Electric water heater

frank r · 07-06-2020, 03:45 AM

On our last outing, the electric portion of our water heater stopped functioning. It still works fine on propane. I swapped out the heating element and that did not fix the issue. Any input on where to look next will be greatly appreciated.

The heater is a Dometic GC6AA10E, less than 2 years old. I do have a multimeter if necessary for diagnostic purposes.

copperhand · 07-06-2020, 04:31 AM

Just curious but have you already checked the fuse or the reset on the water heater???
If so are you getting voltage to where the wires hook to the heating element???

frank r · 07-06-2020, 04:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by copperhand

Just curious but have you already checked the fuse or the reset on the water heater???
If so are you getting voltage to where the wires hook to the heating element???

The circuit breaker was/is not tripped. I don't know anything about a reset button - I didn't see anything that looked like one.

I will check the voltage tonight - I'm assuming that I should be seeing 110-120v when placing the one multimeter probe on each of the screws on the heating element?

CedarCreekWoody · 07-06-2020, 05:08 AM

The reset should be two black rubber buttons on the heater, depending on the brand of the heater. To test the power put on lead on the screw terminal and the other on a ground or the neutral wire (NOT the other screw terminal.)

wiredgeorge · 07-06-2020, 05:09 AM

Frank, I have a Suburban water heater and know nothing about Atwood specifics but there are a ton of youtube videos which go through trouble shooting and fixing that water heater. Have you looked at any?

frank r · 07-06-2020, 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wiredgeorge

Frank, I have a Suburban water heater and know nothing about Atwood specifics but there are a ton of youtube videos which go through trouble shooting and fixing that water heater. Have you looked at any?

I haven't looked, but I will. I was hoping the element swap would fix the issue.

wiredgeorge · 07-06-2020, 05:46 AM

On my Suburban, there is an inconvenient rocker switch under part of the burner that was shot. I replaced it, the heating element (which was burned up), the propane and electric thermostats to make my electric side work. I did this after testing to see if there was 110V power going to the switch. I am not sure how your unit works but would likely be looking to see if the dedicated breaker had 110V then check to see if there was AC power at the water heater. I suspect the youtube videos will show you where to check. Be careful if you start working on the thing while it is powered.

**JRTJH** · 07-06-2020, 05:53 AM

The "key statement" in the first post is: "The heater is a Dometic GC6AA10E, less than 2 years old" The warranty from Dometic is 24 months. So, it's still under warranty. Before you start "replacing parts to see if it fixes the problem" you might want to find a "authorized repair center" and have them fix it "for free".

That said, it could be anything from a reset button/thermal cut-off switch, a control panel, bad thermostat, heating element, or wiring from the switch in the lower left hand corner of the water heater to wiring from the trailer to the control board connections. Dont void your warranty thinking it's already expired.

As for service centers, almost all RV service centers are Dometic repair centers, but there are also many plumbing contractors, etc that are not "RV related" that service Dometic water heaters. Many "mom and pop" RV repair centers are not "Keystone repair centers" but are "Dometic repair centers" and can get you "in and out while you wait"... You don't need to rely on the dealership to fix it and go through the weeks/months of waiting for an appointment.

Oh yes, and that "inconveniently placed rocker switch that George commented about: It's installed "upside down" so you'll need to "turn it off to turn it on"... That means that up is OFF and down is ON.....

frank r · 07-07-2020, 11:06 AM

As a general rule, I wouldn’t spend any time/effort/money fixing something that’s under warranty. That said, for me it’s a huge hassle to hook up and drag the trailer to a repairman (dealer or local guy) to get looked at. Also, the knowledge picked up throughout the process is never a bad thing. So, unless it’s going to be a major expense, I’d like to tackle this myself.

I looked briefly though the YT videos on this unit, but they all seem to be about testing the element or fixing issues with the propane parts on the heater. I haven’t seen anything that looks like reset buttons or a 2nd switch on the front or back of the unit. The only switch I can find is on the trailer’s control panel – if the 2nd one is hidden, they did a hell of a job hiding it.

We’re heading out tomorrow for long weekend, so I can’t get too deeply into it tonight. I’ll check for voltage at the element – if that checks out, what should I be looking at next? Maybe I'll toss my multimeter in the toolbox in case I get bored while we're there (it's gonna be in the 90s, with super-high humidity - almost too hot for disc golfing. Almost...)

As always, thank you for the input.

**flybouy** · 07-07-2020, 11:39 AM

Frank your WH is actually an Attwood, The remarks about the switch and resets are common for a Suburban. Here's a link to the manual. hope it helps. https://www.manualslib.com/products/...e-9990224.html

skids · 07-07-2020, 04:07 PM

Here is an easy way to check your atwood (dometic) 120 volt connection and element if yours is configured like mine: Mine plugs into an outlet below (kind of) the sink. Make sure your breaker switch is on. Water in the tank. Go to the panel and switch on the electric for the water heater and make sure shore power is on. Unplug the water heater plug from the outlet. The outlet should test at 120 volts +/-. The plug prongs for the WH element should test at something like 12 ohms if I remember correctly. This is a LOT EASIER than removing the element for testing. You test both the supply side and the element!

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