Water heater reset

[Mark G]

The water heater on my '91 works great (almost too hot, really) as long as I leave it on. When I turn it off on the panel, however, the red reset button on the heater trips. I then have to remove the metal cover and push it in again. Any thoughts on how to correct? Thanks.

[Ken Juul]

I think the reset is designed to pop under several conditions, overheat, overvoltage and current fault.  Not going to the boat until the 8th so I can't check the documentation till then.  From your description I think we can dismissing the first 2, leaving current fault.  I'd check the connections for corrosion and security.  Since it only happens when you turn off the switch, maybe your switch is arcing.  Might want to turn it off/on a few times with no current applied.  May clean up some carbon build up that is causing the problem.  To eliminate the switch as a cause you could temporarily move the hot wire from the heater swith to the main line.  See if turning off all the AC at the main switch causes the reset to pop.  In the right circumstances 110AC can kill.  Ensure all circuits are off before touching connections.