas furnace is right next to the heater and is working fine ( getting sufficient gas).

I am at a loss what to do next and would greatly appreciate any suggestions.
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If the pilot is actually lighting, but the WH doesn't sense it, it will not allow it to stay on. Or, if for some reason, the pressure isn't enough and the pilot flame is too small, it may not stay on. There's a sensor in there that must be heated by the pilot - then, and only then, will the gas valve allow things to remain on. That sensor may be dirty, misaligned, or defective. Or, the gas valve is bad and the signal is not being processed properly. Since it has an indicator light, try turning the power off to it for 10-minutes, then turn it back on and try again. Some of those have a reset button...look around, and if it does, try pressing it.

All problems are not DIY. You don't have a clue about this water heater and you will likely either hurt yourself and/or damage the components more if you keep poking around. Call a licensed service man and get it fixed. I'm sure you'll take umbrage at this, but think about it.

benth12 said:

I did notice when I pressed the Control Know in the Pilot position in and at the same time clicked the Igniter button, looking through the viewport window I see a small blue flame lighted and would stayed lighted as long as I held the control button in. Wouldn't this indicate the unit is getting gas? Also the gas furnace is right next to the heater and is working fine ( getting sufficient gas).

Click to expand...

That would tell you that the Thermocouple is not heating up to keep the gas valve open.

You may need to hold down the the pilot knob longer to give the Thermocouple time to heat up. It could take a Minuite or longer.

If the pilot does not stay lit then the Thermocouple may be bad. Could also be a draft keeping the pilot flame from heating the Thermocouple properly. Or the Gas Valve is bad.


Good Luck.

If the thernocouple is bad, (which is what your post indicates), that heater may require a component which replaces the thermocouple, ignitor, and pilot burner as a unit.

hj said:

If the thernocouple is bad, (which is what your post indicates), that heater may require a component which replaces the thermocouple, ignitor, and pilot burner as a unit.

Click to expand...

Yep that is correct.

It will most likely be a assembly, But looks replaceable without buying the Gas Valve also.

I would be surprised if a end user could even get that part from the manufacture without a licenses.


Gas is not a very forgiving play toy.

If your WH is under warranty, call customer service and see what they can do for you. At this point they might send you a complete burner assembly, but not a gas valve yet.

But listen to the previous advises - hire a plumber to do the replacement.

I think a lot of problems may be do to operator error, because of following direction in the manual.

The Manual says to "Remove the outer Burner Door"

That can make enough of a draft, that the flame may not be hitting the Thermocouple.


The outer Burner Door needs to be in place, Not removed. Unless you are using a match, and that is not recommended.

The outer door on "FVIR units", which this is since it has an ignitor, does NOT provide combustion air. It just lets you look through the "window" to see if the pilot is burning. It does NOT create a draft, nor prevent one.

As far as I could tell that unit has a standing pilot.

The only thing that is electronic about the ignition is the Piezo Ignitor. Push to start.

I may be looking at the wrong manual.


Carry on.

Thanks

Appreciate all the positive comments and suggestions. And glad I didn't listen to the ones who said pack up and call a plumber.

Problems like this that I described last evening require study , persistence and listening to folks with good suggestions.

One suggestion I got was to reference the AO Smith website and see what they had to offer. With AO Smith's excellent support team and the owners manual that came with the unit, we were able to pinpoint the problem to the gas control value, a $153 + change part. It took a while to work through the diagnosis, but a guys got to be persistent in this day and age.

Thanks to the good folks at AO Smith, their sending a replacement unit free of charge if I pick up the shipping charge.

And again, thanks for all those who had positive recommends on this forum.