Electric Side of Hot Water Heater Not Working

[imer1965]

I have a 2015 Pinnace and the electric portion of the suburban hot water heater is not working.

After checking the element for continuity and ensuring the switches were both on and the breaker not tripped, I still get nothing.

I have checked the voltage and no voltage at the unit, element, or the T-stat. I do have voltage at the switch on the inside but it only registers like 30 volts. When I took the button panel off I saw that there is one AC power wire that splits off on to the Water Pump, Electric water heater, and Gas water heater buttons. I guess that explains the 30 volts?? Is it wired incorrectly? I thought the electric water heater needed 120 volts?

I still don't have power to the water heater on the electric side.

Yes, it is still under warranty but my dealer is 100+ miles away. Just trying to save some gas and time. Heading there Thursday unless someone has some other ideas.

[TexasRT]

Do you have 110vac on both sides of the switch at the water heater? If not then the switch on the unit may be bad, or not wired correct.

[hoppers4]

Back to basics here, are you sure there's 115VAC to the rig? When you say you saw wires going to the water pump, electric water heater, and gas water heater buttons, those had to be 12VDC wires. All of those items require 12VDC for control. The water pump is 12VDC and the other two items require it for control circuitry. Make sure you really have 115VAC to the rig and that you're measuring from the hot side of the 115VAC and the return (not ground). Hot side will be black wires and return will be white.

[imer1965]

Yes, I have AC power to the rig. I was definitely measuring the wrong wires. From the switch inside the rig, I measured the voltage at the connectors. That is where I got the lower voltage. When I measured from the connectors at the switch outside, as well as the connecters to the T-STAT, I had nothing. I did check the switches for continuity and those were good as well.

Stupid question: can I measure the voltage from the black and white wires at the breaker or are the wires within the backside of the control panel?

Sorry, new at all this. Not happy that this wasn't tested at the dealer. I have not even taken the rig out yet. Just bought it home and started familiarization.

[tnchuck100]

There should be a relay, probably on the rear of the water heater, that is controled by the 12VDC from the control panel. It, in turn, applies the 120VAC to the element.

The thermostatic control could be done with either the 12VDC circuit or the 120VAC circuit. Without actual knowledge of your specific unit I can only speculate. You might check the manual that came with your unit. It might help.

Many water heaters have a high-limit switch that may need re-setting. It is usually accessible from the outside panel.

[hoppers4]

You can verify the output of the breaker at the wire coming out of the breaker. Here's a possible schematic of the 115VAC side of your water heater.
Google Image Result for http://www.forestriverforums.com/forums/attachment.php%3Fattachmentid%3D24904%26d%3D136214 6744

Here's a link to a page with the 12VDC wiring of a DSI water heater.
http://www.justanswer.com/rv-motorho...hot-water.html

If you look inside the water heater door there may be some drawings of your particular installation pasted to the bottom inside of the water heater.

[Grumpy]

There is a switch on the outside (bottom left side) that controls the ac, is it on?

[huronwoods]

Open the water heater cover, and locate the small black steel cover held on with two hex head screws. MAKE SURE 120 V BREAKER IS OFF, or better still, disconnect the RV from power.
Remove the black cover, and you will see two thermostat/limit switch assemblies. The left one is 120v, the right one is gas. Remove the two wires from the left one, and check for continuity between the terminals.
If it is open circuit, you've found the problem. Best source is Amazon, search for "Suburban 232317". Americanrvcompany.com is another good source. This is a common problem, it has happened to ours twice in four years. I now carry a spare. Cost is around $20.
If you use the heater on electric most of the time, the problem will occur sooner rather than later. The contacts in the thermostat switch don't stand up to the heavy current over long periods of time. They burn, get hot, and ultimately fail.