water heater keeps blowing #2 fuse

[twertsch]

Hi, our new 2020 Kodiak Cub 175bh keeps burning out the #2 fuse every time I use the hot water heater. Doesn't matter if I am engaging the gas or electric to heat the water. I put a new fuse in, and I can turn the hot water heater on twice, maybe three times, and then fuse will burn out. If I replace the fuse, it may or may not engage the hot water heater again. If it doesn't I have to pull the fuse out and push it back in, then it will work. The dealer says there is nothing wrong with the control board, but I am skeptical as it seems to be the only mechanism that is a common denominator for engaging either the electric and gas heating option. The dealer replaced the temperature sensor. The water heater engaged on both electric and gas once, then a week later, I tried gas and #2 fuse burned out asap.
Anyone run into this problem? Any ideas what is going on?

[franktafl]

I would recommend you put a meter on the wire to the heater to see how much current it's drawing.

one of these...

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-To...dalType=drawer

They are pretty useful for all sorts of things.

[sundancer 87]

Originally Posted by twertsch

Hi, our new 2020 Kodiak Cub 175bh keeps burning out the #2 fuse every time I use the hot water heater. Doesn't matter if I am engaging the gas or electric to heat the water. I put a new fuse in, and I can turn the hot water heater on twice, maybe three times, and then fuse will burn out. If I replace the fuse, it may or may not engage the hot water heater again. If it doesn't I have to pull the fuse out and push it back in, then it will work. The dealer says there is nothing wrong with the control board, but I am skeptical as it seems to be the only mechanism that is a common denominator for engaging either the electric and gas heating option. The dealer replaced the temperature sensor. The water heater engaged on both electric and gas once, then a week later, I tried gas and #2 fuse burned out asap.
Anyone run into this problem? Any ideas what is going on?

What's going on is the dealer has your money and doesn't care. It's a brand new RV, demand they fix it or start belly aching on the showroom floor, preferably with lots of customers present.

[persistent]

Is that a 15 amp fuse?

There are other possibilities. Intermittent issues are the hardest to troubleshoot.
It is possible a connection somewhere in the circuit is loose and shorts out periodically.
It is possible a damaged wire near a frame part shorts sometimes.
It could be a pinched wire some where.
It could be an intermittent board problem.

I got a look inside the belly of my Cub. Wires run loose over frame and brace edges. They go every which way. Abrasion shorts will eventually happen. It is a matter of "when", not "if".

I wish you good luck and happy trails ahead!

[dsol]

Agree with Persistent, I think it is the wiring. A bad ground will blow a fuse in a heartbeat. The guys that put these together will attach a ground wire to a painted surface so the ground only makes contact by the screw. Metal should be sanded and free of paint and debris for a good ground. You might be able to test that theory by running a temporary wire from the negative battery terminal to the ground connection and seeing if that works. If it does then you can try and trace the bad wire.

[sundancer 87]

Doesn't make any difference what the problem is. The RV is a 2020 and the owner shouldn't need to be doing the dealer's job.

[dsol]

Originally Posted by sundancer 87

Doesn't make any difference what the problem is. The RV is a 2020 and the owner shouldn't need to be doing the dealer's job.

Completely agree, but dealers do a great job of not adequately diagnosing problems, “repairing” the wrong thing and eating into your warranty period so that it doesn’t get fixed in time. It is always helpful if the owner can figure out what the actual problem is and then also know it is fixed correctly when the repair is done. Broken parts are easy to replace but a loose wire, bad ground, short, etc., are not easy to find and if that is the case here then good luck.

The OP came here for ideas/suggestions so I think it is great if other forum members can help.

[twertsch]

Hi, sorry I got swamped with work suddenly and haven't had a chance to start trouble shooting this. I think you all are right - I've got a short somewhere Dealer is of course not calling me back now. I appreciate all of your advice. Must go get volt meter thing now. Will let you know what I find. Keep those ideas coming - electrical is way not my forte! Sad part - I decided to get the trailer because my 40+ year old Vw camper bus was breaking down on my trips, ending me at the repair shop. Oh the irony!

[persistent]

Write a letter. Send a copy to your state consumer advocate. In Wis, it is in the Ag division. Send an other copy to the dealer. Send a copy to Dutchmen.
Do any of the Denver newspapers have a consumer complaint reporter? The Wisconsin State Journal does.

The letters will document the issue and possibly preserve your right to warranty in the future. The one that worked for me was the newspaper reporter. One call to the dealer from the reporter prompted the dealer manager to call back within 24 hours. He said, "There must be a misunderstanding. They would do what ever it takes to satisfy me."

I wish you good luck and happy trails ahead!

[capeharj]

You have a fuse and a circuit breaker for the hot water heater. The circuit breaker is for 110 AC operation and the fuse is for DC gas operation. You don't say what amp fuse you have, it should be a 15 amp. If it is to small that could be why it's blowing.

[twertsch]

So its been an educational week. Never thought I'd want to know so much about a water heater! I no longer get the clicky clicky when I try the gas, and zero response on electric. I get nothing now, not even a blown fuse I have followed your advice as much as i'm technologically able to - checked all connections, grounds, fuses everywhere, and all is good there. I also filed a complaint with Dutchman itself regarding the dealer's 'not my problem' attitude. They were not happy, registered the issue in their files as a warranty claim, and gave me a list of other dealers to call, who of course can't get me in until November but I made appointments with them.
Continuing the trouble shooting this last weekend, I found some YouTube videos I recommend, all by the same guy at MyRVWorks.com. He runs thru the basics of the water heater (20 mins), how to over-haul an old water heater showing the numerous issues you can have (31 mins), and lastly, a 4 minute video on replacing your circuit board!
I rolled the dice, bought a Dinosaur Electronics UIB replacement board, hoping that was the issue. It was not, and I now have a spare board, which i'm sure i'll ultimately use some day as I hope to have this trailer until I retire in 10 years. But the Dinosaur board indicates if the board itself is getting power, a nice feature - Plugging it in showed I got no power to the water heater at all. It was about then that the dealer FINALLY called, i'm guessing Dutchmen sent them a nasty gram, and they are taking a look at it this Thursday. I'll let you know what they say.

[lando51]

I bought my 2020 kodiak 178rb 9 days ago,everything was working until i read your postive been using the water heater on propane only,it worked well,then i read your post,it dosent work on electric,it click but does not turn on,well, at least is working on gas for now,

[twertsch]

So dealer ran thru everything yesterday, put a volt meter on the board and all of the connections. Nothing is pulling more than it should. This last time when the fuse blew, the t-stat also blew. The dealer had replaced it 4 weeks ago when it was in the first time on this issue, so we didn't check it The dealer agrees, we have an intermittent short, but can't get the trailer to duplicate the issue when it is at the dealer. We did watch everything the poor man was doing, how he was checking stuff, and with what tools. Probably freaked him out but it was educational for us. We are traveling all September and now have an extra control board, #2 fuses, t-stat and eco sensors. jeesh… BTW Dutchmen & Dometic told us that because we have reported it to them directly, in writing & orally, the issue will be covered beyond the warranty periods. See how that works in reality...

[franktafl]

why don't they just replace the water heater?

[twertsch]

That may be the next step, but I'm taking my vacation first! Just in case the dealer needs to have it for weeks / months awaiting 'warranty approval' and parts. I was told by another dealer that even with notifying them myself, Dutchman& domestic are months behind in warranty work approvals and part production due to covid