Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
 

Go Back   Keystone RV Forums > Keystone Tech Forums > General RV Issues
Click Here to Login

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
 
Old 12-05-2020, 12:06 PM   #1
DCM
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Brick
Posts: 4
Hot Water Tank Burnt Wires

Hello, I have a 2020 Bullet 291RSL and I wanted to share an issue I just found, not sure if it is a bigger problem with manufacturing, or just mine. After turning on the electric hot water tank, I noticed an electrical smell in the kitchen area, with smoke coming out of the sink cabinet. Opened the cabinet and saw smoke coming from the hot water tank black electrical box, which had a melted hole through it. Shut the hot water tank off, and opened the black box, to see the burnt up wire nut and wires. The wire nut fell apart when I moved it out to inspect. This is not good, as we know what would have happened if we were sleeping or not in the trailer. I’m going to contact Keystone support Monday about this.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	C450C9C4-2CA8-40E5-8C16-BE6B71D2AA4F.jpg
Views:	285
Size:	130.6 KB
ID:	31025   Click image for larger version

Name:	126FC632-5136-499F-B9CE-12A1396AE196.jpg
Views:	217
Size:	127.0 KB
ID:	31026  
DCM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2020, 12:26 PM   #2
chuckster57
Site Team
 
chuckster57's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Modesto
Posts: 20,203
Welcome to the forum

Unfortunately your not the first, and most likely won’t be the last person to experience this. I’ve seen it a few times over my years as a tech. I have yet to see any units burn down, but it does leave an odor.

I’m glad you found it, and I assume you turned the breaker off.
__________________

2012 Copper Canyon 273FWRET being towed by a 1994 Ford F350 CC,LB,Dually diesel.
Airlift 5000 bags, Prodigy brake control, 5 gauges on the pillar.Used to tow a '97 Jayco 323RKS.

Now an RVIA registered tech. Retired from Law enforcement in 2008 after 25+ yrs.
chuckster57 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2020, 01:48 PM   #3
DCM
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Brick
Posts: 4
Thank you for the reply. Wow. Can you advise what you think the issue is? Wire nut not tighten correctly. I’ve done home electrical work for the past 25+ years and never saw a wire nut burn up. I heard about it happening with aluminum wiring, but not copper.

Unplugged shore power. I don’t mess with hot wires. Lol.
DCM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2020, 02:05 PM   #4
flybouy
Site Team
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Joppa, MD
Posts: 11,695
Did you have water in the tank before you energized it? Turning it on without water will burn up the element very rapidly. It looks like it may have been a poor connection at the wire nut but it's impossible to tell from a photo.
I'd call your dealer on Monday as Keyston CS will likely tell you to take it to your dealer.
__________________
Marshall
2012 Laredo 303 TG
2010 F250 LT Super Cab, long bed, 4X4, 6.4 Turbo Diesel
flybouy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2020, 02:14 PM   #5
ChuckS
Senior Member
 
ChuckS's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Mountain Home, Idaho
Posts: 2,972
Looks to me like the remote relay for the water heater elect element burned up..

https://www.trekwood.com/products/12...y-Kit-Electric
__________________


2007 GMC Classic club cab 4x4 Duramax LBZ
2014 Alpine 3010 RE. 34 foot fifth wheel
ChuckS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2020, 02:21 PM   #6
DCM
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Brick
Posts: 4
Hello. Yes, water was on and tank full before turning on. I’m thinking poor connection as well, but the wires seem wrapped tight. I had a bad experience, with Camping World service, waiting months for warranty repair, just to pick up the camper and nothing was done. I’ve learned to work on them myself. I thought buying a brand new one, would save me some headache, but I had to replace the sail switch as well, when the heater stop lighting. Go Dometic!
DCM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2020, 02:43 PM   #7
DCM
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Brick
Posts: 4
Hum, I’ll have to check that, but the heater was still working. First I’’m going to resplice the wires with a new wire nut and test. Also, I’m going to take off the other wire nuts and inspect. I can tell you, I’m not going to leave the heater on overnight, or when leaving to go somewhere, and may just keep it on propane. My old camper was propane and never had an issue.

Appreciate all the replies, and help. What a great forum!
DCM is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2020, 04:31 PM   #8
chuckster57
Site Team
 
chuckster57's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Modesto
Posts: 20,203
All the failures I’ve seen were because wire nut wasn’t tight or the wires weren’t inserted far enough into the nut before tightening.
__________________

2012 Copper Canyon 273FWRET being towed by a 1994 Ford F350 CC,LB,Dually diesel.
Airlift 5000 bags, Prodigy brake control, 5 gauges on the pillar.Used to tow a '97 Jayco 323RKS.

Now an RVIA registered tech. Retired from Law enforcement in 2008 after 25+ yrs.
chuckster57 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-05-2020, 06:26 PM   #9
flybouy
Site Team
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Joppa, MD
Posts: 11,695
The wires being burnt at the wirenut indicates that it was the source of the issues as that's where the heat was. As Chuck stated it's jot uncommon for the wires to not be inserted far enough into the wirenut or if a wire nut is too small it can loosen up.
__________________
Marshall
2012 Laredo 303 TG
2010 F250 LT Super Cab, long bed, 4X4, 6.4 Turbo Diesel
flybouy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-06-2020, 12:24 PM   #10
skids
Senior Member
 
skids's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Florissant
Posts: 687
Quote:
Originally Posted by DCM View Post
(snip) Shut the hot water tank off, and opened the black box, to see the burnt up wire nut and wires. The wire nut fell apart when I moved it out to inspect. This is not good, as we know what would have happened if we were sleeping or not in the trailer. I’m going to contact Keystone support Monday about this.
Not to insult anyones intelligence, but when you work inside that black outlet box be sure that you flip the circuit breaker. The wires are HOT and the connection is made with a solenoid triggered from the wall control panel. I hate getting shocked!!!!
__________________
Skids
2019 Bullet 248RKS
skids is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-06-2020, 01:23 PM   #11
GaryUT
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2019
Location: Northern, UT
Posts: 178
I would replaced the wire nuts with Wago lever nuts. Twist on wire nuts will vibrate loose,


https://www.wago.com/us/wire-splicin...ctor/p/221-412

You can get them on Amazon.



