After many happy hot showers in my van I woke to a cold one the other morning. My heater is a Truma and for some strange reason will heat the water whilst using the gas but now refuses to work using the mains power. It has been faultless in the past but has decided to go on strike, but only when using mains power. I can't see what I may have done to burn out an element yet this must be the reason.
Has anyone else had this problem. Look forward to your replies.
MarkAC said
01:03 PM Jun 29, 2019
sounds like the element has failed. Check the fuse first but be careful with 240v power when checking. need a sparky
patrol03 said
01:49 PM Jun 29, 2019
The 2 obvious causes would be a failed element or a failed thermostat. Element failure is not a common occurrence but you can check the element with your multimeter
after switching off your 240v and pulling the plug for total safety. Remove the wires from the element and test. For a serviceable unit the resistance should be in the vicinity of 40 Ohms. If it checks out OK then the problem is most likely the thermostat. I have repaired mine on a Suburban but I am not familiar with the Truma.Suggest you check the parts diagrams on Caravans Plus website prior to ordering. If you are not confident, then I suggest you engage an electrician.
Tony Bev said
02:15 PM Jun 29, 2019
Happened to my Truma B14
From memory, I think that the thermostat was built in to the element
After removal saw one small, (smaller than a match head) rusty area, assumed electrolysis was the reason for failure
The new 240 volts element came with a plug on the lead, but the original element was hard wired
I had the Electrician fit a GPO double pole (I think it was called), so that I can do it myself next time
Due to the awkwardness of actually getting to the boiler, in my vehicle, I shall only be using gas to heat the water from now on
DMaxer said
11:00 AM Jun 30, 2019
Thanks for the replies. Is it the case that I have to engage a gas plumber and not a licensed electrician?
iana said
11:05 AM Jun 30, 2019
That's all pretty traumatic , get it Tony!
Santa said
11:49 AM Jun 30, 2019
DMaxer wrote:
After many happy hot showers in my van I woke to a cold one the other morning. My heater is a Truma and for some strange reason will heat the water whilst using the gas but now refuses to work using the mains power. It has been faultless in the past but has decided to go on strike, but only when using mains power. I can't see what I may have done to burn out an element yet this must be the reason.
Has anyone else had this problem. Look forward to your replies.
The heater is fitted with an excess temp cut out, if this has activated switch the unit of at the power point and turn it on again after 10 minutes.
May be worth a try.
Happened to me a few months back, this bought the unit back to life.
Thanks everyone. Thanks for the download Santa, much appreciated.
Santa said
08:52 AM Jul 1, 2019
DMaxer wrote:
Thanks everyone. Thanks for the download Santa, much appreciated.
Hope you get it sorted out without too much drama.
Pariss said
05:30 PM Jul 1, 2019
I'd say either the fuse or element has died. If your not able to do the job yourself, call a MOBILE Caravan repairer. So many highly trained guys around these days, starting up their own caravan repair / upgrade & servicing business.
DMaxer said
02:21 PM Jul 2, 2019
Thanks Pariss. I wouldn't attempt to do it myself as I don't feel like cooking myself. I am headed further north on Thursday and will seek the assistance of the electrician at Casino that fixed up my last disaster.
Thanks once again to everyone for taking the trouble to post your advice. Much appreciated.
Tony Bev said
03:17 PM Jul 2, 2019
Hope that you get it all sorted in Casino, DMaxer
If you could let us all know what the problem was, it may help others in the future
DMaxer said
12:15 PM Jul 6, 2019
Will do. Here for a week or two over school holidays so will let you know when it is sorted.
After many happy hot showers in my van I woke to a cold one the other morning. My heater is a Truma and for some strange reason will heat the water whilst using the gas but now refuses to work using the mains power. It has been faultless in the past but has decided to go on strike, but only when using mains power. I can't see what I may have done to burn out an element yet this must be the reason.
Has anyone else had this problem. Look forward to your replies.
sounds like the element has failed. Check the fuse first but be careful with 240v power when checking. need a sparky
after switching off your 240v and pulling the plug for total safety. Remove the wires from the element and test. For a serviceable unit the resistance should be in the vicinity of 40 Ohms. If it checks out OK then the problem is most likely the thermostat. I have repaired mine on a Suburban but I am not familiar with the Truma.Suggest you check the parts diagrams on Caravans Plus website prior to ordering. If you are not confident, then I suggest you engage an electrician.
From memory, I think that the thermostat was built in to the element
After removal saw one small, (smaller than a match head) rusty area, assumed electrolysis was the reason for failure
The new 240 volts element came with a plug on the lead, but the original element was hard wired
I had the Electrician fit a GPO double pole (I think it was called), so that I can do it myself next time
Due to the awkwardness of actually getting to the boiler, in my vehicle, I shall only be using gas to heat the water from now on
Thanks for the replies. Is it the case that I have to engage a gas plumber and not a licensed electrician?
That's all pretty traumatic
, get it Tony!
The heater is fitted with an excess temp cut out, if this has activated switch the unit of at the power point and turn it on again after 10 minutes.
May be worth a try.
Happened to me a few months back, this bought the unit back to life.
Here's a link to a PDF of the manual.
https://manualzz.com/doc/7356212/truma-b14-hot-water-system-user-manual
Hope you get it sorted out without too much drama.
Thanks Pariss. I wouldn't attempt to do it myself as I don't feel like cooking myself. I am headed further north on Thursday and will seek the assistance of the electrician at Casino that fixed up my last disaster.
Thanks once again to everyone for taking the trouble to post your advice. Much appreciated.
If you could let us all know what the problem was, it may help others in the future
Will do. Here for a week or two over school holidays so will let you know when it is sorted.