No Heat, no hot water... 2011 Sierra 355qbq

[flyingkev]

Hello all.... I'm brand new here, and just took ownership of my 1st fifth wheel, but I'm pulling my hair out. I'm pretty handy, being a aircraft mechanic... but there is no flight manual with this trailer, and the owners manual is for the birds.

Furnace.... I can get it to work if I connect the two blue wires that come out of the furnace,(the ones that are supposed to go to the thermostat, but those wires go somewhere else, AC unit? can someone tell me where the bunch of wires from the thermostat go to before they go to the heater unit?

HWH... There is water in the tank, The shore power is pluged in, the electric element is turned on, there is propane, and propane going into the unit, and the switch inside the camper next to the door that says "water heater" is on and light is on. Circuit breakers are all good, and fuses in the panel are all good.

This is day two for me and my camper.

Thanks in advance!!!!!

[onetonford]

On my fiver the Hot water heater when the red light is on it is not lit If it does not light in three tries the light remains lit and you just need to turn switch off then back on for it to try again. you might have air in the lines. also my water heater has a switch outside for the electric to work you have to pull the pin and turn on that switch for the electric to work.

[flyingkev]

what pin? I found a mini lynch pin in the bottom of the unit, but can't figure out where it goes. I left the unit plugged in to power, for hours and still no heat. anyone have a picture of where the lynch pin goes?

[Herk7769]

I got started here building my own "Dash One" for the camper.

Started out as a paper manual set up just like my flight pub; but quickly went digital and is now about 6 gigs of photos, videos, manuals, and tips.

As you hang out here you should start one of your own specific to your camper.

To do this, the first thing you need to do is find your "build sheet" and make sure the items on it actually match the manufacturer, model, and serial number on the build sheet.

Take your water heater for example. What is the manufacturer, model and serial number. With that information, we can get you the right manual, custom link troubleshooting tips, and provide photos of YOUR unit, so all can be clear.

Good luck with your new camper, Herk.

[bubbles]

You want hot water and therefore the switch inside your unit is the control for the propane input to your WH. The electric heating element for your WH is not required to get hot water. The light by the WH switch in your unit is the indication of wheather or not the propane control is working. The light will be extinguished if all is ok with the propane control. As stated you may have air in the propane line to the WH. Just set the switch to off and back to on till the light remains extinguihed. You may hear the WH igniter and lighting of the WH if all is well. The electrical heating element is just another way to heat the water if you have a suburban type WH. The switch for that element is typically on the WH in the lower left hand area under your external access hatch. Now, all of this jargon is applicable if there are no issues with your WH.

[BarryD0706]

And if you have an Atwood water heater, the switch for the electric element is on the same plastic panel as the switch for the gas side. One has a picture of a lightening bolt next to it and the other has a picture of a flame next to it.

[wmtire]

Even if all your stuff works correct, you will not get hot water if the bypass valves behind the water heater are not set correct. If they are still set to the winter mode, then the water heater has been bypassed and there is no water in the heater to heat. You go to the outside access of your water heater, and open the pressure relief valve at the top to see if any water comes out.

If no water, then most likely the bypass valves are still set up to bypass the water heater.....which is what you do when winterizing a travel trailer.

If it does come out, is it hot water or cold water? If cold, then it's not heating.

If hot, then there is water in the heater, but the bypass valves are still set incorrect.

This may help:

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ore-36197.html

http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...ize-40103.html

[flyingkev]

ok... after flipping the switch inside(that had the red light) about 20 times, it finally lit. SO I have propane hot water.... THANKS!!!

The electric never worked though...... is the element behind the plastic cover? and can I drain some hot water out, shut off the propane switch, and be able to measure power to the element?


I still don't know where my wires for my furnace go....

Does anyone have a schematic for these campers?

I decided it was a nice day, and I washed the outside of the camper with a little soap, and a little water. I have a adapter for 110 to the 30amp plug. When I was done washing, I noticed that now I don't have 110v power, the GFI tripped on the house powering the camper. So I shut off all the lights, switches, and circuit breakers in the camper. STILL trips the GFI...... agggggghhh....... does anyone have a schematic?

[BarryD0706]

Originally Posted by flyingkev

does anyone have a schematic?

No.