Water Heater Wiring WARNING

FIRE HAZARD! Long story, so I'll keep to the specifics. Water heater quit several weeks ago suddenly. It only quit on the 110V side. Propane still worked fine. So I began troubleshooting following all the advise found on this forum. Some of it assumes you know how to read a multi meter and you know the values you are looking for. Couldn't find anything wrong except the element had a low continuity reading. So away I went replacing parts. Element first then thermostat and then rocker switch. Checked all the wiring on the breaker side and the main switch. Found the common (white) wires loose on the main switch. Here's were it gets interesting. Following instructions I checked wiring at the back of the water heater. All control wires were attached securely. Strangely though the main feeds to the 110V side went into a small metal box attached to the side of the heater. After checking everything I succumbed to trying to remove this box. There is a screw that you can remove to remove a cover but you need a 1/2" screwdriver. No such thing. Anyway by removing two hex head screws from the outside box that box came free. Still not enough wire to move the box to easy access. Got the screw undone, and I was SHOCKED at what I saw. The common wire(s) were all burnt. What was apparent was a very shoddy job of installing the marrets and not tapping them down. In fact I couldn't even see the marret for the common wire. If it wasn't in the metal box we would have had a fire with my wife and granddaughter staying in the unit. Even if your water heater is working, take the time to remove this box, undo the cover and check the high voltage wiring. Take the marrets off and rewind the wires together. Then tape the wire to the marret to prevent road movement loosening the marret. Sorry no photos, I was just glad to have finally found the problem.

Good catch! Glad it didn't get ugly.

I had to the same to mine.

labbysmom,

Was this a Suburban 12 Gallon Water Heater? Where exactly is this box located and how do you gain access to it?

I assume from your narrative that the power goes from this box, to the small rocker switch on the back of the water heater, and from there to the ECO/Thermostat, and on to the heating element.

I assume "marret" is a type of wire nut (I've not heard the term previously).

What is a marret?

I have a dead short in the electrical side of my water heater that I have not been able to find the cause of yet. This might be it.

I wonder if you could use a changable screwdriver bit held at a right angle in a thin nose Vicegrips as a "1/2 inch screwdriver"?

danemayer said:

labbysmom,

I assume "marret" is a type of wire nut (I've not heard the term previously).

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From the internet (not on Wikipedia): 'Marrette' is a brand name for 'pressure type wire connectors'; 'Wire-nut' is another brand name.

Read more: http://www.doityourself.com/forum/electrical-c-d-c/199696-what-marrett.html#ixzz2YyHJqX79

danemayer said:

labbysmom,

Was this a Suburban 12 Gallon Water Heater? Where exactly is this box located and how do you gain access to it?

I assume from your narrative that the power goes from this box, to the small rocker switch on the back of the water heater, and from there to the ECO/Thermostat, and on to the heating element.

I assume "marret" is a type of wire nut (I've not heard the term previously).

Click to expand...

Yes it's a Suburban 12 gallon. To find the box you have to remove the panel in the storage compartment. Three screws in the docking compartment, left side and two in the storage compartment. Panel then slides out. You can see the box on the right side of the heater. You'll see a 110V wiring entering the box and two wires exiting. One goes to the rocker switch and the common (white) goes to the element. Yes it's a wire nut. Good for house wiring but you should use some electrical tape to hold it in place.

wdk450 said:

I have a dead short in the electrical side of my water heater that I have not been able to find the cause of yet. This might be it.

I wonder if you could use a changable screwdriver bit held at a right angle in a thin nose Vicegrips as a "1/2 inch screwdriver"?

From the internet (not on Wikipedia): 'Marrette' is a brand name for 'pressure type wire connectors'; 'Wire-nut' is another brand name.

Read more: http://www.doityourself.com/forum/electrical-c-d-c/199696-what-marrett.html#ixzz2YyHJqX79

Click to expand...

You could try that, but if the wiring requires repair I found it easier to remove the box completely then remove the screw. I then fished longer wires to the switch and element (which should have been installed in the first place) to help with troubleshooting in the future. If I did it right that future shouldn't come.

I know where the box is, on the upper side of the water heater, between it and the side wall of the UDC enclosure. In the photo, you can just barely see the metal box. Getting at it is another adventure in the Basement O' Doom.

