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drifterpilot's avatar
drifterpilot
Explorer
May 23, 2014

Hot Water Heater Not Working - Shore Power

My hot water heater is not working when plugged into shore power. The heater works fine in propane mode.

A 20A breaker is tripped on the house breaker panel and it does not allow resetting. It keeps on tripping. There are no identifying labels on any of the breakers. I don't know if this tripped breaker is related to my heater problem.

I have downloaded the electrical diagram from Winnebago and it shows the tripped breaker going to a "Relay Breaker" located within the "Module - EMS Control (Load Shedder). A dashed line goes from this Relay Breaker to a "Line 2" breaker. Nothing comes away from the "Line 2 Breaker".

Can a malfunctioning heater thermostat cause this tripped breaker?

Or, might the tripped 20A breaker be the problem?

I have had this thermostat replaced twice in years past. One time, in Alaska, a mobile RV Tech had to disconnect everything and tip the water heater outward to access the thermostat and another time an Alaska dealership had a "small frame" guy who was able to partially get his body in the small compartment and replace the thermostat without removing anything.

I don't know how to attach the downloaded electrical drawing.

All comments appreciated.
  • Try going to the back of the heater and UNPLUG the 110 line to it. Doing this takes the heater out of the shore power circuits.
    Then reset the tripped fuse. If it then stays ON and does not trip OFF I would say you have and element issue within the heater or a short in the wire feeding it.
    Please let us know the outcome.
    Thank you.
  • Sounds like the element is bad. There is a switch outside under the water heater cover on some models. If it is there try shutting it off and reset the breaker.