Water Heater wiring diagram

[daveg48]

I came back from a weekend and the water heater would not heat on electric. The red light at the switch over the sink did not light. I check all breakers and was told the element probably was our. So........I put a new one in and the old one turned out to be OK. I could not figure out the problem. Does anyone know how these things are wire to the switch inside. I messed around with all the switches and finally got it to go. Not sure but I think it might be the switch at the heater iself. Can those be changed without taking out the heater? Could use some help if anyone has expericence. Thanks. Ok by the way I have on 02 Prairie Schooner.

[hyall]

great question,I have the same problem running on gas now but the element is fine tested ok thermostates been replaced and old tested and ok'd

[daveg48]

As for testing OK, I was told just because you get a continuity through the element it does not necessarily mean it is OK, unless you take it out. If it is burnt out the water in the tank will provide the continuity. I also found that to change the element most probably takes a special socket and it and all the elements for these things are available at Home Depot.

[hyall]

Your correct on testing the element out of tank and I just discovered only when the gen is running I do have power but at home 30 amp, warehouse storage 50 amps and campground 50 amps no lite or hot water go figure lol

[RJ82much]

I'm trying to make sure I understand the conditions of your hot water heater problem.

I don't have a coach AC power wiring diagram. I can't find the wiring diagram for the Suburban gas/electric water heater, so I'm flying blind.

Did I understand that if you are on generator power, your water heater switch red-light glows & the water heats?

If you are on any outside source of AC power, the red-light does not glow & the water does not heat?

???

[hyall]

I'm trying to make sure I understand the conditions of your hot water heater problem.

I don't have a coach AC power wiring diagram. I can't find the wiring diagram for the Suburban gas/electric water heater, so I'm flying blind.

Did I understand that if you are on generator power, your water heater switch red-light glows & the water heats?

If you are on any outside source of AC power, the red-light does not glow & the water does not heat?

???

in my case yes ????

[daveg48]

I don't know about Hyall but mine is a fifth wheel and I do not have a generator. I just have a short or a bad switch somewhere and operation is intermitant. I think it may be in the switch at the water heater itself and I wonder how to get to it.

[by8s]

Dave:
I checked their website (rvcomfort.com/suburban) and they have a support number you can call (423 775 2131) and an email address: [email protected]. I have had very good luck contacting the factories in these types of situations.
Bob

[RJ82much]

Dave & Hyall,

I tried again, w/o luck, to get information about the heater wiring. Bob (By8s) is certainly correct about Suburban factory assistance.

That said, it is very likely that the problem is coach wiring for both Dave & Hyall.

Last night I looked at my Suburban (SW10DE) heater. There wasn't any information labels that helped.

I removed the cover from the switch-with-red-light box at kitchen sink cabinet & determined that a standard household NM cable comes into box, apparently direct from "Water Heater" 15amp circuit breaker in distribution box under bed. The hot lead goes to switch. The white neutral is wired to other side of lamp. Switched hot lead goes to lamp and out of box (along with white neutral) via the 2nd NM cable to heater switch/thermostat and element.

In my coach, the red light indicates ONLY that the switch is on, and there is power to the switch. If the light glows anytime when the switch is on, then the bulb is OK.

Are you certain that everything else in the coach works when plugged in to shore power? All A/Cs, microwave, TV's? If not, then Hyall might have a transfer switch problem.

Dave, if your light is intermittant, then the problem is in the wall switch box or the circuit breaker & connection (under bed?). It won't be the switch/thermostat at the water heater itself. If the light stays on, but you're not heating water, & the heater element is OK, then yes, the tank switch/thermostat could be defective.

Whew, sorry I couldn't say that in 10 words or less.

<also note, I had to edit since 1st version wiring was incorrect>

[hyall]

Well I checked all grounds and the neutrals no problem From the shore readings are good I believe your right on the transfer switch or the power reel that they installed as a after thought I'm going to have the dealer check it out since there several other items need help thank you for checking into this

[daveg48]

I thank you for the info and if one of the switches is bad I deffinetly hope it is the one over the sink with the light. Be the easiest to change out.

[daveg48]

Hey all, my mystery has finally been solved. The problem kept cropping up and I took it to an RV place. Turns out the breaker of the water heater, the one in the main breaker box was faulty. It had corrosion in the contacts. Who would have thought?

[wingmanbill1962]

I replacing my water heater on my 2001 Independence Class A coach and was hoping a fellow rv'er out there might check their wire colors and help me out!
There are three separate 12 volt wires that come from the coach that are brown, white and blue that need to connect to the blue, green and red wires coming from the water heater. I already have the circuit board connected as well as the igniter and 110 connections. If someone could just check their coach and tell me what to connect it would be appreciated!!

[madkinson]

I know this is old, but hoping for a reply. I have the same problem; color don't match up from water heater to coach. The wiring from the old wh was cut when I took it out, so have no basis for comparison. Any help would be appreciated.

[Lesyo64]

Rj82 was very comprehensive. Let me add just a couple of things.
First, the switch at the water heater can be pried out with a small flat head screwdriver. Make sure the power is off!
Second, the hotl lead goes from that switch to the thermostat and in series to the high limit switch.
Third, the high limit switch has reset button.
Fourth, there is a fusible link between the thermostat and the high limit switch.

Using an inductive voltage tester /tic tracer, with the power on and the switch at the water heater pulled out you can trace the hot lead and see if there is any brake in that series between the switch the thermostat and the high limit switch and then down to the heating element.

Hope this helps

[Sudsy]

Wiring in Motor homes and other campers can be very confusing. House type wiring has the black wire as + and white as - with a green safety ground. That's single phase 110 Vdc that runs your water heater and other AC accessories.



On the 12 V side you will have red as + and Black as - in a normal configuration.



Sudsy