Troubleshooting A Fogatti Tankless Water Heater That Won't Power On

Question:

Fogatti tankless water heater has 12v power but nothing getting to the control panel any ideas

asked by: Ray

Expert Reply:

The Fogatti RV Tankless Water Heater # LSB64FR has a switch located inside the unit to the left of the exhaust vent. If this switch is off the unit will not operate. There's also a fuse right below it that you'll want to check before turning the unit on.

If the fuse is fine and the switch is on and the unit still isn't powering on then you'll need to test the power wire at the unit with a multimeter # PT89ZR to see if maybe you're not getting a full 12v to the unit. If you're getting less than 12v then either your power source (battery) is the issue or you're experiencing voltage drop and will need to increase the wire gauge running between the two.

You'll also want to check your ground wire and ensure that it's running to bare metal (preferably the chassis) and is secure.

If you've checked all this and still can't get it to turn on then let me know and we can keep troubleshooting.

expert reply by: Kevin C

Fogatti On Off Switch
(click to enlarge)

Garrett

4/30/2024

I’m having trouble with my hot water heater. I have 12v/gas/water. I have no power to the controller when wired up. I have wired up two blue wires to the controller, black to positive and white to neutral. Ground wire I have on a screw on the backside of the frame. Any ideas?

Kevin C.

5/1/2024

@Garrett Use your multimeter # PT89ZR to test the voltage at the main unit. If you're not getting 12 volts on the black wire then you'll need to check for a blown fuse between the battery/DC distribution panel and the water heater. Next you can check the fuse in the main unit (pictured above) to see if it's blown and make sure your switch is in the on position. If you ever had power running to the unit and touched the two blue communication wires together that will fry the system unfortunately. If this isn't just a simple break in the power somewhere along the line then you'll most likely need to reach out to Fogatti for either a new control board or new wall thermostat.

Garrett

5/2/2024

@KevinC Thank you for responding. Once I turn on the unit I have a voltage drop from 12 to 8. The blue wires never came into contact to fry the controller. I’ve reached out to fogatti and they are not easy to work with.

Kevin C.

5/2/2024

@Garrett A voltage drop under a load means that you're getting a lot of resistance (ohms). You can measure the resistance with a multimeter # PT89ZR and should really only be getting about 1 ohm. If you're getting more than 1 ohm then I recommend increasing the gauge of the wire ran for the power wire.

Sindy

4/29/2024

MY THERMOSTAT IS ON AND IT HOW THE DEGREE BUT IT WONT SHOW THE SHOWER SYMBOL .

Kevin C.

4/29/2024

@Sindy The shower symbol will only appear on the thermostat when water is running through the unit to point of use. You'll need to ensure that the unit has enough water pressure, gas pressure, and 12 volt service and can then open a shower faucet valve to activate the system.

Eric

3/21/2024

Have done all these steps and still no hot water . And the control panel won’t light up

Kevin C.

3/29/2024

@Eric If your wall thermostat isn't lighting up then it's not receiving power. You can check the voltage at the thermostat with a multimeter # PT89ZR to see what it's getting. If you let the two thermostat wires touch while the main unit had power then it's most likely fried and you'll need to reach out to the manufacturer for replacement.

Carolyn

2/26/2024

I have tried everything you suggested and I still can't get it to turn on ...help!

Kevin C.

3/5/2024

@Carolyn Is your wall controller turning on or giving you any kind of error codes? Did your previous water heater run off of 120v power and if so did you possibly connect to that same power wire? if the electrical side is fine then the next step is to check the water and gas but you'll typically get an error code on the wall controller if either is out of tolerance. Can you send some pictures of your controller and the face of the unit with the door open?

Kirsty

3/11/2024

@Carolyn We just had the same issue... we googled everything and also rang jayco. All we needed to do was press the button on the app.. and it worked straight away. It's the intellijay app and it controls everything Hope this helps Kirsty

Kevin C.

3/12/2024

@Kirsty In your case the power running to the unit was shut off by the power management system and you changing it in the app allowed power to flow to the unit. @Carolyn this could be the same issue you're facing and can be checked by testing the voltage running to unit with a multimeter # PT89ZR. If you have no power running to the unit then we know either a power management system isn't turning the power on or the power source isn't charged enough power the unit.