Forest River Cedar Creek – RV Water Heater Thermostat and Heating Element Replacement

RV Water Heater Thermostat and Heating Element Replacement

I’ve got a Suburban heating element sitting on my bench right now that came out of a Cedar Creek — it’s scaled white, the coil’s visibly cracked, and the rubber gasket is permanently flattened into a useless disc. That element tells the whole story: the thermostat quit holding setpoint weeks ago, so the element cycled itself to death trying to maintain water temperature, and now the owner’s showering in the cold somewhere 500 miles from the nearest dealer with availability. This is textbook deferred-maintenance territory, except it didn’t have to be. I’ve pulled enough of these to spot the pattern before it gets here: water stays lukewarm, you hit the reset button, it kicks back on, then the cycle repeats until you’re calling for help. This guide walks you through testing both the heating element and thermostat on your Cedar Creek, pulling the dead parts, and installing replacements — the same way I do it trackside with real tools and real failures, not dealer-manual theater.

Parts Needed:

• Suburban 232306 Thermostat Switch, Model: 232306, Outdoor&Repair Store (Part Number: 232306) ($18.99)
• Upgraded 520900 RV Water Heater Element For Suburban RV SW Series Electric Wa… (Part Number: 520900) ($17.00)
• Lrichy 110V/120V RV Water Heater Screw-In Electric Heating Element 110V/1400W… (Part Number: Replaces Suburban 520789/520900 • Atwood/Dometic 92249) ($21.97)
• VOTMELL 4 Rolls 1/2 Inch(W) X 520 Inches(L) Teflon Plumbers Tape,Pipe Sealing… ($3.59 ($0.90 / count))
• Nextronics Tool-Free Wire Connectors 25 Pieces – Quick Splice Terminal Blocks… ($8.99 ($0.36 / count))
• Suburban 232767 Water Heater Anode Rod (Part Number: 232767) ($25.99)

After years on the road, I’ve learned that the thermostat is almost always the first thing to go on a Suburban water heater — and using anything other than the OEM part is a gamble I’m not willing to take. The Suburban 232306 Thermostat Switch is a direct factory replacement, which means no wiring adapter headaches and no guessing about compatibility. Snap it in, connect the leads, and you’re done. One installation tip: let the water heater cool completely before you touch the thermostat — those connections get brittle when they’re hot and you don’t want to crack anything.

I keep this in my repair kit specifically for Cedar Creek and other Suburban SW-series rigs, and it’s saved me twice now at campgrounds with no mobile tech in sight. The Upgraded 520900 RV Water Heater Element for Suburban SW Series is an aftermarket unit built to the same 1000-watt spec as the original, but the upgraded construction holds up better against the mineral deposits that are inevitable if you’re filling your tank from hard-water sources across the country. Just be sure to never energize this element dry — flush and fill the tank completely before you flip that breaker, or you’ll burn it out before it ever heats a drop.

If you can’t get the OEM-spec element shipped in time and you need hot water today, this is the backup I’d reach for without hesitation. The Lrichy 110V/120V RV Water Heater Screw-In Electric Heating Element runs at 1400 watts, which is slightly higher output than the stock Suburban element, so your recovery time actually improves. The screw-in design fits the standard opening without modification, and the stainless construction resists corrosion well. One thing to double-check: confirm your rig’s electrical system can handle the slightly higher draw before you wire it in — most Cedar Creek setups handle it fine, but it’s worth a quick look at your breaker panel first.

Step 1: Testing and Removing Failed Components

Start by confirming the heating element is actually the culprit. With the circuit breaker off and the tank drained completely, disconnect one of the power wires from the heating element’s terminal. Grab a digital multimeter and flip it to resistance (ohms). Put one probe on each terminal of the element itself. You’re hunting for a reading somewhere in the 8–15 ohm range — typically 10–12 ohms for a standard RV heating element. If the meter shows “OL” (overload) or infinity, the element is dead and needs to come out. Anything significantly higher or lower than that 8-15 window also means replacement.

Once you’ve confirmed the element is bad, get it out of the tank. Find the right wrench — usually 1-1/8″ or 1-1/16″ depending on which Suburban unit Cedar Creek installed in your model — and carefully turn it counterclockwise. Go slow and steady. Water might dribble out even though you drained the tank; that’s expected. The element will slide out with a rubber gasket attached. Look at that gasket hard: cracks, permanent dents, or a mushy feel all mean it’s done. Save it as a reference for the new one. While you’ve got the element out, examine it for white scale crust, rust streaks, or visible breaks in the coil — any of those confirms you made the right call pulling it.

