My 1976 Eleganza 2’s water heater hasn’t worked since I bought it, so I’m finally attacking this project. I found the correct thermostat and electric element, (original water heater). The tank isn’t rusted had that checked first. I am ready to install these, but I have found around 80 volts are present in the wiring….100ish with the main and switch on, and 80 with both off. This cannot possibly be normal can it? Do I have a failed switch and main breaker? Why the voltage drop at all why is it not at 120? I check several plugs and they all appear to be at 120, is this common to have this type of failure or am I going to be chasing a someone’s been here before situation…..
Water heater wiring
- Thread starter Jmich1010
- Start date
You're asking some good, important questions.
Firstly, you can't have voltage drop without current. So, how much current is it taking to drop the voltage that far? That will tell us how much power is being lost, which is becoming heat...somewhere. That's the scary part. It's quite possible you have a breaker with iffy connections that's making some heat. Or it could be any other connection in the chain.
On mine, I had a neutral bar that was getting completely roasted. I had to cut a couple neutral wires back a couple inches to get back to good copper, and retrofit a new neutral bar.
In any case, don't leave it powered on unsupervised until you figure out where your missing volts are.
Here's the post where my neutral bar was found to be dropping voltage. You'll have to scroll a little bit.
Well I've been getting side tracked a lot with life. Lots of kids' sports, and getting another project ready for sale. The little guy has been diving right in after football practice to help here and there. Got the Corvair sedan tuned up and ready for sale so I can focus on the Corvair wagon instead. I envy his flexibility. I suppose it also helps when you only weigh 45 lbs.
The obese shelter dog sure loves being in the GMCs. He's not shy about barging in and making himself comfortable while I work--especially if there's food.
I got that whole mess of plumbing...
The obese shelter dog sure loves being in the GMCs. He's not shy about barging in and making himself comfortable while I work--especially if there's food.
I got that whole mess of plumbing...
First off thank you the response, and secondly, it looks like I know what I’ll be doing tomorrow… That neutral bar looks scary, I’m glad you got it fixed. I will have to take a look and see what’s going on with mine, I hope this solved your problem. I’ll have to have a look at my breaker and the switch too. I swear the list never gets shorter. Just had to add the waste tank to it too. The joys of vintage RVin’
