Jerry's Hurricane mods

[SuperD]

We narrowly averted what could have been a disastrous fire!!!

About 8pm last night Myra said she smelled something burning. The smell kept getting stronger and seemed to be centered around the center of the coach, after looking everywhere I finally determined it was coming from under the sink, most likely the water heater which was on 120v. I shut off the water heater at the panel over the door and flipped off the breaker.

This morning I got under the sink, pulled the wood panel off so I could see the 120v heating element, I noticed a small melted spot at the top of the plastic housing. After a lot of bad words I finally managed to get the cover off of the housing. The hot, neutral, and ground wires had twist on wire connectors and they were all taped in one big bundle. The electrical tape was charred and burnt and ther was definitely a melted spot in the top of the plastic housing.

After cutting off the tape I cut, stripped, and put new twist connectors on all the wiring. I taped all the twist connectors individually, hooked everything up and turned the heater back on, seems to be working just fine.

After a close inspection of the melted connection it appears that the six fingered inbred moron that wired the heater didn’t properly strip the wire and there was a poor connection. Weeks of using the heater probably caused the wires to lose connection and start arcing which caused the connection to overheat and melt. The 120v element is difficult to get to since there is not a lot of room to work. I was fortunate to have the tools and extra connectors so I could repair the problem.

Fortunately we were in the coach and not asleep when this problem occurred. We were very fortunate to have avoided what could have been a disastrous fire had we been away or asleep.







This is not something that could have or would have been checked by myself had Myra not smelled the burning wires. Thank you Lord for looking over us!

[jpmihalk]

Wow! Glad you were there and had the tools and ability to diagnose and fix that and avoid a disaster. Now you make me want to check our water heater elements for a similar situation... probably a good idea anyway, since we are up in NY full timing and use our water heater on 110V as well.

[SuperD]

Originally Posted by jpmihalk

Wow! Glad you were there and had the tools and ability to diagnose and fix that and avoid a disaster. Now you make me want to check our water heater elements for a similar situation... probably a good idea anyway, since we are up in NY full timing and use our water heater on 110V as well.

Not something that is easy to get to or check. Bad connections could be anywhere in the coach, that’s the scary part!

[jpmihalk]

Originally Posted by SuperD

Not something that is easy to get to or check. Bad connections could be anywhere in the coach, that’s the scary part!

Good point, and yes the water heater is buried under the wall closet in the bedroom with little room to work.

[halfprice]

My water heater element went out after about 6 months was replaced under warranty I talked to the service writer at the dealer or Thor customer service. And complained about not having access to the water heater element He said it's normally easier to pull the water heater out of the unit to get to it so you might want to think about that to check the wires

[TheTraveler]

Originally Posted by halfprice

My water heater element went out after about 6 months was replaced under warranty I talked to the service writer at the dealer or Thor customer service. And complained about not having access to the water heater element He said it's normally easier to pull the water heater out of the unit to get to it so you might want to think about that to check the wires

Exact same thing happened on our 2017 hurricane. The tech said a loose wire on the hot water heater caused the wire to melt. It seems the Thor factory has a real safety problem with the quality of their electrical installations that and there is no way they don’t know about it. Too many of these events have been reported. This kind problem could very easily turn deadly. A huge liability suit waiting to happen.

[rmblaster]

Originally Posted by SuperD

We narrowly averted what could have been a disastrous fire!!!

About 8pm last night Myra said she smelled something burning. The smell kept getting stronger and seemed to be centered around the center of the coach, after looking everywhere I finally determined it was coming from under the sink, most likely the water heater which was on 120v. I shut off the water heater at the panel over the door and flipped off the breaker.

This morning I got under the sink, pulled the wood panel off so I could see the 120v heating element, I noticed a small melted spot at the top of the plastic housing. After a lot of bad words I finally managed to get the cover off of the housing. The hot, neutral, and ground wires had twist on wire connectors and they were all taped in one big bundle. The electrical tape was charred and burnt and ther was definitely a melted spot in the top of the plastic housing.

After cutting off the tape I cut, stripped, and put new twist connectors on all the wiring. I taped all the twist connectors individually, hooked everything up and turned the heater back on, seems to be working just fine.

After a close inspection of the melted connection it appears that the six fingered inbred moron that wired the heater didn’t properly strip the wire and there was a poor connection. Weeks of using the heater probably caused the wires to lose connection and start arcing which caused the connection to overheat and melt. The 120v element is difficult to get to since there is not a lot of room to work. I was fortunate to have the tools and extra connectors so I could repair the problem.

Fortunately we were in the coach and not asleep when this problem occurred. We were very fortunate to have avoided what could have been a disastrous fire had we been away or asleep.

Attachment 7769

Attachment 7770

Attachment 7771

This is not something that could have or would have been checked by myself had Myra not smelled the burning wires. Thank you Lord for looking over us!

SuperD looks like we had the same as you say
"six fingered inbred moron " wire my coach lucky my breaker shut off before the connections could melt see post to view pics

http://www.thorforums.com/forums/f8/...oach-7668.html

[DenverTransplant]

I had a similar problem in the travel trailer we had prior to our ACE. We had just set up camp in a RV Park near the Little Bighorn battlefield (7th Ranch, nice place) on a really hot day. We had the air conditioner running and started smelling smoke. I tracked it to the AC distribution box. Shut everything down (and started sweating a lot).

I tracked the problem down to a loose neutral connection on the neutral bar in the distribution box (the same WFCO box that almost everyone gets). One wire (the air conditioner neutral) had burned insulation back a couple of inches. A generous application of electrical tape and a really good torque on all of the breaker, ground and neutral terminals fixed the problem. Could have been a really big problem had we left with the air conditioner on. Loose neutrals only produce heat and the breakers will do nothing to prevent it.

