The status light in the gas control valves shows if the heater is working fine or if there’s anything wrong with it. If the status light in your heater hasn’t come on, it’s natural to be worried. So, what does Rheem water heater no status light mean, and how can you fix it?
If the status light doesn’t come on, it means the pilot isn’t lit. Now, there could be several reasons behind it. Here are the main ones that I’ve jotted down from my experience of working on numerous heaters:
- The gas control knob isn’t in the right position.
- Gas supply problems.
- Thermopile issues.
- Pilot assembly problems.
- And more.
I’ll talk about all the common problems behind this issue along with their correct fixes. So, let’s dive in!
Table of Contents
Rheem Water Heater No Status Light [7 Easy Fixes]
If the status light blinks once every three seconds, it means the heater is working normally. Any variation from that blinking pattern indicates that something is wrong with the heater.
When you see the Rheem water heater light not blinking, it means the pilot isn’t lit. There are many potential reasons behind it. Let’s look at what causes this issue along with the right fix.
01. The Gas Control Valve Is Turned Off
Gas is the main fuel source in gas water heaters. It’s obvious that the heater won’t run without it and the pilot won’t light. So, inspect the position of the gas control knob in your water heater.
If it’s in the off position, you’ve found the culprit behind the status light not blinking. If the control knob is not in the off position, check the manual gas shutoff valve next. If it’s perpendicular to the gas lines, it’s in the off position. Here’s a picture of the manual gas shutoff valve in the “Off” position:
The gas won’t flow to the gas control valve of the heater if the manual shutoff valve is turned off. So, turning it off is also a major reason why the pilot in your water heater won’t light.
How To Fix:
The fixes here are extremely simple. You just have to turn on the points that you’ve turned off. If the manual gas shutoff valve is turned off, you’ll have to turn it on. The pilot will never light if it’s turned off. That valve should always be open unless there’s a gas leak or you’re going on vacation.
If the gas control knob is turned off, you’ll have to turn it back on and relight the pilot. If it was turned off, scroll down to the section on relighting the pilot, and follow the instructions. Once the pilot lights, the status light will blink and you can set it to your desired temperature.
02. The Pilot Isn’t Lit
The pilot has to be lit for the heater to undergo normal operation. Once the pilot is lit, only then the heater can ignite the main burner. The fact that the gas control valve isn’t blinking means that the pilot isn’t lit.
You can look through the viewport to see if the pilot is lit. Remove the main burner access door and you’ll be able to check the pilot light. If it’s turned off, you know the culprit now.
How To Fix:
You’ll have to relight the pilot if you want to use your water heater. Make sure you follow the instructions correctly when lighting the pilot. Otherwise, you won’t be able to light it and you’ll have to wait for a while before the next attempt. If needed, go through it a few times before trying to light the pilot.
How To Relight The Pilot In Rheem Water Heater?
Follow these steps to ignite the pilot light in your Rheem gas water heater:
- If the gas control knob isn’t already in the “Off” position, turn it to the “Off” position. Don’t do anything for a few minutes and allow the gas to clear.
- Then, move the gas control knob to the “Pilot” position and hold it down with one hand. Use the other hand to press the igniter button repeatedly. You should press the igniter button once every second.
- Keep pressing it until the pilot lights up and the status light starts flashing blue. Once you see the status light flashing, it means the pilot is lit. Then, you can adjust the gas control knob to your desired temperature.
- If the status light doesn’t come on after 90 seconds of pressing the igniter button, stop trying to light the pilot. Confirm that the pilot isn’t lit by removing the main burner outer door and looking through the viewport.
- Wait for ten minutes and try to light the pilot again following the above steps. If the pilot won’t light even after a few attempts with such 10 minute intervals, there’s another issue. You’d have to address that underlying issue first and fix it to relight the pilot.
03. Insufficient Power Supply
The thermopile is an important component in gas heaters. It senses the pilot flame and produces a small current. That small current activates the gas control valves and it gets the signal to keep supplying gas.
The thermopile also acts as a safety mechanism. You don’t want the gas control valve to keep supplying gas when the pilot is off. That’s exactly how the thermopile works. When the pilot is off, the thermopile stops producing the small current and the gas control valve no longer supplies gas.
However, the bad news is that the thermopile can go bad. If the thermopile is connected loosely to the wiring, it’ll mess up the readings and cause issues. The thermopile can also be dirty or defective.
The good news is that you can easily test a thermopile. All you’ll need is a multimeter. If it turns out to be faulty, you can take further action.
How To Test A Rheem Gas Water Heater Thermopile?
