add extra power outlet to the coach for FREE!

[prophetdaniel2]

      Howdy Sailors,
     The outlet above my table doesn't work and I don't have a schematic yet, so I was considering how to get some more power outlets into the coach on the cheap. I noticed that there is an unused 110 outlet in the Fridge access hatch. I rooted around in my garage for one of those inexpensive 4 or 5 foot ungrounded extension cords with three outlets on the end and some bailing wire to use as a fish tape. I unscrewed the generator housing lid under the "couch" and pryed/propped it open with a handy screwdriver. Then I fished the plug end through to the battery compartment. Next I widened the hole where the plug would pass between the battery and Fridge access compartments, then fished the plug through and Viola! Make sure to relieve some wood where the plug end will hang in the couch so that when you screw it down again the wires don't become pinched, and also make sure to place the plug out of the way of the cushion fastener on the couch. Heres some pictures.
     Obviously if your floor plan is different from mine, you will not be able to accomplish this modification.


-Daniel

[LARRY RAY]

Daniel
You seem to be one that has a few tools available to you, so try this. If I am not mistaken the feed for that plug will come from a junction behind the converter. They are fed from the circuit breaker also mounted in convertor panel. Just make sure everything is unplugged, remove the plug above the table and with digital ohm mter that beeps start checking to find the source. I feel as if you have alrady checked the plug itself so the source has to be the culprit. Also maybe look at divider post of mine. Click on the pics to enlarge the photo. Look on right side of door. Ther you will see a brown receptacle. What I did was (and my plug above table does work) add plug under table for small 120 volt fridge, then through and around water tank at bottom, into cab compartmant and then back to thai plug. Neean outlet for tv, and one for wifes (hot flash fan) oops I meant to say power surges.
Good Luck

[jon]

My table plug dosent work either. So, I just run another cord under the seat by the table. Bacically the samething you did but I ran it on the other side. I plug the cord into the pole where you plug in the main power and just stick it through the acess hole for the main plug and run it through a hole that a mouse chewed under the table. I replaced my fridge with an all electric one from walmart so I dont have the unused plug you have. Shure I could put a splitter on it but the same plug already runs the cabin air and fridge. I dont want to over load it.

[John Eversoll]

Larryray, "I love that thing you said about   POWER Surges"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am going to have to use it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jabberjaus]

Hi, I'm just wondering why you don't fix the outlet at your dinette?  Why is it okay it doesn't work?

I'm having a problem with no juice to the kitchen, bathroom and dinette plugs.  The one for the refrigerator/microwave I access from the outside. 

In order to have a place to plug in in the coach I ran a cord from that outlet and switch out to  use it for the my computer and the microwave.  I don't know why the three outlets lost power to them, but I'm not content to just let it be.

I changed out the fuses which weren't the problem anyway and I flipped all the breakers although none showed they'd been tripped once I realized they were in the same panel as the fuses, fun trying to find the breaker box.
I suppose one bad outlet could affect all three if they are on the same circuit.

Anybody check them out?  To have them one day and not the next is bothersome to me.

Adding extra is just that...extra.  I want the originals to work and have extras.

I'm a wannabee electrician.

[prophetdaniel2]

I can't seem to locate the source of the problem is all
Besides, I hardly ever use the outlets that I have!
I dont have wiring diagram to go by, and don't understand how that particular outlet is routed into the rest of the electrical system.

THREE CHEERS FOR BACKYARD ELECTRICIANS!
-D

[JerryT]

All this talk about outlets not working got me curious so I went and looked at mine. I have been in about every corner but I did notice something I never caught before. In stock form my rear kitchen side bath Clipper has 4 outlets, fridge, kitchen, bath, dinette. They are all powered by  one 20 amp breaker. The power leaves the breaker box by a single wire that drops into the floor cavity. The fridge is also powered by a single wire that also drops into the floor in the furnace bay. The kitchen outlet is powered by a single wire that rises from the floor under the water heater then leaves that outlet by another wire that jumps over to the bath outlet and then another wire leaves the bath outlet and goes to the dinette where the circuit ends. So if we recap in reverse,
Dinette-one wire, in--- end of circuit.
Bath- two wires, one in---one out
Kitchen- two wires, one in---one out
Fridge- one wire in---none out
Breaker- one wire out
--Conclusion--
There must be a factory splice/junction box in the floor cavity which would have the power feed from the breaker, connected to the fridge wire and the kitchen,bath,dinette wire. This splice will be in the area between furnace and the water heater in the floor cavity.
As well built as the Clipper is this makes no sense to me. All junction boxes need to be accessible and open splices are not allowed for 120 volts.
I might be wrong but I do not find enough wires to support any other idea.
If I was trying to find Martha's problem, "only the fridge outlet works" I would try to borrow/rent a mini probe camera and look in the hot air ducts or any other floor opening in that area. A mirror and light may work as well. I think her problem is a bad floor junction.
For a quick repair I would abandon the existing wire from the breaker and use a new one and run it over to the fridge wire in the furnace bay and set a junction box and connect those two wires plus a third wire that I would run over to the stove/water heater cavity where I would connect it (in a junction box) to the wire that is feeding the kitchen outlet after cutting it by where it comes out of the floor just like the fridge wire. How you get the wire over to there is your choice. I would be tempted to drill thru the floor and run it on the bottom of the coach and then back inside.
If anyone has any info or has repaired this please let me know, as I said, this does not make sense given the quality level that Irv designed into the Clipper.
JerryT

