We see plenty of DIY wiring mistakes at Northern RV, and these can be costly in equipment failure and to rectify. There are three types of voltage: 240, 24 and 12 volts.

Obviously, a 240-volt system should only be tackled by a licenced electrician. If you have done your own 240-volt work get a licenced electrician to investigate and re-certify your vehicle.

It is legal to work on your 12- and 24-volt set ups, but if you do not have a good understanding of electrical systems then this is best left to the professionals. One of the main mistakes we see is the wrong gauge wiring running to an appliance, not allowing the full current to pass through.

There are cable charts that you can check on the internet that will give you the right info. Auto Cable by Collyn Rivers from Caravan & Motorhome Books is a good article to read.

Let`s run through some common mistakes that we see at Northern RV.

BATTERY/BATTERY CHARGER PROBLEMS

A. Cable gauge is too small for the length of run from battery to charger.

B. Installing a small, cheap battery charger – buy a good, multi-stage charger with float mode.

C. Installing lead acid starter batteries instead of deep-cycle AGM batteries to run the lighting and appliances in your motorhome and leave your start up battery to run your vehicle. Only install AGM house batteries.

D. Caravans should run a separate 50-amp Anderson plug from the vehicle to allow greater charging from the tow vehicle and motorhomes should have adequate wiring to charge from the motorhome when travelling.

E. Badly crimped wires causing loose connections – check crimping with correct crimping tool (not pliers).

F. If you repeatedly run your battery low it will eventually not recover. Check your charger is capable, install a second battery if required, and add solar panels to assist.

LIGHTING PROBLEMS

A. Wire too small for the length of the run (LED lights have made this easier and (should be in every Motorhome or Caravan as their draw is so much less). Install LED lights and re-run correct size wires if possible.

B. Bad earth on tail lights or incorrectly sealed allowing water to reach the globes and connections. Check sealing and connection of tail lights and check grounding to chassis.

C. Tapping into wiring that just happens to be close by (and it was already undersized and now it`s overloaded). Run a new wire with the correct inline fuse.

SOLAR PANEL PROBLEMS

A. Wrong size solar controller fitted, unable to cope with the power produced by the solar panels. Make sure yours can cope with the power generated by your panels. Make sure your batteries can store the power generated.

B. No air gap under solar panels causing them to overheat. Use solar brackets to lift solar panels from the roof and seal the roof and holes from where you have fitted the brackets.

FRIDGE PROBLEMS

A. Wrong wiring gauge.

B. Compressor fridges with not enough solar to produce daily needs on a cloudy day; runs fine if the sun would come out. Increase your power generation with extra solar panels and batteries.

C. Incorrect venting causing the fridge to get very hot at the back. Check installation instructions as the venting for the fridge is a large factor on its operation and effectiveness.

D. Thermostatic fridge fan installed incorrectly can make the problem worse. Check where you are sourcing your power and fix fridge venting problems.

WATER PUMP PROBLEMS

A. Water pumps overheating, burnt out or not operating is usually put down to insufficient voltage being supplied to the unit, this can be from low batteries.

B. Wrong gauge wiring supplying the pump will also cause the same problems.

C. Some pumps can have a maximum current draw of between 3.5 and 15 amps. The maximum is the figure to look out for as in start up they will approach  this max output. Do not run anything else off this wiring as you will almost certainly overload it.

RUNNING AN AIR CONDITIONER FREE CAMPING

A. If you do need to run the aircon then make sure you buy the right generator as most times a 2KVA generator will not do the job. Check the maximum power output of the air-conditioner, because all air-conditioners have a spike on initial start up and then taper back to operating voltage. Your generator will need to be able to cover this initial start up phase. All air-conditioners should be installed by a licenced electrician.

www.northernrvservices.com.au

Category: Technology
Written: Thu 01 Sept 2016
Printed: September, 2016
Published By: