Water heater woes

[Pjs2500hd]

Went on our maidan voyage memorial weekend and our water heater does not work on the electric mode. I filled the water heater and turn it on electric waited a few hours and tried to use hot water and nothing. Had to use the gas and it worked fine for the week end. Called the dealer we went though all the normal checks checked the breaker, have power to the water heater outlet, checked the reset button on the T stat under the foam pad through the outside service door. Anyone have any other Things to check? I am going check the heating element with an ohm meter if I can find it. I am guessing I will have to remove the storage compartment wall to access it.
Have any of you had this issue? The dealer is 160 miles away I want to try to fix myself.

Everything else was great in the coach, good fit and finish, and had a great weekend, it tows great.

 

[CentralMichBo]

On my old unit, I had the same issue with the electric side. I had to replace the high limit switch - was an easy fix and the switch wasn't very expensive. If the limit switch doesn't fix the problem, it could be the control board which is between 100 and 150 to replace - plus, where the back of the water heater is, you have to be a really small person to get to it.

 

[thompsons 369rl]

Not sure if the heater is the same but on our 369RL there is a on/off switch on the outside, behind the access panel. It must be in the "on" position for electric element to operate. Not sure if the dealer mentioned it.

 

[goose115]

Had the same issue...just flipped the on switch and worked like a charm!

 

[LBnM]

my 303 does not have this external switch.

 

[cgoodnight]

The electric did not work on my 337. It had not been plugged in at the factory. Opened the front compartment, pushed the electric cord through a hole and plugged it in.

Sounds different from your problem, though.

 

[Pjs2500hd]

I call Atwood today and talked to a customer service tech. In talking with him we figured out that there was a ground wire missing off the 12 Volt relay on the back of the heater. I hooked it up and it works now. GD must have not connected in during assembly. It save me a 160 mile trip to the dealer. A little frustrating on a new coach. But all is good now

 

[ruskin219]

I'm having the same problem on my 2015 303 RLS. I have had the coach out about 6 times since purchasing. The electric water heater worked fine until this last trip. Never could get it to work so switched to propane and it worked fine. I did determine, too late, that the GFCI had flipped. Once I flipped the GFCI breaker back on and finally located the GFCI outlet to reset it, it was time to go home and too late to determine if that was the problem. Called GD after getting home and they believe the water heater may be wired to the GFCI circuit but their response did not instill confidence. I'll test it within the next couple of days. If that was not the problem I'm going to take a look at the other possible solutions mentioned including the heating element. I'm not familiar with Atwood water heaters. Can the element be accessed via the outside panel or is it located elsewhere?

 

[Dave and Monica]

GFCI had flipped. Once I flipped the GFCI breaker back on and finally located the GFCI outlet to reset it, it was time to go home and too late to determine if that was the problem.

Can the element be accessed via the outside panel or is it located elsewhere?

On our 337 the WH is on a separate breaker and it will be on yours also...think it draws about 12A. It won't be on the GFCI circuit of 6 -7 outlets in the camper.

The element is accessible from the outside panel. I think you should be able to check for voltage across the heater's terminals with a meter.

Dave

 

[ruskin219]

Thanks Dave. Checked the breaker and it is fine. If there is a fuse to check, it's not labeled. Guess I'll check all of the fuses if necessary. Since posting my question I've determined that the heating element is definitely not accessible from the outside panel as it would be with a Suburban water heater. I found a schematic online for an Atwood 6-gallon gas/electric water heater and it shows the element located on the back of the tank. I believe that is accessible behind a cabinet door on the inside of my 2015 303 RLS. My main concern now is whether I will have room to remove the element without partially sliding the tank out as the cabinet is not very wide. Needless to say, I will eliminate all other possibilities before doing that. Thanks again for your reply.