hot water heater, electric

LANDING PAGE Forums COMMON RV COMPONENTS & ISSUES FRESH-WATER SYSTEM hot water heater, electric

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        sandman
        I checked my wiring behind reset cover, my wires were rubing on the sharp edges & triping the braker, on 2013 LS37IK

        Posted: 7:13 PM – Oct 26, 2014
        Wingnusa
        Glad you found that. It sure was a problem for us recently…

        Posted: 7:15 PM – Oct 26, 2014
        papacliff
        I lost the electric side of my water heater as well. The breaker tripped once, but after resetting, it’s still out. I checked the wiring, but couldn’t find anything. I’m awaiting warranty service. I’ll update later in the week.

        Cliff


        Posted: 8:33 AM – Oct 27, 2014
        notruffinit
        this might not be it, but I lost mine and here is the link to the fix. Might check it out.

        viewtopic.php?f=25&t=1000

        John


        Posted: 10:24 AM – Oct 27, 2014
        subframe
        I’m winterizing my 36FW so I checked my hot water heater…. I found that the wires were very close to the sharp metal edges. I used small windshield washer spray hose, split it, and placed it around the wires…..might be something that everybody should check to avoid trouble down the road….Rich

        Posted: 2:34 PM – Oct 28, 2014
        Comeupwithsomething
        Subframe,

        That sounds like a good fix. It appears that the cascading failure of our Iota Transfer switch began with the water heater element hot wire rubbing through on that inward bent sharp sheet metal edge. That hot wire got pretty hot, but the breaker never tripped. Instead, the wires in the transfer switch melted.

        Wouldn’t hurt to maybe get a bit extra hose and do both the wire and the edge of the sheet metal.


        Posted: 3:25 PM – Oct 29, 2014
        papacliff
        notruffinit wrote:this might not be it, but I lost mine and here is the link to the fix. Might check it out.

        viewtopic.php?f=25&t=1000

        John

        John,
        I looked at this, but my switches are good. When Jane flips the inside switch on and off, I hear a click inside the heater from outside. My current guess is the thermostat. I’ll know more if I ever get a tech to come look at it. One guy was a no show (which I hate) and the one who was recommended is away until next week.

        Then I may have to fight to see how much I get back under warranty.

        Cliff


        Posted: 10:45 AM – Nov 05, 2014
        papacliff
        Since I already partially hijacked this thread, I figured I’d finish the job.

        The tech came and fixed the water heater, although actually, it wasn’t the heater at all. It was the 110V wires leading into the unit. The switch inside the coach is 12V, which closes a relay to send 110V to the element. A connection failed, frying the incoming wires.

        Here are pictures of the fried wiring in place, and after removal.

        We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread, still in progress. Thank you for your patience.

        Cliff


        Posted: 11:06 AM – Nov 05, 2014
        A&J’s Carrilite
        That could have been deadly!

        Posted: 1:52 PM – Nov 05, 2014
        subframe
        Where is that connection located exactly?…..Rich

        Posted: 1:57 PM – Nov 05, 2014
        Comeupwithsomething
        It’s a junction box located on the inside of the rig on the water heater itself. The white area is the styrofoam insulation around the water heater tank. You should be able to find it by tracing the romex feed to the water heater.

        Posted: 2:02 PM – Nov 05, 2014
        falconhunter
        Was the relay of the proper rating? Almost looks like the relay was the problem. Our Carri-lite has a 110 volt switch on the wall in the kitchen and doesn’t use a relay.

        Chip


        Posted: 2:17 PM – Nov 05, 2014
        A&J’s Carrilite
        Doing the relay in theory is a great idea, but in a rig that bounces and vibrates down the road like these do, it becomes another failure point. I can’t believe that a relay and the amount of 12v wire is cheaper than just running romex thru a wall switch in the kitchen or inside convenience panel.

        Posted: 3:24 PM – Nov 05, 2014
        papacliff
        Chip, the problem wasn’t the relay, it was still working, even with the fried wires. The bad connection was on the input side of the relay. I sent the pics to Rod at Lifestyle, he said he’d pass them along to production and QC.

        Jim, I wasn’t watching the tech open and close everything, but it appears the connection was (properly) in a junction box. That lessens the risk, but yeah, it could have been much worse.

        Cliff


        Posted: 7:06 PM – Nov 05, 2014
        Wingnusa
        papacliff wrote:Since I already partially hijacked this thread, I figured I’d finish the job.

        The tech came and fixed the water heater, although actually, it wasn’t the heater at all. It was the 110V wires leading into the unit. The switch inside the coach is 12V, which closes a relay to send 110V to the element. A connection failed, frying the incoming wires.

        We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread, still in progress. Thank you for your patience.

        Cliff

        Yep…that’s what mine looked like also…


        Posted: 11:36 PM – Nov 05, 2014
        papacliff
        Wingnusa, you had the same problem? We have the same year and model, do you know your build date or last 3 of your vin? I wonder if this is/was a recurring issue.

        Cliff


        Posted: 9:09 PM – Nov 06, 2014
        Wingnusa
        papacliff wrote:Wingnusa, you had the same problem? We have the same year and model, do you know your build date or last 3 of your vin? I wonder if this is/was a recurring issue.

        Cliff

        02/11/2013… Just open the metal electrical box next to the HW tank behind the removable wall to look for burnt wires. Then pull the reset panel out to look at your wires. Then put something on the sharp edge to protect your wires if they aren’t worn through.


        Posted: 11:46 PM – Nov 06, 2014
        rwb_wl
        I have attached a photo of the outside of the water heater (thermostat area), indicating a cut in one of the wires. We have wrapped all wires to prevent subsequent issues.

        I recommend using a 1/4″ nut driver to remove and replace the 4 screws holding the cover on.

        Rick


        Posted: 12:03 AM – Nov 07, 2014
        Comeupwithsomething
        This is/was one of the issues that came up as part of our transfer switch failure. On another thread, one of our thoughtful forum members suggested wrapping the wire with windshield washer fluid tubing. That, in addition to bending the sheet metal edge and/or wrapping it with the same type tubing should be a helpful preventative measure.

        Great idea!

        Just be sure the power is off first.


        Posted: 1:00 PM – Nov 07, 2014
        subframe
        I just inspected the 120 volt feed to the hot water heater and everything is fine….the junction box is located next to the outside wall of the RV which in my view is a bad location. I found it difficult to get my head in there to inspect it…unless there is a better way to access the junction box location?…..Rich
        papacliff
        Rich, the repair tech removed the side wall of the basement to get access to the water heater/junction box. I don’t know where your water heater is located, mine is just behind the main basement. The side walls screw out and in fairly easily.

        Cliff


        Posted: 6:54 PM – Nov 07, 2014
        subframe
        Cliff….The only access on the 36FW that I can see is through the removable panel under the kitchen sink….real tough spot!!!…..Rich

        Posted: 3:28 PM – Nov 13, 2014
        jdpm
        Today, I took the black reset switch cover off of our water heater on our 2014 LS36fw. I’ve enclosed a few photos. In the case of ours, it seems the black plastic cover itself was the culprit in almost cutting the wires. The set of black wires had the insulation slightly compromised but the red wires looked OK. It was the black plastic cover “digging-into” the wires and not the metal. I wrapped electrical tape around the wires and notched-out the black plastic cover to reduce the continued pressure on the wires. I think it will be ok now. Thanks for bringing this situation to light. Everyone should check theirs. Phillip
        http://carriage-lifestyle-owners.lifest … -photo=276

        B.W.Gentry
        Owner/Admin
        2007 Carri-Lite XTRM5
        Breckenridge, TX

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