Atwood furnace circuit board

[Ms G]

The circuit board keeps getting wet. We have had this problem twice now. We recaulked and also put rubber sealer around the door. Does anyone have another suggestion? Thanks

[BFlinn181]

Are you sure the water is coming in the door? Could you shield the circuit board with plastic sheeting or a bag? I've not heard of this kind of issue. Check that the surround of the furnace is tight and doesn't allow water in while driving.

[Deep Water D]

Interesting. I've had two go bad as well from water, but there's no evidence of water intrusion into the furnace. The water spots were in the middle of the board.

[djc290]

you dont mention the type of MH. THor has a known issue with the door vents, punched backwards. They will send you a new door that prevents the board from getting wet.

[KF5UMC]

I had water just below the circuit board rear furnace. I found the problem was a loose water connection to the Santi Flush black water flush valve which is located behind the entertainment center in the living room. This valve is located above the interior floor and the water found it's way to the rear furnace and also the basement compartment below the furnace.

[j.smith]

Had a similar problem, after a driving rain the control board would be sitting in a puddle of water. Noticed that the board is not conformal coated and there is no standoff to keep the board up above the water should it collect. Tried to coat the board with some spray varnish with poor results so I replaced it with a new board from Dinosaur. The Dinosaur board is conformal coated and is made with short integrated standoffs. Problem solved.

[Ms G]

I'm sorry don't know why I forgot that tidbit of info. We have a Fleetwood 2016 Storm.

[Al n Cindy]

Ms G--You'll never be concerned about forgetting to provide basic info if you use a signature. It's really easy--just click on User CP and then Signature. I wish EVERYBODY would do so--I often quit reading when proper info is not provided.

I replaced my rear furnace circuit board with a Dinosaur yesterday ($108 from PPL) It is clearly better made than the OEM board. The board is mounted vertically on a bracket that keeps it off the floor of the furnace compartment my ''08 D.

Is yours horizontally mounted? As J. Smith mentioned, it does have stand-offs of about 1/4" that would help if yours is horizontal. I'm not familiar with the conformal coating he mentions and I didn't notice anything on the board, but it may indeed be a thin clear coat. A couple pics:
Board is mounted vertically on the side of the compartment

Dinosaur board on the left, OEM on the right.

[Gary RVRoamer]

Seems very unlikely the water is coming in via the door. I would be looking for another source of the leak.

[16bounder]

I had the same problem....when it rained the blower fan would come on, OR it would click-like trying to start, w/o it being turned on. And would always happen after a rain or middle of the night...removed the vent below oven and unplugged. When weather was better, I removed the outside panel and put dielectric compound on all electrical connections..then, I removed the circuit board...and lo and behold...water was pooled. After wiping I let the sun shine finish drying...all the while I went to hardware store and got some peel 'em stick 'em 1/4 inch foam insulation on a roll. I put the insulation on the indentations (on the factory foam on outside panel) all around. I installed and NO MORE ISSUE. As I was contemplating my plan of action...I wrote Atwood and was told that "Yeah, sometimes the water pooling causes weird things"...as the circuit board is so close tolerance to floor or heater unit.
Hope this helps you out......

[Defiant530]

We had the same problem with our 2016 Expedition 38k , tried resealing the cover, it didn't help and ended up frying the board, I ordered a new board and re-mounted it 1/8 to a 1/4 inch higher ( high as I could get it in its little enclosure ) and then I drilled 3 drain holes below the board and have not had any problems so far . poor design by Atwood in my opinion

[Gary RVRoamer]

I won't try to defend Atwood's design, but how did the water get in there in the first place? I've had 3 motorhomes and two trailers with Atwood furnaces, three of them with 2 furnaces each, and have never had water penetration via the outer access panel.

[16bounder]

Really not sure...maybe from high pressure washing at purchase? Did not have a problem until a heavy rain about a month after and had to undo the return air vent (wooden) under the oven and unplugged and it was causing all kind of racket....after a day or two, replugged and no problem TILL the next rain..same thing. That's when I took off the outside panel and swabbed the water which pooled under control board (could see the 'oxidation' on the pieces of wire protruding through the bottom of such). And proceeded to take the steps I took..It has been3 months now and several heavy rains and NO ISSUE.....

[BFlinn181]

Originally Posted by Gary RVRoamer

I won't try to defend Atwood's design, but how did the water get in there in the first place? I've had 3 motorhomes and two trailers with Atwood furnaces, three of them with 2 furnaces each, and have never had water penetration via the outer access panel.

O.K., I now know some Atwood furnaces with the circuit board almost on the bottom of the enclosure can be damaged by water intrusion. But, like Gary, I don't think it's the fault of Atwood but the builder of the furnace enclosure. I'd remove the furnace on a mild day and check out the enclosure. It could be a seam in the 'box' or around the gas line or wire entry. Maybe they're sloped in such a way that water runs down them into the enclosure. With a caulking gun and/or some spray foam insulation I'd think this problem could be solved. Drilling a drain or two to keep the water from building up to the bottom of the circuit board is also a good idea, as was the suggestion to raise the CB up as far as possible.