A O Smith XCV 200 no pilot sparking, but spark igniter working

allanfan

My A O Smith XCV 200 water heater stopped working a few days ago.

I don't see pilot light sparking when pressing the spark igniter.

I took out the spark igniter, and it is working — when I place the spark igniter next to a medal, i can see sparks. But putting it back, I don't see any sparks via the little window.

My guess is pilot light itself needs cleaning/replacement? The pilot light hasn't been cleaned for 10 years…

I tried to take out the burner assembly by removing the 2 mounting screws, but the assembly seems to be stuck on the water heater, I haven't been able to take it out yet.

Any suggestions on how to take out the whole assembly, or is there anything else that I should try? Thank you!

JUGHNE

Most WH pilot lights are attached to the main burner, it can be removed by ——turn gas off first——disconnect all the tubing connected to the bottom of the gas valve. Also the ignitor and the two wires that must be a roll out switch safety.

Clean the pilot burner, main burner, and ignitor. The ignitor needs it's spark to jump to a clean ground.

Also in the burner compartment there is an inlet for the combustion air, might be a screen that collects lint and will affect combustion.

After assembly and ignition check the connections for leaks with soapy bubbles.

hot_rod

You are pushing down the black knob when you are trying to light the pilot?

You can pull it out and reconnect in from of the heater to see if you are getting pilot gas flow.

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes

To remove the burner, did you disconnect the larger, corrugated gas pipe, the smaller pilot gas pipe, thermocouple along with the electrical wires from the control? Then, remove the outer door and the burner should slide out. Often, you have to jiggle to burner to get it out as there is a platform it sits on. Make sure you get it back on that platform when reinstalling.