Forum Discussion

Cheryl_B's avatar
Cheryl_B
Explorer
Apr 21, 2023

First time setting up rig. Water Heater breaker won't reset.

Moving into my 2000 Winnebago Adventurer 37g and can't get the water heater to work. It has 3 different places where you can turn the water heater on and off. Apparently the one on the digital display where the holding tanks and such are monitored, that switch is only if I want to run the water heater off of LP.

I have the power switch in the panel directly above the stove switched to the on position but then I noticed that the breaker beside the entry steps is tripped. It won't allow me to reset it. I took pics.

I went outside to make sure there wasn't something I was overlooking and the only thing I could see in the underneath cubby was one of the valves was set to bypass, so I changed that to "open", but I was getting water out of the hot water faucet even before I did this, so I figured that meant the water heater had filled up. That's what the manual said, too.

I just hooked the rig up to water today so this is my first attempt at figuring this stuff out. I have looked in the manual and it appears you can use the electric water heater element at the same time as the LP, so having both power switches turned on shouldn't have been an issue for that. But I did turn off the one that is for LP, just to simplify things.

Still, I can't get the breaker to reset. I hope someone here can help me figure out what I'm overlooking. I really could use a hot shower, and to get past this hopefully small issue so I can move onto the next ones coming at me, inevitably.
Class A
  • Cheryl_B's avatar
    Cheryl_B
    Explorer
    Apr 21, 2023
    Forgot the pics.

    Actually, I don't see how to load them. I don't have a URL, I have pics on my laptop.
  • nickthehunter's avatar
    nickthehunter
    Nomad II
    Apr 22, 2023
    1. Bad breaker
    2. Dead short in the line somewhere
    3. Bad electric heating element

    You can test 1 & 2 pretty easily with a multimeter. #3 is what’s left when 1 & 2 check out ok.
    Are you comfortable working with electricity?

    Start by taking the wires off the water heater element at the tank. Keep them apart, not touching anything. Does the breaker stay on now? Should show 120V across those two wires.

    Next you take the breaker out and remove the wire from the breaker. Put it back in (minus the wire) does the breaker stay on now? Should show 120V at the terminal the wire was on to ground.

    You should have now isolated the problem to either 1, 2 or 3 and you can put everything else all back together.

    Even without the electric it should still work on gas. You have to always make sure the tank is full of water before you turn on the electric or gas. Water will still come out the hot water faucet when the tank is by-passed, even though the tank is empty. With the water on, Partially open the blow off valve at the top of the water heater tank for a split second to be sure. Pressure or water should escape briefly when you do this. If not, the tank is not full.
  • midnightsadie's avatar
    midnightsadie
    Explorer II
    Apr 22, 2023
    question did you fill the tank before you tried any of this ? p.s fine a friend to walk you threw this. or you could hire a local rv mech to teach you.and he could fix your problem will he was there. much cheaper than a dealer.
  • MFL's avatar
    MFL
    Nomad II
    Apr 22, 2023
    Cheryl_B wrote:
    Forgot the pics.

    Actually, I don't see how to load them. I don't have a URL, I have pics on my laptop.


    Google rv.net photo posting, click to site, follow instructions.
  • Cheryl_B's avatar
    Cheryl_B
    Explorer
    Apr 22, 2023
    The manual for the rig says to hook up the water and turn on the cold faucet and let it run until it runs smoothly without sputtering. Then it said to do the same with the hot water faucet and it said that once it was running without sputtering, that indicated that the hot water heater was then full. Whether this is true or not remains to be seen.

    I'm not comfortable with doing electrical things and I don't own a meter testing thing but I might try it if I research it first. I don't know anyone who does that kind of thing and I'm not made of money.

    I didn't buy it from a dealer so contacting anyone at a dealership is not even a possibility. I bought it from a guy who bought it from a dealer in 2019 and then never used it. It just sat there. He isn't any help to me, either.

    In fact, I'm sure I'm going to find things on a daily basis as I delve deeper into this experience. The toilet bowl was left bone dry in the desert all this time and when I put water in the bowl, it slowly leaked through so the toilet will need a new seal. Don't even know if they can be replaced like that but it's another thing I'm going to have to figure out.

    NickTheHunter, thanks so much for the detailed instructions. I think I can handle that.
  • BB_TX's avatar
    BB_TX
    Nomad
    Apr 22, 2023
    I suggest you call a local mobile rv repairman and at least get a quote for him (or her) to come troubleshoot it. Be really hard to solve the problem without a meter and some working knowledge of the system.
  • midnightsadie's avatar
    midnightsadie
    Explorer II
    Apr 22, 2023
    well your on your way to rving half the fun is learning. take things easy you,ll lean fast. look up mobile rv mech there not as exspense as you think. the toilet seal can be fixed not a huge job . who knows you might have a diamond in the ruff.look up your rv on the net might be a club close by who will help.
  • wa8yxm's avatar
    wa8yxm
    Explorer III
    Apr 22, 2023
    Cheryl_B wrote:
    Forgot the pics.

    Actually, I don't see how to load them. I don't have a URL, I have pics on my laptop.


    Go to this URL and follow the prompts

    RV net Photo Posting
  • Cheryl_B's avatar
    Cheryl_B
    Explorer
    Apr 22, 2023
    midnightsadie wrote:
    well your on your way to rving half the fun is learning. take things easy you,ll lean fast. look up mobile rv mech there not as exspense as you think. the toilet seal can be fixed not a huge job . who knows you might have a diamond in the ruff.look up your rv on the net might be a club close by who will help.


    Thank you kindly for the encouragement but just to be clear, I'm not new to RVing, only to this particular rig. I've been living full-time in either a motorhome or travel trailer since June of 2016.

    I discovered something else that isn't working as it should. I put out a cry for help on the local Facebook groups and hopefully someone in the area who has owned one of these can come and help me figure the systems out.
  • Cheryl_B's avatar
    Cheryl_B
    Explorer
    Apr 22, 2023
    Thank you for the assistance on how to post images here. I'll figure that out too. ;)

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