Gary
__________________

2019 Laredo 255SRL
2009 GMC Sierra 2500HD Crew Cab
GaryUT is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-06-2020, 01:39 PM   #12
chuckster57
Site Team
 
chuckster57's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Modesto
Posts: 20,203
Grand design had a recall for AC units and the fix was using those. I like them!!
__________________

2012 Copper Canyon 273FWRET being towed by a 1994 Ford F350 CC,LB,Dually diesel.
Airlift 5000 bags, Prodigy brake control, 5 gauges on the pillar.Used to tow a '97 Jayco 323RKS.

Now an RVIA registered tech. Retired from Law enforcement in 2008 after 25+ yrs.
chuckster57 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-06-2020, 03:27 PM   #13
sourdough
Site Team
 
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: W. Texas
Posts: 17,553
Just had a similar situation with my Suburban wh. Replaced the switch that was burned up but still didn't work so figure it is the relay that ChuckS pointed out. Mine is in warranty and I don't want to pull the hwh while I'm in it so going to let the dealer fix it when I return.
__________________
Danny and Susan, wife of 56 years
2019 Ram 3500 Laramie CC SWB SB 6.4 4x4 4.10
2020 Montana High Country 331RL
sourdough is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2020, 08:46 AM   #14
beeje
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: westminster md
Posts: 28
I had a similar situation last year where I smelled burnt wiring. Traced it down to the junction box of the water heater.
Did not like what I saw in there. A 12 volt relay that switched 120 volt power via a 12 volt switch. In my opinion not a good idea.
I rewired it and ran a 120 volt cable to the bathroom with a 120 volt switch to operate the heater eliminating the12volt switch
beeje is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-13-2020, 10:51 AM   #15
skids
Senior Member
 
skids's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Florissant
Posts: 687
Quote:
Originally Posted by beeje View Post
I had a similar situation last year where I smelled burnt wiring. Traced it down to the junction box of the water heater.
Did not like what I saw in there. A 12 volt relay that switched 120 volt power via a 12 volt switch. In my opinion not a good idea.
I rewired it and ran a 120 volt cable to the bathroom with a 120 volt switch to operate the heater eliminating the12volt switch
I like that idea too. Those solenoids seem so small and crammed into the junction box. Was there another function for the 12v wire from the wall panel to the control board? Did you just cap off that wire to the junction box from the control board? I suppose you still have to push the toggle on the wall to electric HW and also flip a 120 v wall switch...
__________________
Skids
2019 Bullet 248RKS
skids is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-14-2020, 01:00 AM   #16
Rber1234
Senior Member
 
Rber1234's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: Wood River,IL
Posts: 121
Same thing happened to my unit. Was covered under warranty. Dealer said it was caused by sloppy installation as wire connections that shouldn’t be touching were touching.
__________________
2018 Bullet Premier 22RBPR
2019 F-150 XLT 5.0 Super Crew FX4
Wood River, IL
Rber1234 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-30-2023, 11:56 AM   #17
Nicki
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2023
Location: Ballwin
Posts: 4
Quote:
Originally Posted by DCM View Post
Hello, I have a 2020 Bullet 291RSL and I wanted to share an issue I just found, not sure if it is a bigger problem with manufacturing, or just mine. After turning on the electric hot water tank, I noticed an electrical smell in the kitchen area, with smoke coming out of the sink cabinet. Opened the cabinet and saw smoke coming from the hot water tank black electrical box, which had a melted hole through it. Shut the hot water tank off, and opened the black box, to see the burnt up wire nut and wires. The wire nut fell apart when I moved it out to inspect. This is not good, as we know what would have happened if we were sleeping or not in the trailer. I’m going to contact Keystone support Monday about this.
Hello, new member and owner of a 2020 291rls.
We had the same problem happen last weekend- black wire burned.
May I ask how you got the issue solved?
Nicki & Amy, StLouis MO
Nicki is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-30-2023, 12:05 PM   #18
Nicki
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2023
Location: Ballwin
Posts: 4
Just turned off the breaker as well- will the gas water heater still ignite with breaker off?
Nicki is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-30-2023, 06:52 PM   #19
LHaven
Senior Member
 
LHaven's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2019
Location: Wickenburg
Posts: 3,261
Yup, you'd also have to pull the WH fuse, if you don't trust yourself to keep the WH gas switch off.
Was there water in the tank?
__________________
2019 Cougar 26RBSWE
2019 Ford F-250
LHaven is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-01-2023, 04:02 AM   #20
Nicki
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2023
Location: Ballwin
Posts: 4
Quote:
Originally Posted by LHaven View Post
Yup, you'd also have to pull the WH fuse, if you don't trust yourself to keep the WH gas switch off.
Was there water in the tank?
Thank you and yes, when we hook up i always fill the water tank first before turning on the electric or gas WH.
We used the gas WH last time and it works fine.
I don’t trust myself replacing the black wire and will have it done at our local RV shop.
Thank you for your reply
Nicki & Amy- Ballwin, MO
Nicki is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
tank, water

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by

Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v3.2.3
Disclaimer:

This website is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Keystone RV Company or any of its affiliates in any way. Keystone RV® is a registered trademark of the Keystone RV Company.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 12:01 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.9
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.