Now check the thermostat. Look near the top of the water heater and find two thermostat switches — one’s got a wider, flat conductor (that’s the 12V propane switch) and one’s got a thinner wire (the 120V electric). You want the thin-wire one for electric heating. Peel back the rubber cap protecting the reset button and look at the wiring underneath. Any discolored insulation, melted plastic, burnt terminals, or loose connections tell you the thermostat has been taking heat damage. Disconnect the two power wires from the bottom of the thermostat. Switch your multimeter to continuity mode and touch the probes to the thermostat’s terminals. A good thermostat shows continuity — basically zero ohms or a beep depending on your meter. If you get nothing, or if that wiring looks charred, the thermostat is done.

Step 2: Installing New Components and Testing

Clean out that threaded hole in the water heater tank before the new element goes in. Use a rag and wipe away any old gasket bits, mineral crusts, or corrosion. If it’s really gunked up, a little mild cleaner helps. Take your new heating element and its gasket (comes with most replacements; if not, order one separately). Slide the gasket onto the element’s threads so it sits against the flange. By hand, thread the element into the tank opening — turn it clockwise and get it hand-tight. Once you can’t turn it anymore with your fingers, pick up the wrench and snug it another quarter-turn to half-turn. Stop there. Over-torque and you’ll split the porcelain inside or destroy the gasket. It should feel solid and sealed, not like it’s about to strip.

Connect the wires to the new element’s terminals. The hot wire (usually black or red from your RV’s 120V system) goes to one terminal, and the ground wire (white or green) goes to the other. Most elements are non-polarized, so either wire can land on either terminal, but match the original setup if you can remember it. Use crimp connectors or wire nuts rated for wet/outdoor conditions. Make sure everything is tight. Wrap each connection with electrical tape. Double-check that no copper is showing and nothing can accidentally touch the metal water heater housing.

If the thermostat is getting replaced, remove the old one by unbolting its two mounting screws and disconnecting all its wires. Take a photo before you pull those wires if you’re not 100% sure which one goes where — you’ll thank yourself. Position the new thermostat in the exact same spot, flush against the mounting surface so it can sense temperature correctly. Bolt it down with the same two screws. Reconnect the wires exactly as they were: power to one terminal, element wire to the other. Tight connections. Snap the rubber cap back over the reset button.

Now test it. Close the drain plug tight. Turn on your RV’s fresh water supply and open a hot faucet inside. Let water flow until you stop seeing air bubbles — that means the tank is full and the air’s purged. Shut off the faucet. Look under the water heater for any drips from the new element or connections. Flip on the circuit breaker feeding the water heater. Set your multimeter to AC volts and probe the element terminals — you should read 120 volts (anywhere from 110–125V is normal). Flip the water heater switch on from the interior control panel. Wait 30–45 minutes for a 6-gallon tank or 45–60 for a 10-gallon tank to heat up. Run hot water at a faucet and confirm it’s actually hot. Listen and sniff during that first cycle — no weird sounds, no burnt smell, no new leaks. You’re golden.

The Suburban 232306 Thermostat That Holds Setpoint on Cedar Creek Models

The 232306 thermostat is what determines whether your heating element lives three years or dies in three months on Cedar Creek rigs. When it starts drifting, the element cycles constantly, burns out prematurely, and you’re left with tepid water or none at all somewhere far from civilization. Replacing the element alone without fixing the thermostat is just kicking the problem down the road — you’ll be back here half a year later with another dead element.

What works

• Temperature stays rock-solid without the element firing on and off every few seconds — instead of the constant on-off cycle that destroys heating elements, you get steady, usable hot water.
• Plug-and-play swap with zero rewiring — the 232306 slides in where the old thermostat was, connectors line up with the Cedar Creek harness, no modifications needed.
• Heating element survival rate shoots up dramatically once the thermostat is holding temperature correctly — owners routinely get 3–4 years out of an element instead of the 8–12 month cycle that happens with a failing thermostat.

What doesn’t

• You can’t swap it in without shutting off the water heater and draining the tank — this isn’t a clip-and-go job, it’s a 30–40 minute procedure if you’re being thorough about tank cleanup.
• Online listings don’t always tell you which Suburban configuration fits your year — Cedar Creek used different Suburban layouts across production years, and ordering the wrong part number means a mismatched connector and a return trip to town.

I pulled a 232306 out of a 2015 Cedar Creek at a rest stop in Arizona and second-guessed whether the connector orientation was right for five minutes before realizing I had the shroud on backward. Get the Suburban 232306 thermostat here and verify the connector style matches your water heater’s wiring harness before the tank is drained.

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