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Post by vikx on Feb 27, 2017 22:17:41 GMT -8
I recently worked on a friend's truck camper (newer popup) and installed a battery. The old one wasn't taking a charge, so we put a new one in. There were two battery wires: White and Black. I wired it as all RVs should be wired, WHITE AS GROUND.
We had discovered some previous poor work under the truck hood, so I wrote him to bring it over for me to check/fix. There were two iffy looking breakers on the fire wall and lots of disconnected wiring...
As an afterthought, I asked him to call the camper manufacturer to be sure White was Ground. You guessed it: White is HOT, "unlike other RVs".
All of us, especially ME, should never count on color when wiring a 12 volt system. Even tho I haven't heard of a modern RV using White for Hot, it happened. And could have been a major problem had I not had second thoughts about the truck.
I MADE THE MISTAKE of trusting wire colors. Head's Up People.
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mrmarty51
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Post by mrmarty51 on Feb 28, 2017 3:34:36 GMT -8
OH WOW, that could have been a huge disaster. Fried alternator, ECM if computer controlled, fires everywhere. I do not understand why the camper manufacturers does not follow the old school color code of the automobile industry. Red is hot and black is ground. that would be so much more simpler and a lot easier to understand. Even the modern American manufactured vehicles still follows the red is hot and black is ground code. Fords might be different though. I have never figured out some of the reasoning behind some of the fords designs, why they make things that could be so simple so complicated. I can tell You a lot of horror stories on that subject but it would take another whole forum to hold it all. LOL
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Post by vikx on Feb 28, 2017 11:44:22 GMT -8
The automobile industry has no universal anything. I think they purposely make things difficult to work on... Back in the day, black was almost always ground. Now, many vehicles use colored wired with a white OR black stripe to signify ground. Impossible to repair wiring without a schematic, not to mention a tester.
The Universal RV code has been in place for many many years. A lot of Shastas and Aristocrats followed it way back when. Many others didn't. However, by the 70s, "most" US RVs followed the 7 way code. Ball size was 2" for smaller trailers and upped to 2 5/16" for larger trailers.
Horse trailers often used the old round 6 way plug/receptacle. The color code is different than 7 way which has caused confusion to many. Not only that, but different horse trailer manufactures used different poles (connector screws) for the brake hot wire. That meant not every horse trailer would operate correctly with every vehicle... 6 way small plugs often short out and corrode quickly. They are mostly obsolete today.
Modern trailers almost always use the universal 7 way code. The exception is small trailers (usually under a certain weight) without brakes. They use a flat 4 way connector. The code is is different than 7 way, which causes even more confusion if a person wants to upgrade.
7 way code:
White is Ground Green is TM; Tail Lights and Markers (running lights) Brown is Right Turn Red is Left Turn Blue is Brake Hot Black is 12 Volt Hot Yellow is Aux or Spare, the middle post in a 7 way plug
4 way code: White is Ground Green is Right Turn Note the difference with Green and Brown! Brown is TM: Tail Lights and Markers Yellow is Left Turn
Why the truck camper company decided to use white for Hot is beyond me. It will certainly be fixed today. I will also put red tape on the wire to signify it is hot. No more confusion...
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