Dometic, Atwood, Suburban Water Heater Switch Wiring Diagram
When it comes to wiring different appliances doing it without a wiring diagram is not always the best option. These wiring diagrams are excellent guides if you understand them.
Not every Suburban or Dometic water heater model should have the same setup or can use the same diagram. The same can be said for the different Atwood models.
To learn more about this topic and see some good wiring diagrams, just continue to read our article. It has the information you want when you are doing this project without a guide. Take a few minutes to see how this information helps you wire in a new switch.
Water Heater Wiring Diagram
Wiring Diagram For Suburban RV Water Heater
If Suburban does not supply you with a good wiring diagram, then there are plenty of options on the internet that should help you out. It doesn’t take much of a search to find the specific diagram you need.
We cannot supply them all for you but we should be able to get a lot of wiring diagrams for different brands to give you an idea of what you are to do and which wires connect to which terminals.
Below is just one wiring diagram that should help you wire your switch and get the water heater active:
What Color Wires Go Together On a Hot Water Heater?
The colors of the wires usually tell you the purpose of that specific wire. Some may be hot, other colors may be ground or neutral. That means that these wires cannot be connected together while others can. Here is a list of wire colors that can or cannot go together
1. Red & Green- these two colors cannot go together. The red is a hot wire and is the second hot wire in a 240 electrical system. Green is always a ground wire color and it should not have any current running through it
2. Red & Brown- both of these colors are for hot wires and brown is often used in the UK instead of red for hot.
3. Red & Blue- these should not be connected together. While both are hot wires, they have different applications which are not compatible with each other.
4. Red & White- no. As you know by now red is the hot wire and white is reserved for neutral. The white brings the power back from the appliance to the power source.
5. Red & black- again, no. While both are hot wires the black is a phase 1 option while the red is a phase 2 option. They should not be connected together.
You can replace the color red with the color black in those other options for the same reasons.
Does It Matter Which Wire Goes On Which Side Of a Water Heater Element?
Not really. You can use any color you want to connect the water heater element, as long as those wires are connected to the same terminals on the other end. If you cross them, then you would have problems.
The only issue you would have with using any colored wire for your connections is that you might forget and apply the original meaning of the color of the wire. Or you may confuse the repairman who is used to seeing specific colored wires for specific applications.
It would be best to stick to the color code that way you can make any wiring repairs easily and without worrying about if you made the proper connections or not.
Suburban Water Heater SW6DE Wiring Diagram
Here is the wiring diagram for this model of a water heater. Or at least it is labeled as the wiring diagram for the switch.
One thing to be careful about when it comes to using online wiring diagrams. You can never be sure if the website owners got the right diagram or not. It would be better to download the manual for your brand and follow the wiring diagrams inside them.
Download The Suburban Water Heater SW6DEL Manual
One of the best sources for manuals no matter what appliance or product you own. This link takes you directly to the Suburban manual and you can view it first and then download it. We cannot guarantee your downloads from any of these websites will be free.
This link takes you to a website that has links to different pages, etc., depending on your need. One more link to make sure you have enough options to choose from.
You can always try the Suburban website or contact the company directly to get the information you need.
6-Gallon Atwood RV Water Heater Wiring Diagram
This is one diagram you can use. Keep in mind that Atwood is owned by Dometic and this brand name may not be in most recent RVs and trailers. Older RVs and trailers should have some Atwood models in them if they have not been replaced by now.
Here is the wiring diagram for one Atwood model, or at least it is labeled as such:
Dometic Water Heater Wiring Diagram
This image has been taken directly from a Dometic owner’s manual that we were able to access easily. It should provide all the information you need to make the right connections.
One thing we noticed is that this same diagram has been found on different websites under different labels. This link will take you to the manual as well.
