Suburban 5238a Hot Water Heater

[LarrysDad]

Hello,

I have a 1995 Bounder 28t and am trying to install a suburban 5238a. The three wires I have coming from the bounder are a red wire with a green stripe,
a red wire with a yellow stripe, and a white wire with a red stripe. The wires I have on the hot water tank are solid red, solid blue, and solid green. Does anyone know if these are compatible and if so what is the correlation?

[Old-Biscuit]

suburban 5238a----better known as a SW6D Model (6 gal direct spark)

On the Water Heater
RED is 12VDC POS from On/Off Switch Set of t-stat then circuit board
Blue is 12VDC POS from Circuit Board TO FAULT Light terminals on the On/Off Switch
Green is DC Ground/Negative





From your OLD wiring, you will need to test which one of those wires is the 12VDC POS from your DC Dist Panel (FUSE)and which is DC Ground/NEG
POS to RED and GRD/NEG to GREEN
*the other wire would go to the Blue wire


What was the Old WH Model?

[LarrysDad]

The person I bought it from had a Girard GSWH-2. He said it was his second one and they both had ruptured so I figured I would go with a tank. He had the positive attached to the red wire with the green stripe and then had twisted the white wire with the red stripe and red wire with the yellow stripe together and attached that as the negative. The Girard has the standard black and red wiring I am used to.

[Old-Biscuit]

Red wire with Green Stripe....12VDC POS

Voltmeter
DC Voltage
RED Probe to that Red/Green stripe wire
Black Probe to White/Red stripe wire------Got 12VDC reading on meter?

Black Probe to Red/Yellow stripe wire......Got 12VDC reading on meter?

*One of those should give you 12VDC reading.....that would be GRD/NEG (Green SW6D wire)

Do you have a On/Off Switch with Red Light?
OR do you just have an On/Off switch?
How many wires are connected to backside of switch?

(Pretty sure Bounder used Atwood Brand WHs)

[LarrysDad]

I will be buying the switch tomorrow. I still haven't pulled the old control off of the wall. Should there be just one wire on the back of it?

[LarrysDad]

And I plan to get the switch with the light

[Old-Biscuit]

Originally Posted by LarrysDad

I will be buying the switch tomorrow. I still haven't pulled the old control off of the wall. Should there be just one wire on the back of it?

If the old switch is just an On/Off switch.......

DC POS to switch (from a fused source)
DC POS from switch (to the Water Heater Junction Box RED wire)



Suburban On/Off Switch with Light
DC POS to switch
DC POS from switch

DC POS from Circuit Board to Light (Blue wire in junction box)
DC NEG from Light to ground

[LarrysDad]

So the rv has a switch installed already that has the water pump switch with a reset light and the heater switch and reset light on a singular panel. Should I just leave it alone?

[Old-Biscuit]

Originally Posted by LarrysDad

So the rv has a switch installed already that has the water pump switch with a reset light and the heater switch and reset light on a singular panel. Should I just leave it alone?

Already has switch with Fault Light........

Then just pull panel and check how many wires and which wires on the Switch and Fault light
Then you should be able to ID which wires go to RED, BLUE, Green on New water heater and to DC NEG/GRD
*Reference the Wiring Diagram posted

[LarrysDad]

So I found red and green stripes goes to on for the heater, the white and red goes to the off switch for the water pump and the red and yellow is spliced

[LarrysDad]

There is no wiring going to the tank fault either.

[Old-Biscuit]

Fault Light.....
When you first turn WH on it lights then goes out when gas ignites and proves flame lit
Comes back on/stays on if Flame Fails

SO....you could run new wire OR just not wire up the Faul Light

On/Off switch just needs 12VDC POS from fused source TO the switch and then 12VDC POS form switch to the RED in junction box
NEG/Ground can be done via grd stud--green & yellow wires in junction box