Water Heater Issues on Electric Power

[HappyNFree]

I have an issue with my electric.
I changed the element, the ECO and T Stat and control board and 12v switch on the outside of tank. I checked and there is power going to everything.
Electric was working for about a week then stopped and now I can’t get it to start. What am I missing? Please help!

Thanks

[Morich]

We are working with the minimum info on age and kind of RV, but on thing not mentioned is the heating elemnet itself going open!
Can you spot a pair of wires that might lead to the element itself? A meter ofr testing continuity through the element would show resistance if good and open of it has "burned up"?

If you find those wires and have power going into the element when testing to ground, you should also see that power reading coming out the other side!

For best troubleshooting, I would look for an online manual for the specific water heater and find the route the power takes from one spot to the nest to get tothe element and through it as well as where it goes after that as it takes a full circle (circuit?) to move power and work.
You may have replaced all the parts but if there is no way for the power to get back to neutral, something as common as a loose wire may be to blame. Also replacing parts runs the risk of having installed a bad new part to really confuse the issue.

[HappyNFree]

Originally Posted by Morich

We are working with the minimum info on age and kind of RV, but on thing not mentioned is the heating elemnet itself going open!
Can you spot a pair of wires that might lead to the element itself? A meter ofr testing continuity through the element would show resistance if good and open of it has "burned up"?

If you find those wires and have power going into the element when testing to ground, you should also see that power reading coming out the other side!

For best troubleshooting, I would look for an online manual for the specific water heater and find the route the power takes from one spot to the nest to get tothe element and through it as well as where it goes after that as it takes a full circle (circuit?) to move power and work.
You may have replaced all the parts but if there is no way for the power to get back to neutral, something as common as a loose wire may be to blame. Also replacing parts runs the risk of having installed a bad new part to really confuse the issue.

2002 Itasca 32v
10 Gal HWT Atwood
Yes I tested the wires going to the element they both show 124v
Then when I test for resistance on the element it tests good
I changed the relay and then changed it back, the control panel has power going everywhere it needs to be

[Morich]

Okay, we may have some info on how to sort the electric part of this heater.
HWT seems to be something of generic, maybe hot water tank??
The model numbers are much longer but it seems that may not be necessary unless you get past what this manual lists for testing the elecrtical portion?
If you get down that far, there is likely to be a label inside the outer cover with the model.

https://myrvworks.com/wp-content/upl...ice-Manual.pdf

Down about page 13-14, there are drawings of the points they referr us to check and then steps to take on various types of failures.

https://myrvworks.com/wp-content/upl...ice-Manual.pdf

One point to verify? There is water in the tank to avoid overheating and shutdown due to dry tank? Are you familiar with the lockout feature and reset?

Just a couple points to mention. From there the manual will most likely be far more help than my old ideas of what I've seen. Too easy for me to skip things in memory!!
Their drawings look much better, too!

Good luck with the chase and let us know how it goes or any questions the group might know about!

[creativepart]

Any chance the new electric element is bad? Or could it have run without water in the tank and burned up? Sometimes stuff just happens multiple time and we think it must be something else. I’m just throwing this out there.

[HappyNFree]

Originally Posted by Morich

Okay, we may have some info on how to sort the electric part of this heater.
HWT seems to be something of generic, maybe hot water tank??
The model numbers are much longer but it seems that may not be necessary unless you get past what this manual lists for testing the elecrtical portion?
If you get down that far, there is likely to be a label inside the outer cover with the model.

https://myrvworks.com/wp-content/upl...ice-Manual.pdf

Down about page 13-14, there are drawings of the points they referr us to check and then steps to take on various types of failures.

https://myrvworks.com/wp-content/upl...ice-Manual.pdf

One point to verify? There is water in the tank to avoid overheating and shutdown due to dry tank? Are you familiar with the lockout feature and reset?

Just a couple points to mention. From there the manual will most likely be far more help than my old ideas of what I've seen. Too easy for me to skip things in memory!!
Their drawings look much better, too!

Good luck with the chase and let us know how it goes or any questions the group might know about!

Thank you for sharing the manual.

