Water Heater Fix Ideas?

[mopillar]

So I have been trying to figure out my issues with my water heater on my 2014 Flying Cloud. It has the Atwood GE 9 EXT. All of a sudden the electric side is not working while the propane side of the water heater works fine.

So far I have used a multimeter on the element and the switch for the the electric and everything seems to be fine. Even though the propane is working correctly I even put in a new ECO and TSTAT for the hot water heater which actually had the electric side working for a slight bit.

All of a sudden today the electric side is no longer working again. Am I missing something simple that could be fixed or something else that I might need to test? If so what might I do to test what could be the issue on the electric side. At this point I am at a loss of what to do so any ideas are appreciated!

[Climber]

Had the same problem on my 2012 FC. I unplugged, gently cleaned, and re-inserted the (3 or 4?) electrical connectors on the heater. Took all of about 45 seconds. Give it a try!


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[Climber]

BTW, another AS owner friend of mine always covers the inside of the water heater door with a plastic bag when washing his trailer, for similar reasons. Coincidentally or not, my electric problem occurred right after a thorough washing.


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[mopillar]

Thanks Climber I will try cleaning up the connections more today and see what happens. They seemed pretty decent from what I recall but couldn't hurt.

[mopillar]

Update - Cleaned connections again but as I put on a new Tstat and Eco already they were all fairly clean. Turned on electric side and it heated up. Sounds good right?

After washing dishes the electric did not kick back on to reheat the water. It has done this before during my trying to figure out what is going on. If I turn on the propane side it automatically kicks on knowing that the temperature of the water is below what is called for.

So any ideas or anyone else had this issue?

[Al and Missy]

Originally Posted by mopillar

Update - Cleaned connections again but as I put on a new Tstat and Eco already they were all fairly clean. Turned on electric side and it heated up. Sounds good right?

After washing dishes the electric did not kick back on to reheat the water. It has done this before during my trying to figure out what is going on. If I turn on the propane side it automatically kicks on knowing that the temperature of the water is below what is called for.

So any ideas or anyone else had this issue?

Mine didn't work when I bought the trailer used. I determined the wall switch was bad. I pulled the switch and checked all the connections. When I put it back together it worked and has worked ever since (4 months, 4 trips totaling 4 weeks). I think the switch was not making good connection. In my 2002 trailer the switch is in a 110V circuit and carries full heater current. In the newer trailers the switch sends 12V to the heater and a relay turns on the 120V to the element.

Turn off the water heater breaker (for safety) and see if the switch is sending 12V to the heater. Pull the switch from the wall. Here is a diagram of various wiring schemes for the switch.

http://airstreamsupply.com/image/cac...am-850x800.gif

It looks like in general the white wire is to enable electric operation and the orange wire is for gas. Using a meter or test lamp, look for 12V on the white wire. If you don't see it, the switch is probably bad. If you do see it, check the other end of the wire at the hot water heater. If you have the 12V there, the relay on the heater is probably bad.

Al

[mopillar]

Originally Posted by Al and Missy

Mine didn't work when I bought the trailer used. I determined the wall switch was bad. I pulled the switch and checked all the connections. When I put it back together it worked and has worked ever since (4 months, 4 trips totaling 4 weeks). I think the switch was not making good connection. In my 2002 trailer the switch is in a 110V circuit and carries full heater current. In the newer trailers the switch sends 12V to the heater and a relay turns on the 120V to the element.

Turn off the water heater breaker (for safety) and see if the switch is sending 12V to the heater. Pull the switch from the wall. Here is a diagram of various wiring schemes for the switch.

http://airstreamsupply.com/image/cac...am-850x800.gif

It looks like in general the white wire is to enable electric operation and the orange wire is for gas. Using a meter or test lamp, look for 12V on the white wire. If you don't see it, the switch is probably bad. If you do see it, check the other end of the wire at the hot water heater. If you have the 12V there, the relay on the heater is probably bad.

Al

Will run through that tomorrow and see what I come up with. Thanks for the detailed advice!

[mopillar]

So replaced the relay and still no luck. Any other ideas out there?

[Kamiak]

I had the same problem a few years ago: Constantly blowing ECO and TSTAT. As you described, replacements "fixed" the problem, but only temporarily. Sometimes "temporary" lasted a few days/weeks, but it was unreliable, failing at inconvenient times. The first couple of times I had it repaired, then started doing it myself, buying multiple ECO and TSTAT packages at a time. In my case, access was awkward, underneath one of the twin beds. Failure was always preceded by runaway hot water, so we started turning the hot water on for only a few minutes, then we'd turn it off. That was a workaround for awhile. After smelling "electrical", I decided that something might be shorting. I checked the switch, no problem. Then I inspected the wires inside the J-box on the backside of the water heater where the ECO and TSTAT are connected. There was ample evidence of shorting, so I replaced ALL of the wires inside the J-box, then very carefully replaced the box cover, trying not to crimp, bind, or cross any of the wires.

That solved the problem. We still don't leave our water heater turned on when we leave camp. I hope this helps.