Wiring An Atwood RV Water Heater With Double-Panel On/Off Switch

Updated 09/17/2024 | Published 12/21/2021

Products Featured in This Question

Double-Panel On/Off Switch for Dometic Gas / Electric Combination Water Heaters - White

(44)

$15.94

Female Spade Terminal Quick-Disconnect - 16-14 Gauge - Fully-Insulated PVC - Qty 1

(14)

$0.77

Deka Ring Terminal - Heat Shrink - 16-14 Gauge - 1/4" Ring ID - Nylon Insulation - Blue - Qty 1

(38)

$2.24

Deka Heat Shrink Butt Connector - 22-18 Gauge - Nylon Insulation - Red - Qty 5

(1081)

$4.82

Question:

A friend of mine unhooked my Atwood 91230 dual panel switch your diagram was helpful but the wires I have are not all the right colors on your diagram it says a orange wire and I have no orange wires it also shows 3 lines underneath one of the plug-ins on the diagram I dont know what that means. The wires I have left over that Im not sure about are a red wire, a red and white wire and a dark brown or black wire please help Im tired of no hot water

asked by: Valerie

Expert Reply:

The manual for the Double-Panel On/Off Switch for Dometic Gas / Electric Combination Water Heaters - White # AT91230 lists the wire as orange but the manual for Atwood water heaters like AT94022 list the wire as red. It's referring to the wires that come out of the top of the unit. The three dash symbol you're referring to means ground.

The blue wire will connect to terminal 6 of the switch.
Terminal 4 of the switch will go to the negative battery terminal.
The green wire will connect to the negative battery terminal.
The brown wire will connect to terminal 3 on the switch.
Terminal 2 will go to the positive on battery terminal.

You'll need four Female Spade Terminal Quick-Disconnect # DW01899-1, one Deka Heat Shrink Butt Connector Packs # DW05743-5, and two Deka Ring Terminals # DW05737-1 to complete the connections of these wires.

I've attached the wiring diagrams for both the switch and the water heater below to help aid you in this installation.

expert reply by: Kevin C

Dual Panel Switch Wiring Diagram
(click to enlarge)

Atwood Water Heater Wires
(click to enlarge)

Atwood Water Heater Wiring Diagram
(click to enlarge)

Melvin

9/17/2024

I have a Atwood hot water tank and I have a green wire coming from the hot water tank to my control panel inside the camper and the green wire is off. What side does it go on?

Kevin C.

9/17/2024

@Melvin The green wire is most likely the ground, but I would need to know your water heater's model number to look up and confirm. For the model depicted in the wiring diagram above the green wire coming from the unit itself needs to be grounded to the negative post on the battery, but most people typically just ground it to the nearest part of the frame to avoid running extra wire. If you want to email me some pictures separately I can also take a look.