Girard Tankless Troubleshooting: Codes & Lockouts
The Short Answer: A Girard (GSWH-2 / GSWH-1, now Lippert) that will not heat is almost always an E1/E2 ignition lockout, a dead 12-volt feed, an ECO E3, a probe (E0/E4), or freeze mode Fd. Photograph the interior panel. Soft-reset once by shutting the hot faucet. Do not keep firing into a propane smell. Sister coaches: Thor, Truma AquaGo.
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Search Intent & The Real Problem
The shower died. The interior Girard/Lippert panel is showing a letter code, or the exterior fan never spins. This is a 42,000 BTU propane tankless, not a 6-gallon Suburban. It needs 12 V DC, LP at the rating-plate pressure, water flow, and a clean exhaust. Forest River, Grand Design, and Keystone bays get Girards; the coach brand does not pick the part. Reset procedure is its own page: Girard reset.
What other guides get wrong
They paste Suburban DSI board steps onto a Girard. There is no standing pilot and no Suburban electrode. They treat Fd as a failure — that is freeze protection running. They tell you to keep cycling the faucet through an E3 overheat. And they skip 12-volt brownout: a Girard that “randomly” E1s at night is often a tired battery, not a gas valve.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
Step 1: Read the panel — do not guess
| Code (confirm your sticker) | Meaning | First move |
|---|---|---|
| E0 | Outlet temperature probe open/short | Wiring at the probe, then licensed probe |
| E1 | Ignition failure / flame lost on light-off | LP, spark, two trials, then lockout |
| E2 | Flame lost during a run (buzzer) | Same fuel/sense path as E1 |
| E3 | ECO open — outlet ~140°F | Cool with flow; find why it overheated |
| E4 | Inlet temperature probe | Wiring, then probe |
| E5 | Blower motor — no signal | Jammed fan, CN1 connector, then motor |
| E8 | Air / pressure switch | Exhaust, hose, switch — not a thermocouple |
| E9 | Flame sensed before ignition | Shorted flame rod; leave it off |
| En | Ran longer than ~20 minutes | Soft reset (faucet off/on). Find the stuck call |
| Fd | Winter-use / freeze protection | Normal in cold if LP and 12 V are on |
- What to look for: The letter on the interior user control, twice. Photograph it before you cycle power. No code and no fan = flow, 12 V, or the exterior switch.
- Required tools: Phone camera, flashlight on the rating plate (GSWH-2 vs GSWH-1).
E9 and a propane smell are not a reset. Shut bottles.
Step 2: 12 volt, LP, and water — before parts
- What to look for: Coach battery / converter. Rest voltage around 12.6 V; DSI and Girard boards get stupid under ~10.5 V. Bottles open, regulator not icing, stove lights. Isolation valves open, a solid stream at a hot faucet, no winterize bypass dumping around the unit. Inlet screen packed with grit mimics “dead heater” with a flow icon and no fire.
- Required tools: DC meter if you are qualified. Eyes on bottles. No union wrenches.
Girard wants LP near 11 in. w.c. minimum (plate often ~11–14 in. w.c.). House-tank numbers are different: NG ~3.5–7 in. w.c. / LP ~10–11 in. w.c. — confirm the rating plate. Manometer work is licensed. Do not crack a flare.
Step 3: E1 / E2 — ignition, not a Suburban board
- What to look for: Fan spins, spark you can hear with bottles closed for a spark-only listen, then gas on for one trial. No spark = igniter gap, cracked ceramic, or board. Spark, no flame = empty bottle, frozen regulator, or a valve that never opens. Flame, then E2 = flame rod, wind in the exhaust, low LP as the tank cools.
- Required tools: Ears at the exterior door. Bottles closed for spark-only.
Two failed trials and the board lockouts. Soft-reset once after you fix fuel or 12 V. A third E1 is a tech, not a ritual. Air after a bottle swap delays ignition — still do not purge fittings.
Step 4: E3, E5, E8 — overheat, blower, air
- What to look for: E3: setpoint cranked, low flow so the exchanger flashes over 140°F, a failed outlet probe lying to the board, or a stuck ECO. Let water run to cool, then one reset. E5: fan seized, leaves in the housing, unplugged CN1. E8: blocked exhaust, kinked pressure-switch hose, a switch that never closes. Do not jumper the switch to “see if it fires.”
- Required tools: Flashlight in the exhaust. Power off before you spin a jammed blower by hand.
A power-vent residential tank that never runs the blower has the same physics — blower not working — but Girard parts are Girard parts.
Step 5: Probes, leaks, and a heat exchanger that is actually done
- What to look for: E0/E4 with a connector that pulled off during a winterization. Water in the cabinet at the relief, a fitting, or the exchanger. Freeze-broken Girards after someone stored the coach with water in the unit and Fd off. Scale in hard-water parks that overheats into repeating E3.
- Required tools: Paper towel. 12 V off. If the board is wet, it stays off.
A cracked exchanger is replacement. There is no honest epoxy repair on a 42,000 BTU propane box in a wet bay.
When DIY Ends: Calling a Licensed Pro
You may photograph a code, confirm bottles and 12 V, clean an inlet screen with power off, and faucet-cycle once. Stop at a propane smell, E9, a wet board, gas-valve work, a jammed blower you cannot free, and repeating E1/E3. A mobile RV tech who stocks Girard/Lippert probes, fans, and exchangers beats a fifth lockout and a bay full of unburned LP. Wrong Suburban board in a Girard bay is how harnesses melt.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why is my Girard tankless water heater not working? A: E1/E2 ignition (LP, spark, 12 V), E3 overheat, a probe (E0/E4), a dead blower (E5), or freeze mode Fd. No code and no fan is flow or power. Read the interior panel.
Q: What does an E1 code mean on a Girard GSWH-2? A: The board tried to light and did not prove flame. Bottles, regulator, 12 V, igniter, then the valve. Two failures and it lockouts. One reset after you fix the cause.
Q: Is a Girard the same as a Suburban RV water heater? A: No. Girard is tankless propane. Suburban is a 6- or 10-gallon tank with a different board and ECO. Order the rating-plate part, not the coach brand.