Electric water heater problem

[Danny678]

I am looking for some help trying to fix my water heater. It works great in gas mode but not heating water in electric mode. I have a Carbon 358 with the suburban water heater. I have change the element and still nothing. With all the switches on I am getting 120v on the black wire and 14 volts on the white wire. When I turn all the switches off but beaker on I am still reading 14v on both black and white wires. The with the breaker off all power is gone. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[bobbecky]

You didn't say what year the rig is, which can be important. You have possibly the little black rocker switch on the face of the water heater that can be an issue. You also have the thermostat/Hi-limit switch under the black plastic cover with the rubber covers over the reset buttons. That thermostat/Hi-limit switch can also be bad, or the reset button might just need to be pushed. Where are you checking voltage? Voltage on the white neutral isn't really important, but the black wire is.

[German Shepherd Guy]

Is 14V a little high? With my fridge I discovered incorrect DC voltage can cause problems. Maybe the same with your Water Heater? Probably not but just a thought.

[Danny678]

Thanks for the responses. The year is a 2021. I am taking the readings directly from the black wire on the heating element. When I go black to ground I get 120 and I get the same when I go white to ground but when I read across them I get nothing.

[GlasNav]

Does that model of hot water heater have the black rubber covered reset buttons located outside?

[Danny678]

Yes it does. I have already made sure they weren’t tripped but haven’t checked power there. I assumed that if I had power at the heating element they would be good.

[flybouy]

Originally Posted by Danny678

Thanks for the responses. The year is a 2021. I am taking the readings directly from the black wire on the heating element. When I go black to ground I get 120 and I get the same when I go white to ground but when I read across them I get nothing.

What ground are you testing to? If you are testing only the romex then black is the Line, white is Neutal, and bare wire is Ground. From your description it sounds like the N wire is not carrying voltage back to the N buss bar in the breaker panel.

[sourdough]

You haven't said which model of heater you have. Below is a link to a Suburban 12gal. which you may have. You can follow the 120vac. from start to finish with a meter using it.

https://forestriverinc.com/files/Com...n%20Manual.pdf

A couple of notes; the junction box mentioned in the wiring diagram's location is shown in fig. 2. It contains a 120vac connection and can fail. You can start from the beginning with the incoming 120vac or go to the element and see if you have it there and work back. You can disconnect the element wires and read resistance (ohms) across those element connections and should read about 10 ohms. If it reads infinity it is no good. I will also note to check the secondary switch located on the outside of the heater (mounted upside down). They can go bad. The one on this trailer melted 3 times until I figure out they had just crammed it into the foam lining the heater tank causing it to constantly overheat and melt. Finally removed some chunks of foam and cured the issue. If you don't have a Suburban that was a waste of space.

Edit: wiring diagrams are on page 4

[bobbecky]

Originally Posted by Danny678

I am looking for some help trying to fix my water heater. It works great in gas mode but not heating water in electric mode. I have a Carbon 358 with the suburban water heater. I have change the element and still nothing. With all the switches on I am getting 120v on the black wire and 14 volts on the white wire. When I turn all the switches off but beaker on I am still reading 14v on both black and white wires. The with the breaker off all power is gone. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

I just was wondering, after you replaced the element, did you fill the tank with water before turning power back on?

[Lee]

Originally Posted by flybouy

What ground are you testing to? If you are testing only the romex then black is the Line, white is Neutal, and bare wire is Ground. From your description it sounds like the N wire is not carrying voltage back to the N buss bar in the breaker panel.

I agree with Flyboy.

If you have 120ac on the white (Neutral) wire, the wire is NOT connected to the neutral buss bar and is "floating".

[ChuckS]

Of you have an inside switch to turn water heater on in electric mode then be aware there is a remote relay ..

It is operated b6 12 vdc and switches the 120 on and off at the relay .. these have a tendency to overheat and melt and can cause issues on the 120 VAC side