Girard Tankless Reset Button: Clear a Lockout
The Short Answer: A Girard GSWH-2 lockout clears with a soft reset — hot faucet off, wait, on — or a 12-volt power cycle at the interior control. Photograph the letter code first. One reset after you fix LP, flow, or 12 V. Do not reset a propane smell, an E9 flame-before-ignition, or a repeating E3. Full codes: Girard troubleshooting.
Licensed local technicians
Girard stuck on a letter code?
Connect with a licensed 24/7 technician in your zip code right now.
Search Intent & The Real Problem
The panel says E1. A forum said “hit the reset button.” On a Girard there is often no tank-style red ECO on the jacket. Lockout lives in the controller. Cycling water flow is the soft reset; killing 12 V is the hard reset. Ten faucet cycles in a morning is how you glaze an igniter and dump LP into the bay. Related: Takagi reset is a 120-volt cousin of the same idea.
What other guides get wrong
They point at a Suburban ECO on a Girard door. They treat reset as the repair. En (20-minute timer) needs a faucet cycle, not a new board. Fd is freeze protection, not a lockout you “clear.” And they skip the wait: five seconds of OFF is a flicker, not a reset.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
Step 1: Capture the code before you kill anything
| Code | Reset after you… | Reset at all? |
|---|---|---|
| E1 / E2 | Confirm bottles, 12 V, no exhaust nest | Once |
| E3 | Cool with water flowing; lower setpoint | Once, then stop if it returns |
| E0 / E4 | Reseat the probe plug | Once to prove the wire |
| E5 / E8 | Free the fan / clear the exhaust | After the air path is open |
| E9 | Shut bottles | No — licensed |
| En | Shut the faucet that was left running | Yes — that is the timer |
| Fd | None — winter mode | Do not “reset” freeze protection |
| Propane smell | Leave | No |
- What to look for: The letter on the interior user control. Photograph it. Reset first and you donated the only diagnostic the board had.
- Required tools: Phone camera.
Step 2: Soft reset — faucet, not a paperclip
- What to look for: Hot faucet off, wait 10–30 seconds, on. The board needs the flow signal to drop, then return. En and many E1 latches clear this way after the cause is gone.
- Required tools: The faucet. Your hand.
Do not stand there flicking the tap like a light switch. One clean off/on.
Step 3: Interior control and the exterior switch
- What to look for: User control OFF, wait until the display dies, ON. Some GSWH-2 cabinets also have a rocker on the heater itself — that is a power switch, not a magic ECO. Use it once, not as a game.
- Required tools: Flashlight in the exterior bay, 12 V still alive at the coach.
If the interior panel is dark, this is not a reset problem. It is 12 V, a fuse, or a failed control — Thor coaches hide the same dead-feed pattern behind a different badge.
Step 4: Hard reset — 12-volt cycle
- What to look for: Converter / battery disconnect, or the fuse feeding the water heater, off for 30 seconds, on. Rest voltage around 12.6 V. Under ~10.5 V the board lockouts again the moment you “reset” it.
- Required tools: DC meter if you are qualified. No probing inside a propane cabinet with bottles open.
A hard reset after a bottle swap is reasonable once. Loosening flares is not a reset.
Step 5: When the same code returns in one shower
- What to look for: Same E1 on the next hot call. Same E3 as soon as flow drops. The cause is still there. A second reset is not a procedure. A third is how you buy an igniter, an ECO, and a heat exchanger.
- Required tools: None. Call an RV tech with the photo of the code.
Repeating resets are the same failure as keeping a tank ECO in.
When DIY Ends: Calling a Licensed Pro
Stop at a propane smell, E9, water on the board, a fan you cannot free, and any code that returns after one clean reset. You may faucet-cycle, power-cycle 12 V, and clean an inlet screen with power off. Gas-valve work, flame-rod diagnosis, and exchanger replacement are RV-tech jobs. Girard/Lippert will not love a box that was reset through overheat all weekend.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Where is the reset button on a Girard tankless water heater? A: Often there is not a tank-style red ECO. Soft reset is the hot faucet off, then on. Hard reset is the interior control or 12 V off for 30 seconds. Photograph the code first.
Q: How do I reset a Girard GSWH-2 after E1? A: Confirm bottles and 12 V, then one faucet cycle or one 12-volt cycle. Two failed ignition trials lock it out. If E1 returns on the next shower, hire an RV tech.
Q: Why does my Girard need a reset every morning? A: The cause is still present: low LP as the tank cools, a tired battery, a packed inlet screen, or freeze/overheat. Daily resets are a missed diagnosis, not maintenance.