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Old 05-08-2014, 10:55 PM   #1
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Suburban Water Heater Issue

For some reason, I can't start a new thread in the FAQ section, so I'm putting it where it'll let me start a new thread.

We have a Suburban water heater, SW6DE. It won't work on electric. Thought the element was burned out, so we replaced it. It still doesn't work on electric. Where do we look next?

Additional question, this one about the toilet. I shut the pump off yesterday and when i went back in the camper today, there is water in the toilet, without pressing down on the flush lever. Where would it come from? Is there a leak somewhere letting it in? Happened twice now in 2 days.

Thanks for any help!
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Old 05-12-2014, 10:48 AM   #2
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I have the same heater. Did you open up the cover on the outside of the TT, and turn the a/c power toggle switch to on? You have to do that from the outside. Pretty lame deal. There should be a selector switch on the information panel inside.

As for the toilet. There is water still in the lines even after you disconnect the water, and you will find that you might be able to get a few ounces of water in the toilet if you depress the pedal. It will probably only happen once though until the next time you turn the water off.
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Old 05-12-2014, 10:52 AM   #3
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Also , one of those either black or white wires that go to the heating element goes right to the thermostat inside the TT. If those wires are switched around the T-stat might not be getting the signal to turn the element on. Try switching those wires around.

By the way, where did you get the new element? Also is the socket needed to remove the element a standard 1 1/2''? I'm asking because I need to replace mine due to a momentary lapse of memory or brain fart. Jeez!
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Old 05-12-2014, 11:00 AM   #4
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The hi-limit thermostats are also known to fail, especially if you burn out an element. We just talked about them here:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...wrs-59806.html

Maybe this will give you more ideas what to check.
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Old 05-12-2014, 11:27 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jammer3025 View Post
Also , one of those either black or white wires that go to the heating element goes right to the thermostat inside the TT. If those wires are switched around the T-stat might not be getting the signal to turn the element on. Try switching those wires around.

By the way, where did you get the new element? Also is the socket needed to remove the element a standard 1 1/2''? I'm asking because I need to replace mine due to a momentary lapse of memory or brain fart. Jeez!
>> If those wires are switched around the T-stat might not be getting the signal to turn the element on. Try switching those wires around.

Bad Idea!!

>>where did you get the new element?
See the FAQ/water heater area here--
Water Heaters - Forest River Forums
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Old 05-12-2014, 02:56 PM   #6
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Toilet should have water on the seal at all times. I check my toilet every week during the off season to make sure that there is water covering the seal.
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Old 05-12-2014, 07:49 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KyDan View Post
>> If those wires are switched around the T-stat might not be getting the signal to turn the element on. Try switching those wires around.

Bad Idea!!

>>where did you get the new element?
See the FAQ/water heater area here--
Water Heaters - Forest River Forums

Bad idea really? Have you looked at the wiring diagram for that heater? One wire goes directly to the thermostat. I would imagine it would make a difference.
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Old 05-12-2014, 08:17 PM   #8
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Bad idea really? Have you looked at the wiring diagram for that heater? One wire goes directly to the thermostat. I would imagine it would make a difference.
For one thing, the hi limit switch wires are not long enough to switch, one is about 1-1/2" longer than the other. I would press the button on the 110v hi limit and if it doesn't work, remove the cover (after unhooking from shore power) and inspect the hi limit switch as it is probably burned out also.
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Old 05-12-2014, 08:26 PM   #9
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Have you check the breaker for the water heater?
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Old 05-12-2014, 09:19 PM   #10
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Same question asked earlier - did you flip the switch on the outside of your rig to "on"??? Remove the outside hot water heater cover and make sure switch is in ON position... Mine 'a in the lower left corner .... If not, it won't work on electricity ...
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Old 05-12-2014, 09:31 PM   #11
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One more vote that says the hi temp switch is the culprit. Easy to replace and not to expensive.
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Old 05-13-2014, 06:36 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jammer3025 View Post
Bad idea really? Have you looked at the wiring diagram for that heater? One wire goes directly to the thermostat. I would imagine it would make a difference.
The OP has a 2012 model and we don't know if it has a remote switch
inside the trailer or not.
Jammer- are you saying your water heater has an adjustable thermostat
inside your trailer?? I've never heard of that....
Since the OP has the 2012 model we must assume it worked before.
I don't think swapping wires is a good idea. The best way to trouble
shoot this is with a meter and some more feedback from the OP.

