SW10 DE water heater on AC - should I see 110v at the element terminals?

[roaming]

Hi everyone,

I've got a SW10 DE water heater in my coach, and I'm trying to get it to work on AC rather than propane right now. I have the propane shut off, and power on to the AC side (breaker on, master switch on, switch on the face of the water heater on), but I get no hot water. I pulled the cover from the element and measured at the terminals, no voltage either.

I also pressed both reset buttons on the face of the water heater, neither of them was tripped and it makes no change.

My master power switch feeding the unit has an indicator light, and we definitely have power coming out of the master power switch as it lights up.

The question is - should I see 110V at the terminals? It seems to me that I should, and I'm ready to start wire tracing if I can't find the culprit.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks
Jim

["007"]

Yes you should, check the load center circuit breaker may have tripped and needs to be reset.
Just reread your post may need to pull the outlet switch to see if 110 is leaving the switch.
No need to shut off propane you can run both heating methods in fact you will heat up water faster or have constant hot water when taking a shower.
Also make sure the spade clips are on the male spade clip and not between the metal spade clip and plastic mounting.
That type connection will melt the plastic and open the circuit.

[roaming]

Thanks for the quick response!

I pulled the master switch and there is 110v on the output line. Is there anywhere else on the heater itself where I can check for 110 without doing major disassembly?

Thanks again
Jim

["007"]

The wiring for heating element is on backside of heater, you may gain access through a cabinet door in kitchen or bath and have to remove wood dress panel or in some of the older MH's they had a access hole cut through the floor near rear of heater.
If not you may have to pull heater but I thought you could check the element location terminals.
This PDF shows wiring for your heater.

[bluepill]

Don't forget to check the neutral side of the 120 volt circuit also. It has to be complete to work properly.

[paz]

The 120V heater for our water heater plugs into a standard 120V duplex receptacle mounted under the sink next to the water heater. Trace the wires from your heating element to see if you have a similar plug somewhere. Our plug accidentally got knocked out of the receptacle once.