My hot water tank model number is GCH10A-4E
There’s water in my tank and it will heat on propane. I’m not familiar with the lockout feature and reset. I studied the manual you shared and it doesn’t explain that. My ECO and TStats are on the front and there’s no reset that I can find anywhere.

[Morich]

Okay, that may need a check and reset.
There are two types of elements, on screws in, the other bolts on. Each work the same but look different with different reset buttons.

See if one of thses looks like what you have.

[ATTACH][/ATTACH]

Another point to be sure of is that the thermostat is solidly against the tank metal to get a good read of the temp.

Pages 13 and 14 are far better explanations of the troubleshooting than I have.
With a meter on some ground like the metal frame, putting the other pobe on first one and then the following point to look for 110AC should show any point where the power is not getting to the element.

Page 14 shows how to test for continuity without power on for that type.

[HappyNFree]

My element screws in the back of the tank and the element tests ok as I had it out and tested it for resistance beside a brand new one and they both read the same.
There is a 12v rely that goes to the element which has a yellow wire coming in from the control board, a green wire that is s ground and two black wires that are both live.

[Morich]

I spot nothing on eitherof these types about a relay. It may be there and I am not spotting it!
But the relay would not seemto be the major question?
If you find 110AC getting to the element, going through a good element and back to neutral, the only thought is that you should get heating!
I would ignore the questions about the realy for the moment as it may not be involved, but instead work on what you can be sure of and that is the heating element should get hot when power is passing through it.
It is just like a simple light bulb, in that all it is required to do is pass current through and as that current passes, it warms.

A few possible ideas?
If the element is shorted, the resistanc ewill be very low and likely trip a breaker or fuse.
Perhaps the testing is not getting you the correct answers.
Possibly not getting power to the element but a test problem is tricking you.
The power is not getting through the element but testing is showing it is.
Or the power coming out is not getting to a good neutral ground, so that current will not flow to warm the element.

Something is tricking or confusing you in some way, so I would drop back to the basics and recheck. Does the wire coming out of the element show ground when tested?

[Ray,IN]

Richard, a water heater element is not grounded, it just a huge resistor. Both 120VAC wires will test hot, The ground is downstream of the element.
In this instance a clamp-on ammeter is the best test equipment. If there is no/low amps measured the element is bad. If the 1400W element is good it should be drawing ~11.6A. 1400 divided by 120=11.6

[Morich]

It's a matter of terms in my view. The heating element is connected to hot and neutral.
If it was a tech school class and we had all day, we could talk forever, but I don't go there!

When folks are struggling to get it fixed, recommending tools they will likely never use again is not going to help them much when the meter they have will do the job.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by Morich

It's a matter of terms in my view. The heating element is connected to hot and neutral.
If it was a tech school class and we had all day, we could talk forever, but I don't go there!

When folks are struggling to get it fixed, recommending tools they will likely never use again is not going to help them much when the meter they have will do the job.

I agree in principle, but I've found that an inexpensive ($30 - $40 AC/DC clamp on multimeter is invaluable for solving electrical issues in my MH, my other vehicles and at home. Not having to disconnect one leg of the circuit to measure current flow is a great time saver. It's a much different suggestion than some single purpose tools. It may not be as accurate, but, in most cases, it's good enough.

Besides that, using a repair problem to justify a new tool is fun.

[bigb]

Originally Posted by HappyNFree

Yes I tested the wires going to the element they both show 124v

124V from what to what? You should have approximately 120 volts between hot and neutral, and between hot and ground, and close to zero between neutral and ground. If you have 124 volts between neutral and ground you have an open neutral upstream.

[Morich]

Originally Posted by bigb

124V from what to what? You should have approximately 120 volts between hot and neutral, and between hot and ground, and close to zero between neutral and ground. If you have 124 volts between neutral and ground you have an open neutral upstream.

That's where we need to get speciifc as the devil is truly in the details when we test.

[Bobn1957]

It sounds to me like there is an open neutral, you have 120 volts at the element and continuity, the return path is the neutral. Disconnect the power, remove the wires from the element and check for continuity between the individual wires and ground, one of them should read zero ohms, if not turn the power back on and check the wires for 120 volts and the one that shows zero will be the neutral and once identified determine why it isn't grounded.