water heater question

[shug2323]

We own small TT KZ escape. This morning we woke up to no hot water after pulling into campsite yesterday ( This is first time we have taken TT out this season). Yesterday we had hot water so something happened overnight. The water heater has automatic pilot light. When I put the water heater switch to the 'on' position from inside the trailer, nothing happens...no light comes on...We have propane (meter says so and stove works). I went outside to see if pushing the black reset button would do anything. It did not need reset....My guess is somewhere, somehow, there is something going on with the electrical system which tells the pilot light to ignite...I don't see any breaker switch thrown in the main fuse panel area.....Please advise...Thank you

[shug2323]

well, I feel pretty foolish but I have figured out my problem....I went to the outside relief valve and sure enough, hot water is in the tank but no hot water coming out of the faucets......can you spell by-pass valve ? I had taken the TT out of storage yesterday after two years, drove it off to the campsite but had mistakenly only turned one of the bypass valves.....so now everything is working and the burner light behaves as it is supposed to...and I have hot water coming out of my faucets

[K_and_I]

If you had a breaker that said water heater, you may have a water heater with both gas and electric options. Go outside, open the vent door at the heater and look in the lower left corner for a small rocker switch. If you have one, turn it on, and if the element is still good, you can have hot water for the weekend.

[D_E_Bishop]

There are quite a few web sites that will show you how the wh works, the manufacturer probably has one with trouble shooting suggestions/instructions.

With the schematic and a DMM, you can chect for power, I would have not only a DMM but a test light. Often it is nice to have a hand free and most meter leads do not have aligator clips, so you need two hands. A test light from an auto parts will do nicelyy.

You do not need to know electronics to trace the presence of power in the circuit. It is generally pretty easy to follow the path if you have a schematic.

A DMM is needed to check for the voltage level.

Also as noted, the year, make and model are needed to give more than guesses.

[shug2323]

no hot water; no ignition...….just briefly earlier..I have electric starter to light the pilot light...I have assumed that this is what the fuse is for

[bob213]

If the op has a circuit breaker for the water heater wouldn't that indicate he has an electric option as well?
OP..are you sure there is no hot water? Run it for a minute or so to check. Red light only comes on to indicate a fault or no ignition.

[ktmrfs]

shug2323 wrote:
I don't think they share the same fuse but it appears they share the same circuit breaker, at least according to the label on the circuit breaker, (if that is possible)

not to NEC code unless there is a load shed on the circuit. Microwave and water heater electric are "fixed" loads and require their own dedicated circuit breakers. The only exception is if they are connected together through a load shed device that will only allow one or the other to be on at the same time. And if they were connected on the same circuit, the roughly 30A draw with both on would quickly pop the breaker.

[shug2323]

yes..I know the light should come on and then go off....It doesn't come on at all ...It did yesterday and for the briefest of moments about an hour ago, the water heater started to work again.
It is currently not working..I have replaced all the 15 AMp fuses and don't see any corrosion or dirt....There is one fuse , when I removed it, a little red light lit up and when I put the new fuse back in, the little red light went out. All the other fuses had no little red light come on when I swapped fuses out....SO I am back to where I started but a little wiser, I suppose....(At least the campsite has hot showers)

[Chris_Bryant]

The light is supposed to go out. It is a fault light. It should come on briefly when switched on, then go out as the water heater lights, and stay off.

[RedRocket204]

Yes, get some new fuses and also a little wire brush to clean off those connections where the fuse goes.

I would be safe and disconnect your battery and shore power before cleaning those fuse locations.

[shug2323]

rats I am back.....light went back out...I will go to store and get new fuse ….Guess I had a false positive

[shug2323]

well...this is a great forum for sure.....two problems and two solutions found...Thanks all (till next time, lol)

[naturist]

It is also possible there was a little dirt or corrosion on the contacts of the fuse that got brushed off when you pulled and replaced it. 12 volts does not jump gaps/dirt/corrosion like 120 volts does. Thus it doesn't take much to break a 12 volt circuit.

[Farm_Camp]

shug2323 wrote:
so I used my fingers and wiggled a fuse out and put it back in and now the water heater is back in operation !.....I guess it somehow got loose from the drive and then maybe when we walked around at night it loosed further.....? Seems like I am in good shape now....I definitely appreciate the guidance

Who knows - and you did say you had it stored for awhile, perhaps some corrosion had built up on the connection... Glad you are up and running. Happy Camping!

[shug2323]

so I used my fingers and wiggled a fuse out and put it back in and now the water heater is back in operation !.....I guess it somehow got loose from the drive and then maybe when we walked around at night it loosed further.....? Seems like I am in good shape now....I definitely appreciate the guidance