[John Eversoll]

Hey Jerrrrrry T,   
I read this thing and went out to my rig... I opened the door to what used to be the batt on the coach... Not there any more... anyway, There is a WHHOLE Lot of wires going to a junction box behind that it looks just like a substation for wires then from there they come out and go into the
back of the  breaker box.....I don't mess with electricity since I was a kid and put a knife in the wall outlet!!!!!!!! ZZZZZZzzzzzzzaaaaaaaPP!!! But I just can't figure out why all these wires are going into a small junction box then out to the breaker??
Wish I had a camera so I could take a pic and send it to ya...! John E.

[JerryT]

Hi John
Mine had that too, it was the shore power -IN- from the other side of the coach and the generator -IN-, if you had a genset or not, prewired is what they called it. On mine there was two 10-2 w/g romex wires in the floor cavity. If you had a genset then it would send power over to the power cord area with the second romex, to an outlet for your shore power cord. When you plugged the two together it would then send the power back via the first romex to the breaker panel. The act of plugging and unplugging the two made YOU the transfer switch-er. I have put two automatic transfer switches in mine and they work great. I still can't believe there is a junction it the floor of my Clipper, I am hoping that I missed something but I don't know where.
JerryT   

[John Eversoll]

Yea Jerry, I am going to do some digging tomorrow after the Dr.
and see what I can find in mine...
Probably a whole lot of spiders......
Oh" Dan, if you read this that is another thing you can  add!!! spider spray"
Any way I am going to try to take out that fridge this week.
Or I should say my daughter is>>>>>......John E.

[prophetdaniel2]

I believe that my dining table outlet wiring, the only one with a problem, was some how messed with when whomever rebuilt it last reinstalled the genset. the junction for shore power/genset no longer works. Shore power works, genset works, but when I plug in shore power I have to disengage the circuit breaker on the genset, otherwise power feeds back TO the genset and pops another breaker.

     In other words, my genset is hardwired into my system, not to the romex outlet anymore.

AHA! maybe thats it!
     Perhaps the installer opted to sacrifice the dining table outlet wiring in order to hardwire the genset through its (dining table) junction!
     In two and a half weeks when I get home from work I will begin investigating this possibility, and possibly return the system to the stock wiring........right after I bring my radiator to a repair shop. It sprang a leak out of nowhere! A small hole squirting straight onto my engine fan. any idea what causes that to happen suddenly?

[John Eversoll]

 

     G R E M L I N S!!!!!!   those buggeres are everywhere""""""""

      John E.

[JerryT]

Hey D
On the genset, I am almost sure it has been connected to the #1 romex that feeds the panel, it needs to be connected to the #2 romex that feeds the 30 amp outlet behind the hookup door on the outside. On your outlet not working, if you have power to the bath then you will have power to the dinette as it is one solid wire that the outlets clip/snap over--- unless it has been cut some how between the bath and the dinette. Pull the dinette outlet and check for voltage on the bare wires. As for your radiator, only two things come to mind, physical damage from road debris or too high of a PH level in your antifreeze causing it to be acidic and eat the radiator. I read up on antifreeze and in the fine print, they (people in the know) recommend you change them every other year. I drain the radiator and add fresh so as to keep the PH in check. I also started adding ginger root (stop leak) to mine after learning GM used it as a factory fill item on some models. It also keeps the water pump shaft clean so the seal can do it's job and will catch small leaks/seeps early on. Brake fluid needs to be changed regularly too! The more I read the more work I find to do I think I'll stop reading so much.
JerryT

[John Eversoll]

Hi there Jerry,   Ya know.... I have a 71 Chevelle SS and I hate to say this....

I have never changed the brake fluid.....Like dad used to say If it aint broke don't fix it....

But I guess I will have to change the fluid when I can... Thanks for the info!!!!

John E.

[prophetdaniel2]

Hmmmm...I don't believe I have an outlet in the bathroom. well, my wife says there is so there must be!

Does stop leak really work? I have been running nearly pure water in the radiator. It is noticeably running cooler,but is that bad to do?, except for winter time of course.

good to know on the romex, will definitely investigate.