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What is missing under the coach bench?


hamkid

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Simple answer for shore power question. YES.

Shore power allows you to run any thing that works off of 120 volt. Your 12 volt coach power comes from your coach battery which is supplied by your converter when on shore power and by your alternator when driving. You would need the coach battery installed for any large amp drawing 12v appliances such as a furnace motor to work. Simple things like 12v lights, radio etc can be powered by the converter alone while on shore power.

Edited by fred heath
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So install a battery in the empty container under the coach bench and everything will work as long as it is charged? Do you have any suggestions about what batteries to buy?

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Again, not that simple. You don't know what the previous owner has done with the wiring. Why was the coach battery removed in the first place? Do you have more than 1 coach battery?

Follow the wires from the box back to their origin. You have to have a working knowledge of both 12vdc and 120vac before attempting any repairs. Over the years you've had different owners moving wires around to suit their individual needs. As far as the battery itself, you want a "deep cycle" marine battery that will fit into the battery box. Maybe a 24 or 27. I've had good luck with WalMart batteries.

Edited by fred heath
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To simply test the wiring you've got, any 12v battery will do but you'll want to replace it with a 'deep cycle' for 'real' use. Before hooking up the 2 wires, a few minutes with a multimeter will confirm (hopefully) that 1 is 12v (positive) and the other is ground (negative).

Looking at your picture above, it looks like the battery should be in the part of the box on the right (at floor level) with the part on the left as the lid and the tube/vent attached to the hole in the lid.

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'Unusual' wire colors. Black and green. I'm always baffled why the manufacturers didn't keep life simple/logical by sticking to Red (+ve) and Black (-ve).

And it looks like there's a smaller white wire too (which looks less '''factory'). Hopefully it's protected by a fuse. Maybe add one, just to be safe! :)

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I was thinking the same thing about the wire colors yesterday. I need to double check, the white wire I think might have been installed to power porch lights attached to the bumper.

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Whatever you find out, make sure you label them for future reference. There are too many posts from people who have half a dozen wires and then when they put in a new battery they're asking "can someone help me figure out what goes where?". Invariably, answers include 'multimeter' and 'test'. Better than 'hook them up and watch for smoke'.  :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I was also wondering if I have those wires connected to a battery would I also be able to connect a solar charge controller to the battery at the same time and receive power to the coach through solar panels?

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43 minutes ago, hamkid said:

I was also wondering if I have those wires connected to a battery would I also be able to connect a solar charge controller to the battery at the same time and receive power to the coach through solar panels?

Yes it would work fine

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Walmart. Not the absolute best battery, but good. There are a stores everywhere for warranty issues

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Looks good. If your set on a "portable" system get the 20ft outdoor cables to give you the best chance of getting rays where ever you park the RV.

 

 

 

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Connect it right to the battery not the existing wiring. The panel is only good for about 8 amps and in a real world probably closer to 6 the solar controller voltage regulator needs a battery in the circuit in order to work so stand alone won't work a 12 volt panel will make about 20 volts all by it's self unregulated so 12 volt things would suffer directly connected.

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