So now every electrical connection I can get to gets an inspection and retightening yearly. I haven't broken and remade wire nutted connections, but I need to add that to the list. So far no problems with loose connections in the ACE, but I did find three circuits that were landed on the wrong breakers. Probably the same 6 fingered moron, or his cousin/brother in-law. DW still gets very concerned about leaving anything on when we leave the coach.

[Nursx2]

Same thing in our 2015 Hurricane!!!!
This will happen again and people will die!!

Unreal! Total lack of regard!

Glad you are all safe!!

[Tom Bowe]

Had the water heater wiring issue as well in our 2015 Hurricane. Because of the inconvenient access to the wiring box on the back of the water heater, they should have installed a 110v receptacle under the sink with a pigtail on the heater to plug it in. That way six-fingered Frank wouldn’t have to stand on his head under the sink to connect the wires. Imho anyway.

[SuperD]

One other problem I forgot to mention, the breaker was labeled incorrectly. When I shut off the breaker to the water heater it turned off the microwave which is on a different circuit, the water heater was still live, found that out the hard way!!! And I know better!!!

I’m going to check all the breakers and confirm what they are actually connected to, I would strongly suggest everyone do the same thing!!!

[gnach]

Why they use wire nuts baffles me. Crimped connectors are secure and cheaper, warranty wise. Be sure to add a wee dab of dielectric grease in your wire nut to prevent corrosion and aid conductivity.

[16ACE27]

Originally Posted by gnach

Why they use wire nuts baffles me. Crimped connectors are secure and cheaper, warranty wise. Be sure to add a wee dab of dielectric grease in your wire nut to prevent corrosion and aid conductivity.

Then Thor would have to buy a bunch of ratcheting crimpers beause otherwise they would not be crimped properly.

[DinoC41]

Originally Posted by SuperD

One other problem I forgot to mention, the breaker was labeled incorrectly. When I shut off the breaker to the water heater it turned off the microwave which is on a different circuit, the water heater was still live, found that out the hard way!!! And I know better!!!

I’m going to check all the breakers and confirm what they are actually connected to, I would strongly suggest everyone do the same thing!!!

So glad you two are okay...will start checking wiring tomorrow!!!!

[OKDogMan]

Thanks for the heads up on the water heater risk. With so much behind the undersink panel on the 29M's, modifying the panel for easy access might be a good mod. In the mean time, I found an organizer that fits perfectly on the doghouse mat. Not really a mod but it seems to fit so well that I probably won't need to fasten it down - only a road trip will tell.

[DinoC41]

Originally Posted by OKDogMan

Thanks for the heads up on the water heater risk. With so much behind the undersink panel on the 29M's, modifying the panel for easy access might be a good mod. In the mean time, I found an organizer that fits perfectly on the doghouse mat. Not really a mod but it seems to fit so well that I probably won't need to fasten it down - only a road trip will tell.

[jpmihalk]

So here is another mod we decided to take on after 18 months with this Hurricane. The entertainment center is right below the 40” TV across from the love seat. We have several components in the “box” - an Apple TV, Dish receiver with external hard drive, an Xbox One X (brand new!) and an 4x4 HDMI switchbox that replaced the original. The OEM wooden door swung down 90 degrees and was in the way when going to the back or coming from the back as it stuck out right at hip height plus the components were getting very hot.

I decided to remove the door and put a screen in front that could be pulled up to get access but is held in place by magnets. This would solve both the hip checking and the air circulation issues, as well as allow full time IR access for all remotes.

Here is the product as is now, pending some gorilla glue cleanup.



We are very happy with it so far. Total cost was $13 from Home Depot for the screen and magnets. The mod took around 30 minutes.

[DinoC41]

Originally Posted by jpmihalk

So here is another mod we decided to take on after 18 months with this Hurricane. The entertainment center is right below the 40” TV across from the love seat. We have several components in the “box” - an Apple TV, Dish receiver with external hard drive, an Xbox One X (brand new!) and an 4x4 HDMI switchbox that replaced the original. The OEM wooden door swung down 90 degrees and was in the way when going to the back or coming from the back as it stuck out right at hip height plus the components were getting very hot.

I decided to remove the door and put a screen in front that could be pulled up to get access but is held in place by magnets. This would solve both the hip checking and the air circulation issues, as well as allow full time IR access for all remotes.

Here is the product as is now, pending some gorilla glue cleanup.

Attachment 7807

We are very happy with it so far. Total cost was $13 from Home Depot for the screen and magnets. The mod took around 30 minutes.

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by SuperD

One other problem I forgot to mention, the breaker was labeled incorrectly. When I shut off the breaker to the water heater it turned off the microwave which is on a different circuit, the water heater was still live, found that out the hard way!!! And I know better!!!

I’m going to check all the breakers and confirm what they are actually connected to, I would strongly suggest everyone do the same thing!!!

I'm not a guy that has spent a lot of time working with electrical. I've done it here and there over the years. Swapped out a light for a ceiling fan or recently replaced a control for heated flooring.

I bought this just so there is no doubt that I'm working with dead wires. For me, it's well worth the $15 or $20 that I paid for it. You turn it on and you just touch the wires you want to check and it will tell you if they are hot. Unlike a multi meter, it doesn't take two hands and it doesn't require getting to bare copper.

[tnedator]

Originally Posted by OKDogMan

Thanks for the heads up on the water heater risk. With so much behind the undersink panel on the 29M's, modifying the panel for easy access might be a good mod. In the mean time, I found an organizer that fits perfectly on the doghouse mat. Not really a mod but it seems to fit so well that I probably won't need to fasten it down - only a road trip will tell.

That looks handy. I went to staples.com and unfortunately I couldn't locate it by model number or description.