Funky wiring illustrated
I apologize for the delay in getting back to you. Thank you, once again, DWH, for your detailed and clear explanations. MakersTeleMark, I’d love to take you up on a tour of your rig. Where in Colorado are you located?
I finally found time to trace the wiring in my slide-in camper. The shore power cable splits into 1) a 120v outlet on the converter panel, 2) an accessory 120v outlet (probably added by a previous owner), and 3) the converter itself.
Three sets of 12v wires come out of the converter. One cable with positive and negative wires goes to the furnace to power the blower fan which I previously didn’t think I had. There’s a 4amp fuse within the heater assembly so I assume that’s the amount the fan draws.
Another cable serves the interior lights. A previous owner pigtailed the clearance lights into this cable which makes no sense to me. Why would you want the clearance lights on when you’re inside the camper? That would be a waste of power. So….
I disconnected the clearance lights from the interior light circuit. But I don’t know how to wire the clearance lights to my truck so they’ll function while I’m driving. Or maybe I’ll just leave them off. I don’t see any real purpose for them, unless there’s a law requiring them. If I do want to wire them, how would I do that? Currently, only one side works, though I think they’re all wired together because there are no other circuits. If half isn’t working because of a short, what do I look for to identify the short?
Here’s a diagram of the fuse/bus bar panel:
View attachment Wiring diagram.pdf
From your best guess, DWH, I understand that the lamp wire ties into the panel at the bottom right, passes through the fuse to the black jumper wire that then energizes the bus panel when I’m running off the battery. The yellow wire (which leads to a 12v accessory outlet) draws current from the bus bar across a fuse. When I’m on shore power, the red wire from the converter powers the bus bar with 12v current converted from the 120v shore power. If the battery is not fully charged, it will also trickle power to the battery through the bus bar.
Regarding the mystery blue wire, it is indeed wired to the neutral terminal. When I disconnected it and switched to battery power, fixtures no longer worked. On shore power with the blue wire disconnected, everything still worked. I’m wondering if the white wire the blue wire shares a terminal with should go directly to the neutral terminal. What purpose does it have in its current location?
Actually, the four fuse locations below the bus bar are a mystery to me. If only the four terminals in line with the bus bar are hot, of what use are the lower four terminals? Do they just allow for a fuse if a circuit was passed through them? Wouldn’t there need to be a wire on the other side of the fuse to complete the circuit? I don’t understand why the white wire from the converter is there. The green wire on the other side of the fuse goes to a disconnected cable that’s loose in the propane storage area along with the positive and negative wires of a cable. I don’t know what this cable might have been hooked up to.
Here’s another wiring quirk. A former owner wired a new faucet pump into the red and white wires coming off the converter. It works off battery power but not shore power. I’m guessing that’s because when no power is being converted, there’s not enough power passing through the wires for it to work. I’ll undo that and hook it directly to the panel since I have an extra space opposite the bus bar. If I’m correct in this plan, what size fuse should I install?
For now, I’m sticking with this converter. I don't have a lot of money to spend and I don’t foresee our electrical needs growing anytime soon. Until we got this camper, we were tent campers working off flashlights and battery-operated lanterns. If we decide to install a frig, by your recommendation, it will run on propane.
I just purchased a "cheap" 105ah marine battery from Walmart (unknown discharge rate). Others have said it works OK for them. I understand it’s not a true deep cycle battery, but rather a hybrid. To avoid using the converter to (partially) charge the battery, I ordered a $60 Vector 1089A 5/10/15 smart charger on Ebay. However, I just discovered the order got cancelled without explanation so if this charger is not a good choice, I’d appreciate feedback.
I do want to ensure my understanding of how to wire the battery so as to get rid of the jump wire. Am I correct that I should take the battery wire (a new #10) directly to the left side of the panel, below the red wire from the converter, and install a 30a fuse? Also, I’ll replace the lamp wire to the neutral terminal with new #10. I’ll probably build a battery box that I can secure to the camper from the outside to hopefully keep it from getting stolen while locating it outside for proper venting.
I have lots of other projects to tackle both inside and outside the camper. This weekend will allow me some time to work on those. At some point down the line, I’ll be picking your brains again about creating a solar charging system. For now, the mountains are stuffed with almost 250% of their average snow pack so it will be awhile before I get up there.
Thanks again for your help and expertise. Have a great holiday weekend!