Follow these steps to test the thermopile:
- Turn off the gas control valve in your water heater and give it some time to cool down. Set your multimer to DC mode and change the settings to millivolts.
- Remove the thermopile wiring connector from the gas control valve. You may have to push it back and forth to get it out.
- Connect the red probe of the multimeter to the red wire of the thermopile and the black probe to the white wire.
- Relight the pilot following the instructions you learned above. You’ll notice that the reading in the thermopile will start to go up. Wait for 2-3 minutes and note down the highest reading you saw before it drops down.
You’ve just performed an open circuit test on the thermopile. If the highest reading was in the range of 650 to 850 millivolts, the thermopile is fine. But if it’s less than 400 millivolts, something is definitely wrong with the thermopile.
How To Fix:
The first thing you have to make sure is that the thermopile is connected tightly. If the connection was previously loose, then tighten it. Inspect the wiring. If it’s damaged, replace the damaged wiring.
If the wiring and the connection check out, the thermopile itself is most likely at fault. It’s either dirty or entirely defective. Cleaning the thermopile will do the trick if it’s dirty. But it’s better to replace it if you want a long-term solution. And if it’s defective, your only option is to replace it.
How To Replace Rheem Water Heater Thermopile?
Follow these easy steps to replace the thermopile in your water heater:
- Turn off the gas supply to the water heater and let it cool down. Then, start removing the gas valve connections with the thermopile. It includes the pilot tube, the main burner gas supply, and the thermopile connector.
- Remove the outer main burner door to get access to the inner main burner door. Remove the screws holding the inner burner door in place. Then, gently pull out the main burner so that you don’t cause any damage to it.
- You should see a retainer clip that holds several components in the main burner. Pull the clip with a flat-blade screwdriver to remove it. Then, remove the screw holding the pilot assembly in place.
- There’ll be one more clip holding the thermopile. Release it and remove the old thermopile. Then, insert the new thermopile and reverse engineer the above steps to complete the installation.
04. Pilot Assembly Issues
The pilot assembly must be in top-notch condition for it to function properly. If there are any issues with the pilot assembly, it may not light up. Sadly, there are many parts of the pilot assembly that are notorious for going bad. The most common culprits here are:
i) Restricted Or Damaged Pilot Tube
The pilot needs gas to ignite and produce a flame. That gas is supplied via the pilot tube. If the pilot tube is kinked, pinched, or clogged, the pilot won’t have enough gas. If it’s severely damaged, the pilot may not get any gas at all.
Under these circumstances, you won’t get a steady pilot flame. Either the pilot won’t light at all or it can keep going out due to interruptions in gas supply.
ii) Carbon Build-Up On Pilot Electrode
The electrode is the component of the pilot assembly which produces a spark when you hit the igniter button. But the electrode loses its ability to function well with time.
The carbon deposits that pile up on it over several years of use settle on it. As it becomes completely clogged, it’s no longer able to produce sparks. Hence, the pilot won’t light and the status light won’t blink.
iii) Bad Pilot Igniter Wire
The igniter wire has to be firmly connected to the button. If there are any issues with the igniter wire, the electrode won’t produce a spark. And you already know how that easily leads to the pilot not lighting and the heater staying shut.
Those were some of the major recurring pilot light issues. Besides that, the pilot orifice can be clogged too. There’s a lot to look out for when the pilot in your water heater won’t light.
How To Fix:
The right solution here depends on the underlying issue behind the problem. If the pilot tube is causing the issue, you’ll have to replace it. If the electrode is dirty, you can clean it or replace it. If the igniter wire is damaged, you’d have to replace it.
These things are easier said than done because you may not find all components as separate units. Sometimes, you’d have to replace the entire pilot assembly. Even though it can be more costly in the short run, it’ll be a long-term fix for your problem.
These issues with the pilot light can also cause the 6 3 flashes error code. I have already created a dedicated guide on this Rheem 6 3 code for you. You can visit it to learn more about these fixes in detail.
The icing on the cake is that you can also learn how to replace the pilot assembly in that guide. You can do it completely on your own without the need for any fancy equipment. So, do check it out.
05. Gas Supply Problems
You already know that the gas control knob being in the Off position will prevent the pilot from igniting. The pilot flame also won’t come on if the manual gas shutoff valve isn’t in the open position.
But that’s not all the potential gas supply problems. There are many other things that can go wrong. For starters, you could use the wrong type of gas. If your heater is made for use of natural gas, you can’t run it on LP gas. The reverse of that is also true.
Secondly, the entire gas supply to your house may be off. It’s likely to happen if you have been somewhere else and you forgot to pay your bills on time. If that’s the case, your heater won’t get any gas supply even if the knob and the gas shutoff valve are in the right positions.
