Reliance Water Heater Won't Light
The Short Answer: A Reliance gas tank that will not light is a closed cock, empty LP, a control in OFF or lockout, a dead spark/piezo, or an FVIR flammable-vapor trip. It is AO Smith / State guts in a big-box jacket. Count the status light on that valve. It is not a bigger tank and it is not an electric ECO. If you smell gas, leave. Generic no-flame: burner not lighting.
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Search Intent & The Real Problem
You turned the knob. Dark port. Or the LED is winking a multi-flash and the burner never opens. Reliance 6-year and 9-year gas tanks share Honeywell / White-Rodgers / Resideo electronic controls and FVIR screens with State and American. Forums sell a thermocouple for a millivolt valve that does not use one, or they paste a Rheem electric flash chart onto this LED. Split no flame from lights then dies. Model-specific 6-06 path: Reliance 6-06.
What other guides get wrong
They lead with “air in the gas line” on a tank that heated water yesterday. Air is an install/relight problem — do not purge it yourself. They mix standing-pilot Reliance tanks with electronic FVIR tanks. They tell you to poke the orifice with the gas on.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting
Step 1: Split no-flame from stay-lit, and read the LED
| What you see | What it actually is | Next |
|---|---|---|
| No pilot, no spark, no main, dark port | This page — no ignition | Supply, spark, lockout |
| Pilot lights, dies when you release PILOT | Thermocouple / pilot solenoid | Stay lit |
| Electronic control, LED flashing, no standing pilot | Lockout — count flashes | Sticker on that valve |
| Click, click, no flame, then silence | Spark with no gas, or lockout | Do not keep clicking |
| Whoosh / bang, then dark | Delayed ignition | Shut down. Not a second try. |
| Electric tank, no gas valve | Wrong fuel — breaker / ECO as a pattern |
- What to look for: Standing-pilot knob vs electronic control with a status LED. Phone photo of the valve sticker and rating plate.
- Required tools: Flashlight. No matches in a rollout.
Reliance, State, American, and Craftmaster share family charts. Bradford White ICON does not. Wrong part, no flame.
Step 2: Gas cock, meter, LP, control position — without opening the pipe
- What to look for: Appliance shutoff handle parallel to the pipe (open). Control knob in OFF or Vacation. Other gas appliances lighting. LP bottles empty after a cold snap. Ice on an LP regulator. Utility red tag. A 1/2-inch kinked flex on a high-BTU tank.
- Required tools: Eyes. Manometer work is licensed (NG ~3.5–7 in. w.c. / LP ~10–11 in. w.c. at the appliance — confirm the rating plate).
Do not crack the union to “check for gas.” Closet odor now is closet smells like gas.
Step 3: Spark, piezo, and one trial per the jacket
- What to look for: Standing-pilot: piezo click with a spark at the electrode, then a pilot that wraps the sensor. No click is a dead piezo, a broken wire, or a grounded electrode. Electronic: a rapid tick, then main or lockout. FVIR lockout: LED multi-flash, no trial.
- Required tools: The manufacturer lighting card.
One lighting sequence. If it bangs, yellow-tips, or you smell gas, shut the appliance cock. Repeated spark into a dark chamber dumps fuel.
Step 4: Status light and FVIR — do not guess the chart
Typical Honeywell-family atmospheric / power-vent stickers (the label on your valve wins):
| LED (common Reliance / State family) | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Short flash every ~4 seconds | Idle, no call |
| Heartbeat (bright/dim) | Calling for heat — no fault |
| 1 flash, pause | Low flame signal — still trying |
| 4 flashes | ECO / high-limit lockout |
| 5 flashes | Flame out of sequence |
| 6-1 flashes | Failed trial for ignition |
| 7+ flashes | Flammable vapor / FVIR sensor |
- What to look for: Lint packed in the flame-arrestor. Gasoline or paint in the same room. Chamber sensor. Do not jumper the FVIR plug.
- Required tools: Eyes at the arrestor from outside, gas off.
A perfect igniter cannot light a burner the valve is holding closed on a safety.
Step 5: When it is the valve, the screen, or no fuel
- What to look for: Pilot orifice packed, wrong NG/LP orifice after a conversion, a valve that never opens with millivolts present. Correct supply, spark, and a valve that still will not pass gas is the control. Match gas type, millivolt vs electronic, FVIR.
- Required tools: On a licensed truck: manometer, leak-detection solution, combustion analyzer. Not a universal valve from a blister pack.
Need it off while you wait? Apartment shutoff.
When DIY Ends: Calling a Licensed Pro
Stop at gas odor, delayed-ignition bangs, FVIR chamber service, millivolt diagnosis you cannot complete, and any valve replacement. You may follow the jacket once, confirm the shutoff, and look for an empty LP bottle. You may not hold the knob in, jumper a sensor, or loosen fittings. A licensed plumber will measure manifold pressure, prove spark, and leak-test the control.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why won’t my Reliance water heater light? A: Closed gas cock, empty LP or a locked meter, control in OFF or lockout, a dead spark/piezo, or an FVIR trip. No flame at all is not a thermocouple on an electronic valve.
Q: What does the blinking light on a Reliance gas valve mean? A: Status, not decoration. Heartbeat is a normal call for heat. Multi-flash is a counted fault — ECO, flame, or FVIR. The sticker on that valve wins over a Rheem electric chart.
Q: Can I light a Reliance with a match? A: Only if the jacket lighting card says so, and never in a rollout or a room that smells like gas. Electronic FVIR tanks are not match-light appliances. Hire it if the card does not describe a match.