NOW..........NO HOT WATER AT ALL!!!
Re: Suburban WH type 2nd owner to my 5th that has dual HW heating and not a single piece of repair history before I bought it in June 2016. Anyhow, I got hot water both by LP and elect with no pr...
Forum Discussion
It'd help to have the exact Suburban Model. If you have electronic ignition (no pilot, starts on LPG from an inside switch), PLUS Electric 120 VAC, then it's probably SW6DE or SW10DE, the 6 and 10 being the gallon sizes.
If so, understand the Suburbans of this SWxxDE type are pretty much two water heaters, one LPG, one 120 VAC, sharing the same tank and same water. Atwood's different, both heat sources controlled by the Logic Board. But Suburban uses the Logic Board for LPG only.
So... The odds of BOTH the LPG and 120 VAC failing at once are pretty slim.
For 120 VAC, the water heater has a switch, and you may have another switch inside the coach. The Breaker, and Both Switches have to be ON. Then there's the Element, has to have continuity. Test resistance with power off and at least one wire disconnected. I think around 10 Ohms. Then there are two thermostats as you know. They should show Zero Ohms, dead Short across the thermostats.
I just worked on ours. Really convinced the element was bad but it turned out to be a burnt out connection in the junction box feeding the water heater. Our SW6DE has its actual connections in a box on the upper outboard right corner, looking at the heater from INSIDE the coach. The wiring ran from there, about three feet to a "push down" junction box screwed to the cabinet floor. When I opened that box, I found the Neutral side had burned out and lost contact. At that point, I removed that box, gutted it, and connected the wiring with wire nuts and taped over them as well. Used the box to protect the wire nut connections and re-installed it. Water heater works on 120 VAC.
That's what I did on the electric side. LPG side is more involved. www.bryantrv.com has the service manual online.
If so, understand the Suburbans of this SWxxDE type are pretty much two water heaters, one LPG, one 120 VAC, sharing the same tank and same water. Atwood's different, both heat sources controlled by the Logic Board. But Suburban uses the Logic Board for LPG only.
So... The odds of BOTH the LPG and 120 VAC failing at once are pretty slim.
For 120 VAC, the water heater has a switch, and you may have another switch inside the coach. The Breaker, and Both Switches have to be ON. Then there's the Element, has to have continuity. Test resistance with power off and at least one wire disconnected. I think around 10 Ohms. Then there are two thermostats as you know. They should show Zero Ohms, dead Short across the thermostats.
I just worked on ours. Really convinced the element was bad but it turned out to be a burnt out connection in the junction box feeding the water heater. Our SW6DE has its actual connections in a box on the upper outboard right corner, looking at the heater from INSIDE the coach. The wiring ran from there, about three feet to a "push down" junction box screwed to the cabinet floor. When I opened that box, I found the Neutral side had burned out and lost contact. At that point, I removed that box, gutted it, and connected the wiring with wire nuts and taped over them as well. Used the box to protect the wire nut connections and re-installed it. Water heater works on 120 VAC.
That's what I did on the electric side. LPG side is more involved. www.bryantrv.com has the service manual online.