Turn on another appliance like a stove that runs on gas. If it works okay, that means there is a gas supply to your house. Otherwise, it has most likely been cut off.
Finally, there may also be issues with the gas pressure. Your gas water heater has a range of minimum and maximum gas pressure. You can find it by looking at the rating plate of your water heater. If the gas pressure is too low, it may not be enough to ignite the pilot.
How To Fix:
If you’re using the wrong type of gas for your water heater, you’d have to use the right one. If the gas supply is cut off, you can contact your local gas supplier and clear your dues to restore it.
You’d have to get the gas pressure checked using a device called a manometer. As you most likely won’t have access to it, you need to call Rheem customer service or the local gas supplier for help.
If the gas pressure is out of the recommended range, it’ll have to be adjusted so that you can get a steady pilot light. Once you do all these fixes, you should have no problem relighting the pilot and using hot water.
06. Insufficient Combustible Air
Besides a proper supply of gas, the heater also needs a proper flow of air to ignite the pilot light. It’s the optimum mixture of air and fuel that creates a steady flame. If any one of them is missing, the pilot won’t come on.
So, even if you have a proper gas supply, the pilot light won’t work if there’s not enough combustible air. The most common reason behind the lack of combustible air is when the air inlet openings are blocked.
The heater shouldn’t be installed in a confined area so that these air openings get room to breathe. Besides, there should be at least a few inches of clearance between the air openings and other objects for proper airflow.
Secondly, the combustion chamber being dirty from the inside can also cause this issue. If there are too many carbon deposits, it can clog the air inlet openings and prevent air from coming in. The pilot won’t light when it happens and the status light may not blink.
How To Fix:
First, make sure there’s nothing around the heater that’s blocking the air inlet openings. If there’s dirt around the heater, make sure you clean it as that also clogs the openings. Clean under the heater as well with a vacuum cleaner so that there’s absolutely no obstruction.
If there’s nothing obstructing the flow of air outside the heater, the problem could be inside the heater. Inspect the combustion chamber and see if it’s dirty through the viewport.
If it has too much debris, pull out the main burner from the heater and clean the combustion chamber. You can use a vacuum cleaner here too to get the dirt out. Hopefully, doing these things will be enough for the pilot to light up and stay lit without any problems.
07. Faulty Gas Control Valve
The gas control valve is the heart of any gas water heater. It controls the gas supply to all the components. If it goes bad due to any reason, it can create many issues in your water heater.
If the gas control valve is stuck in a closed position, it won’t supply gas to the pilot even when it’s needed. So, the pilot won’t light up. Moreover, it may also not be able to receive the signal from the thermopile that the pilot is lit. So, it won’t blink in such cases.
The possibilities of issues within the heater due to a bad gas control valve are endless. A faulty gas control valve could be the main reason why the pilot in your heater won’t light.
How To Fix:
As the gas control valve is an important and expensive component, you shouldn’t replace it on guesswork. You should test it and replace it only if it turns out to be bad.
Lucky for you, I have a dedicated Rheem gas control valve guide in which I’ve covered these topics in detail. Visit this guide to learn how to test and replace the gas control valve if it’s bad.
FAQs:
Why would my new Rheem water heater pilot light won’t light?
You already know the major reasons why the pilot won’t light. In new heaters, the most likely reason is keeping the gas control valve turned off. Another common cause is turning off the manual gas shutoff valve.
What does Rheem water heater red light flashing 7 times mean?
It’s one of the most unfortunate error codes you can encounter in a Rheem gas water heater. This code indicates gas control valve failure and you’ll have to replace it.
Why does Rheem water heater light and then go out?
There are many reasons why the pilot can light but not stay lit. The most common ones are thermopile issues, pilot assembly issues, and low gas pressure. Besides, the combustion shutoff device can also be tripped.
What to do when you see Rheem water heater red light flashing 9 times?
When the status light in Rheem water heaters flashes 9 times, it means chamber sensor failure. It could be dirty or defective. Ideally, you should replace it to solve the issue.
What does it mean if the status light is constantly lit?
If the status light isn’t flashing, it means the pilot has been extinguished. The thermopile starts to cool off at that stage. When it stops producing any current, the gas control valve will go off and so will the status light.
Conclusion
Rheem water heater no status light is a troublesome issue. But you already know what it means, what are the reasons behind it, and how you can fix these issues. Hopefully, you’ll be able to get your heater to work again after following this guide.
However, there are other error codes that you may face with your heater. Check out my Rheem water heater red flashes guide to learn more about such issues and their fixes in detail.