As mentioned- the rocker switch on the WH itself might be off.
The tank mounted thermostat/hi-limit cut out might be tripped or burned
out.
The heater element might be burned out (again).
Mine has a lone 120v outlet mounted behind the water heater.
The WH is plugged into it.
My first step would be to verify that outlet is hot and the WH is
plugged in!
Then check the rocker switch is on.
Then check for voltage on both wires (both sides) of the AC tank mounted
T-stat/hi limit.
Those are the easy checks.
The final check is to check for voltage AT the element. That requires
removal of the burner tube so the element cover can be removed
and the element accessed. Check for voltage at the element.
There are photos of this procedure found in the FAQ/water heater forum.
(The photos are how to access and replace the heater element but the
procedure would be the same to access it and test voltage there.)

NOTE:- the FAQ is not open for normal discussion- ie you can't post
questions or replies there. We moderators try to add new items to
the FAQ as needed. If you have a suggestion for something that
comes up often and gets answered over and over, we're always open
to putting it in the FAQ- just let us know.
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Old 05-13-2014, 08:34 AM   #13
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Here's another case of "We might be solving this by ourselves for ourselves" since the OP hasn't answered any of our "helpful questions" nor given us any results of his/her attempts at our 'try this' suggestions.

Also, I'm still waiting to hear if someone really has at WH thermostat inside a TT.

This thread gives evidence that one must know a lot to evaluate the "good advice" on such a forum. There is plenty of good advice in KyDan's comprehensive post. To the OP: follow KyDan's procedure step by step!
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Old 05-13-2014, 10:18 AM   #14
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Jeez! Yeah your right, and I do apologize for the confusion. No inside T-stat. If you look on page 5 Figure 6 of the Suburban manual it does show a Thermostat in-line from the black wire that is attached to the heating element. It must also be associated with the high and low limit switches.
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Old 05-13-2014, 10:39 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by trudinator View Post
For some reason, I can't start a new thread in the FAQ section, so I'm putting it where it'll let me start a new thread.
The FAQ section is not for questions.
It is for the "best so far" answer to our most often asked questions.

Only Moderators can post there.

As to the thermostat, it is in series with the element. Switching wires (even if possible - which it is not) would be ineffective. There are two switches on the thermostat. BOTH are normally closed (high limit and "set temperature).

When the water is cold, applying power will either ignite the gas or energize the AC heating element. When the temp reaches the set temperature, the "bottom" switch will open shutting off the gas or de-energizing the AC heating element. It will close again when the water cools down.

The high switch must be manually reset by pressing it in (rubber button covers) if it ever opens. DO NOT press too hard! They can break off.
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Old 05-13-2014, 10:47 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jammer3025 View Post
Jeez! Yeah your right, and I do apologize for the confusion. No inside T-stat. If you look on page 5 Figure 6 of the Suburban manual it does show a Thermostat in-line from the black wire that is attached to the heating element. It must also be associated with the high and low limit switches.
No biggie here, Jammer. Technically it is a thermostat/hi temperature limit combination switch....as Suburban calls them

You may see some members refer to them simply as thermostats (t-stats), hi-limit switches, hi-temp switches, limit switches, eco switches......or a combo of several of the terms.............which mean all the same thing. It can be confusing if you don't recognize all the aliases.

I think I am probably the worse offender, and may use two different names of the above in the same paragraph.

As far as a low-limit, that's basically the function of the thermostat, and it just simply allows the electric power to flow from one side of the t-stat/limit to the other, to power the heating element when the water temp gets low.