I apologize for the delay in getting back to you. Thank you, once again, DWH, for your detailed and clear explanations. MakersTeleMark, I’d love to take you up on a tour of your rig. Where in Colorado are you located?
I finally found time to trace the wiring in my slide-in camper. The shore power cable splits into 1) a 120v outlet on the converter panel, 2) an accessory 120v outlet (probably added by a previous owner), and 3) the converter itself.
Three sets of 12v wires come out of the converter. One cable with positive and negative wires goes to the furnace to power the blower fan which I previously didn’t think I had. There’s a 4amp fuse within the heater assembly so I assume that’s the amount the fan draws.
Another cable serves the interior lights. A previous owner pigtailed the clearance lights into this cable which makes no sense to me. Why would you want the clearance lights on when you’re inside the camper? That would be a waste of power. So….
I disconnected the clearance lights from the interior light circuit. But I don’t know how to wire the clearance lights to my truck so they’ll function while I’m driving. Or maybe I’ll just leave them off. I don’t see any real purpose for them, unless there’s a law requiring them. If I do want to wire them, how would I do that? Currently, only one side works, though I think they’re all wired together because there are no other circuits. If half isn’t working because of a short, what do I look for to identify the short?
Here’s a diagram of the fuse/bus bar panel:
View attachment Wiring diagram.pdf
From your best guess, DWH, I understand that the lamp wire ties into the panel at the bottom right, passes through the fuse to the black jumper wire that then energizes the bus panel when I’m running off the battery. The yellow wire (which leads to a 12v accessory outlet) draws current from the bus bar across a fuse. When I’m on shore power, the red wire from the converter powers the bus bar with 12v current converted from the 120v shore power. If the battery is not fully charged, it will also trickle power to the battery through the bus bar.
Regarding the mystery blue wire, it is indeed wired to the neutral terminal. When I disconnected it and switched to battery power, fixtures no longer worked. On shore power with the blue wire disconnected, everything still worked. I’m wondering if the white wire the blue wire shares a terminal with should go directly to the neutral terminal. What purpose does it have in its current location?
Actually, the four fuse locations below the bus bar are a mystery to me. If only the four terminals in line with the bus bar are hot, of what use are the lower four terminals? Do they just allow for a fuse if a circuit was passed through them? Wouldn’t there need to be a wire on the other side of the fuse to complete the circuit? I don’t understand why the white wire from the converter is there. The green wire on the other side of the fuse goes to a disconnected cable that’s loose in the propane storage area along with the positive and negative wires of a cable. I don’t know what this cable might have been hooked up to.
Here’s another wiring quirk. A former owner wired a new faucet pump into the red and white wires coming off the converter. It works off battery power but not shore power. I’m guessing that’s because when no power is being converted, there’s not enough power passing through the wires for it to work. I’ll undo that and hook it directly to the panel since I have an extra space opposite the bus bar. If I’m correct in this plan, what size fuse should I install?
For now, I’m sticking with this converter. I don't have a lot of money to spend and I don’t foresee our electrical needs growing anytime soon. Until we got this camper, we were tent campers working off flashlights and battery-operated lanterns. If we decide to install a frig, by your recommendation, it will run on propane.
I just purchased a "cheap" 105ah marine battery from Walmart (unknown discharge rate). Others have said it works OK for them. I understand it’s not a true deep cycle battery, but rather a hybrid. To avoid using the converter to (partially) charge the battery, I ordered a $60 Vector 1089A 5/10/15 smart charger on Ebay. However, I just discovered the order got cancelled without explanation so if this charger is not a good choice, I’d appreciate feedback.
I do want to ensure my understanding of how to wire the battery so as to get rid of the jump wire. Am I correct that I should take the battery wire (a new #10) directly to the left side of the panel, below the red wire from the converter, and install a 30a fuse? Also, I’ll replace the lamp wire to the neutral terminal with new #10. I’ll probably build a battery box that I can secure to the camper from the outside to hopefully keep it from getting stolen while locating it outside for proper venting.
I have lots of other projects to tackle both inside and outside the camper. This weekend will allow me some time to work on those. At some point down the line, I’ll be picking your brains again about creating a solar charging system. For now, the mountains are stuffed with almost 250% of their average snow pack so it will be awhile before I get up there.
Thanks again for your help and expertise. Have a great holiday weekend!
