# Hot Water Heater Not Working On Electric



## terrysweething (Jun 26, 2013)

We have a 2010 r210 model with the suburban water heater. it works fine on gas, but fails to start on electric. i hear the igniter going but it never starts. am i doing something wrong?
thanks for any help
k


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Well, for starters there is no ignitor for electric. So I will go with the possibility you just wrote you condition incorrectly.

For electric there is the requirement for the breaker to be on in the breaker box, 12vdc control fuse not blown , outside switch (look under the cover for the water heater) to be on then turn the water heater on with the electric control switch on the control panel. For all of this to work you must be connected to shore power. The only sounds you will hear when it turns on is one click of the control relay and a hiss from the water tank as the water begins to heat.

For gas you need propane with the tank valve open and the line purged. Purge the line by lighting a stove top burner for a minute. This is only needed on a tank change or when you have had the tank isolated in storage for a while. You also need the 12 vdc fuse to be good for the control board. Turn on the water heater in gas by turning on the switch at the control panel. The sounds you should hear outside are as follows. Igniter sparking, within one second the gas valve will click open and you should hear gas flow, within 3 seconds you should hear the flame start. Depending on the model you will get one chance to three chances to light the burner, it will then require you to reset the system by turning off the switch in the control panel and doing it again.

Let us know where you really are in your trouble shooting and we can better help.


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## TwoElkhounds (Mar 11, 2007)

The electric on my Suburban water heater also stopped working earlier this year. There are two thermostats on the heater, one for gas and one for electric. If you have the same model as I do, you can easily access them from the panel on the heater on the side of the trailer. The electric thermostat on my heater had deteriorated to a point that it had crumbled into several pieces and no longer functioned. I was able to bypass the electric thermostat and make the water heater work (only for troubleshooting purposes). I called Suburban and they arranged to fix my heater under warranty.

DAN


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## Todd&Regan (Jul 1, 2010)

The electric heating element can go bad too, but you should only consider replacing that if all other trouble shooting attempts fail.


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