You will have two thermostat/hi temp limit switches side by side on the water heater itself (see Herk's pic in the previous post). One(left) is for the AC 120 volt electric heating element and the other (right) is for the DC 12 volt DSI/propane.

Here is a pic from the Suburban manual.
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Old 05-19-2014, 06:46 PM   #17
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Maybe I wasn't wording it right . I meant there's a black and a white wire going to the element. I was wondering if he had switched those wires. It looks to me that the black wire goes to the thermostat eventually, so I thought if the OP had switched those it might not have worked. I didn't mean switching high or low limit switcheds.

I burnt my element out during a very hasting and totally excited first day in my beautiful new Windjammer, so I'm listening to you with great interest of course. Behind that rubber membrabe where the reset's are, are those the limit switches?. How do I test them? Wondering because in a few days hopefully I will be tackling this job myself.

I need to find the correct element for the swe6de, and the 1-1/2 socket, and maybe the high limit switch. Hope I didn't mess anybody up.
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Old 05-19-2014, 07:04 PM   #18
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Bkack and white do not matter in this case. My local dealer had the
Part in stock. Tells you something.
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Old 05-19-2014, 07:08 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jammer3025 View Post
Maybe I wasn't wording it right . I meant there's a black and a white wire going to the element. I was wondering if he had switched those wires. It looks to me that the black wire goes to the thermostat eventually, so I thought if the OP had switched those it might not have worked. I didn't mean switching high or low limit switcheds.

I burnt my element out during a very hasting and totally excited first day in my beautiful new Windjammer, so I'm listening to you with great interest of course. Behind that rubber membrabe where the reset's are, are those the limit switches?. How do I test them? Wondering because in a few days hopefully I will be tackling this job myself.

I need to find the correct element for the swe6de, and the 1-1/2 socket, and maybe the high limit switch. Hope I didn't mess anybody up.
I believe the element uses a 1 1/8 inch socket.

Since you are dealing with a series circuit it does not matter which one goes where on the thermostats (as long as you don't mix the AC and DC wires!) . They are pretty "Murphy" proof. (But everyone knows that Murphy was an optimist.)

You can test them COLD by putting an ohm meter at the two spade terminals. COLD there should be no (or very low) resistance. If one is open when cold, the thermostat is bad.

The element you buy MUST be 110/120 volts; not 220. CHECK. They sell both in that physical size. Only the 110/120 volt will work.

Suburban Water Heater Element 520789 | eBay

They come in various wattage as well. I would try to get one as close to OEM as possible, but that is me. Many here have gone from the 1000 Watt OEM unit to 1500 Watts with no fires. (Just saying, the wires are rated for 1000 Watts.)

OH, and when I re-read your post I see you were talking about the heating element wires. The heating element has a black "power" wire and a white ground wire. Still does not matter which terminal gets which.
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Old 05-20-2014, 07:32 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Herk7769 View Post
I believe the element uses a 1 1/8 inch socket.

Since you are dealing with a series circuit it does not matter which one goes where on the thermostats (as long as you don't mix the AC and DC wires!) . They are pretty "Murphy" proof. (But everyone knows that Murphy was an optimist.)

You can test them COLD by putting an ohm meter at the two spade terminals. COLD there should be no (or very low) resistance. If one is open when cold, the thermostat is bad.

The element you buy MUST be 110/120 volts; not 220. CHECK. They sell both in that physical size. Only the 110/120 volt will work.

Suburban Water Heater Element 520789 | eBay

They come in various wattage as well. I would try to get one as close to OEM as possible, but that is me. Many here have gone from the 1000 Watt OEM unit to 1500 Watts with no fires. (Just saying, the wires are rated for 1000 Watts.)

OH, and when I re-read your post I see you were talking about the heating element wires. The heating element has a black "power" wire and a white ground wire. Still does not matter which terminal gets which.
Okay, thanks for that. Thats my next project after this dang guest bathroom re-model I'm doing in our house. Much rather be on the road.
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