Furrion tankless water heater won't come back from winterization.

[steveluannj]

I bought a used 2022 280RS in December, and verified that the water heater worked as designed. I winterized it carefully, but when I took it out today and tried to check it out, it won't fire. I get a few clicks in the guts of it, and the fan runs at a slow speed, and then after some time, which seems to vary from a few seconds to 30 seconds, I get a code "Ec" on the control panel. I have verified that I have propane, since all of the other propane appliances work. I can't even find mention of "Ec" in the Furrion manual. I am not sure how to progress on figuring this out.

[TucsonJim]

Do you have a volt meter? If so, what is your battery voltage?

Jim

[markandkim]

Is the switch inside the unit turned on?

[howson]

I bought a used 2022 280RS in December, and verified that the water heater worked as designed. I winterized it carefully, but when I took it out today and tried to check it out, it won't fire. I get a few clicks in the guts of it, and the fan runs at a slow speed, and then after some time, which seems to vary from a few seconds to 30 seconds, I get a code "Ec" on the control panel. I have verified that I have propane, since all of the other propane appliances work. I can't even find mention of "Ec" in the Furrion manual. I am not sure how to progress on figuring this out.

"EC" is a communications error between the controller and the main board. Try a hard reset by removing all power from the camper (including solar) for a minute or two, then reapply power and try the heater again.



If that doesn't work, try to isolate the problem to either the wall controller, harness, or main board. I'd try at the furnace, first, which would isolate the harness and wall controller. If the heater works, the main board is good. Then work back to the wall controller and bypass it. If it fails there, something's wrong with the harness. If it works, and hooking up the wall controller causes it to fail again, it's the wall controller.

Typically on a furnace thermostat, when the two blue lines are connected this is the signal from the wall controller to command heat. I assume this is the same on a WH.





Howard

[steveluannj]

Howson: I am pretty sure the blue wires to the controller are a serial data connection- Those 2 wires tell the controller the temperature of the water from the heater, tell the heater the temperature setting from the remote, and communicate error codes form the unit controller board to display on the remote. Much more than a simple thermostat on/off.

Battery is good, I am plugged into shore power and battery is at 100% I did upgrade from 1 AGM battery to 1 LiFePO4 battery over winter, so that is different. I will check the power wires and the wires from the remote to the unit to make sure they are not intermittent.

I did get the fan in the unit to run up in speed a few times, and one time I think the water warmed slightly and then the controller went to "Ec" and it shut off again. I have a problem in that I can only watch the remote panel or the outside of the unit during a test. When outside, I have never seen a flame in the unit, heard a "pop" of gas igniting, snaps of a spark igniter, or felt hot air coming out of the exhaust.

I have tried both connected to the water at my house, which is lower than optimum pressure I am sure (25-40 PSI as the pump cycles) , and also filled the tank and used the internal pump.

I can't see how disconnecting the battery is any different than switching power off at the unit- by the schematic that breaks the only power connected to the unit, but since I found people that say that fixed their problem, I will try that today.

I only have a certain amount of time before this NEEDS to be working, so if I can't figure anything out this week, I will order a new unit. I have never had a single issue with tank water heaters, so I am considering going this way. Any reason I should not do this?

Thank for all the help! I think this group has been one of the best things about choosing Grand Design!

[howson]

Only other suggestion is call Dinosaur (aftermarket boards). maybe they have insight into testing and sell replacement cntrllr Furrion boards? (I have their board in my tank WH).

[Cate&Rob]

I have never had a single issue with tank water heaters, so I am considering going this way. Any reason I should not do this?

Furrion builds their On-Demand water heaters sized to replace tank units . . . so, the reverse should be possible. Several owners have contemplated this, but no one has reported doing so. If you follow through on this plan, please let us know how it goes.

Obviously the propane supply is there but you will have to add a 15A 120V circuit from the main fuse panel.

Rob

[steveluannj]

I have contacted Furrion (Lippert), and they had me connect the control panel directly to the unit and see if that fixed it, it did not. "Ec" is a communications error between the controller board and the control panel, so if it is not the wire, it is either the talker or the listener. They suggested it is most likely the main board, so I will try that first. Looke like they are available on Ebay, or from Lippert, so I will have to wait a few days. I have seen some folks that have "Ec" errors report that their unit works just fine with the code, which might mean that the main board is OK and can still do its job. Mine is not that way, which might lend more weight to the controller board explanation.

[howson]

I have contacted Furrion (Lippert), and they had me connect the control panel directly to the unit

How was this done? I couldn't tell by the video. Is there a cable off the back of the controller with the correct plug? If you could take a clear picture and post it (please) that will be very helpful to show others in the future who may want to duplicate this troubleshooting step.

[steveluannj]

How was this done? I couldn't tell by the video. Is there a cable off the back of the controller with the correct plug? If you could take a clear picture and post it (please) that will be very helpful to show others in the future who may want to duplicate this troubleshooting step.

The blue wires exit out the back, and were connected to orange wires that were pulled up into the bathroom. They used those connectors with levers that are easy to open. I rotated the control panel counterclockwise to remove from the wall, pulled up the wires, and found the connection to the orange wires. I disconnected them, took the control panel down to the water heater, and made a short wire long enough to allow me to see the front of the water heater and the control panel, and wired it up.

I decided to buy a new board from Lippert, even though they were more expensive. Their support center was very helpful, and answered right away. So far my order has not been shipped, so will have to see how long it takes to get here. Kind of spoiled from Amazon. I keep finding more things to fit, so I will be busy in any case.

[howson]

...and made a short wire long enough to allow me to see the front of the water heater and the control panel, and wired it up.

So the board has wires (not a connector) that allowed this temporary interface? Sure wish you'd taken a picture of this setup, but understand sometimes in the heat of the moment (while troubleshooting) documentation is hard to remember to do.

[steveluannj]

So the board has wires (not a connector) that allowed this temporary interface? Sure wish you'd taken a picture of this setup, but understand sometimes in the heat of the moment (while troubleshooting) documentation is hard to remember to do.

Will get pictures as soon as it is light out. I will have it in this configuration until the board comes and I can verify the fix.

[steveluannj]

So the board has wires (not a connector) that allowed this temporary interface? Sure wish you'd taken a picture of this setup, but understand sometimes in the heat of the moment (while troubleshooting) documentation is hard to remember to do.

[D&S-303]

The blue wires exit out the back, and were connected to orange wires that were pulled up into the bathroom. They used those connectors with levers that are easy to open. I rotated the control panel counterclockwise to remove from the wall, pulled up the wires, and found the connection to the orange wires. I disconnected them, took the control panel down to the water heater, and made a short wire long enough to allow me to see the front of the water heater and the control panel, and wired it up.

I decided to buy a new board from Lippert, even though they were more expensive. Their support center was very helpful, and answered right away. So far my order has not been shipped, so will have to see how long it takes to get here. Kind of spoiled from Amazon. I keep finding more things to fit, so I will be busy in any case.

Buying your new board from Lippert could be a good thing as it is probably the newer style with freeze protection abilities. I know our 2022 reflection does not have the newer board. Good luck with your project
Dennis

[steveluannj]

Buying your new board from Lippert could be a good thing as it is probably the newer style with freeze protection abilities. I know our 2022 reflection does not have the newer board. Good luck with your project
Dennis

I sure hope so! the manual I have says to drain the heater if the temperature drops below 39 degrees! That can happen in July where we camp.