View attachment 25333

JohnDar said:

I know where the box is, on the upper side of the water heater, between it and the side wall of the UDC enclosure. In the photo, you can just barely see the metal box. Getting at it is another adventure in the Basement O' Doom.

View attachment 25333

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Thanks for the photo JohnDar. If I had the presence of mind I would have taken one myself. I was just so shocked at what I saw and elated that I found the problem.

Does anyone from Heartland monitor these pages for issues like this ... or does anyone contact them to alert to issues so that they can fix on newer RVs they are producing so future RVers don't have the same problem? I'm new a new owner to the forum, so was hoping they somehow find out about all the issues I am reading about to make future adjustments.

yport said:

Does anyone from Heartland monitor these pages for issues like this ... or does anyone contact them to alert to issues so that they can fix on newer RVs they are producing so future RVers don't have the same problem? I'm new a new owner to the forum, so was hoping they somehow find out about all the issues I am reading about to make future adjustments.

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Hi yport,

Heartland brand GMs monitor several sub-forums within their brand communities. This particular sub-forum is not monitored by anyone at the plant. I however, do read a large amount of forum posts. Quite often, I forward various items to relevant parties at the plants. I'd like to see a picture of the box in question on this before I pass it to anyone.

Heartland Customer Service is very reachable by phone (877-262-8032) or by email (photo attachments are suggested) at service@heartlandrvs.com.

In matters like the one in this thread, I would always encourage owners to pick up the phone or send an email "rather than" using the forum to advise Heartland. In the case of this thread, the owner is trying to make other owners aware of the issue they had.

Thanks Jim ...

JohnDar said:

I know where the box is, on the upper side of the water heater, between it and the side wall of the UDC enclosure. In the photo, you can just barely see the metal box. Getting at it is another adventure in the Basement O' Doom.

View attachment 25333

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Oh boy, this is going to be a "fun" job (which most owners might have to face eventually). It's good the water heater still works on propane.

I had them same thing happen a couple of years ago on my previous rig. Wires were melted. Never tripped the breaker. That to me was scary.

Ted

From my perspective, this is a very useful post. It identifies placement of a junction in the 110V wiring that may need to be investigated when the electric side of the water heater fails.

Does everyone need to get this checked? This might be the first example I've read over the past 2 to 3 years regarding a problem in this box, so maybe this is the exception.

Nevertheless, if it were a safety exposure, I think many of us would be inclined to check it out even if the water heater seems to be working ok.

But while I'm not an electrician, I was under the impression that electrical boxes/enclosures are used as a safety measure to prevent disastrous outcomes when wiring problems like this occur. So even though there was a wiring problem, maybe the box was doing its job and was protecting the trailer.

Perhaps a certified electrician can comment on whether my impression is correct.

danemayer said:

But while I'm not an electrician, I was under the impression that electrical boxes/enclosures are used as a safety measure to prevent disastrous outcomes when wiring problems like this occur. So even though there was a wiring problem, maybe the box was doing its job and was protecting the trailer.

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I don't know about RVs, but our local electrical code requires that all splices/junctions (where 2 or more wires are joined together using wire nuts or any other means) be made in an enclosed junction box and that junction box must be accessible. Often these are located in junction boxes that are used for other purposes as well such as wall outlet boxes or light/fan boxes, etc., but occasionally it might be necessary to use a separate box. The purpose of course is safety.

wdk450 said:

Oh boy, this is going to be a "fun" job (which most owners might have to face eventually). It's good the water heater still works on propane.

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Bill,

Heartland uses very little vinyl hose now. The belly of the beast is WAY cleaner now than in the past.

I agree that with the assessment about the connection being in a metal box and that sure helps in avoiding a serious problem. I know with my situation the wires were melted and if not for being in the box it would have been a catastrophe. That said, I still think there may be an underlying problem here. We should not be seeing this number of situations occurring. I know with my situation it was that the screwed on wire nuts still had some bare wires exposed. That should not be. I also don't understand why the breaker never tripped. That seems to be really strarnge.

Ted

jbeletti said:

Bill,

Heartland uses very little vinyl hose now. The belly of the beast is WAY cleaner now than in the past.

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Thanks for the encouragement, Jim, but my Bighorn is a 2008 model.