Electrical issue, Silver Spirit Lil Traveler

[Bromleymark]

I created an electrical problem in Tearhead's Lil Traveler. I had a right to do it, because I'm her husband. Anyway, the 12 volt didn't work, even with a fully charged battery.

But the 120volt worked fine, powered everything. The main problem in tracking the problem was getting at the converter. It's in the galley, behind the door with the teardrop silhouette. The door isn't hinged, doesn't unscrew. Just pull straight back, and off it comes.

Inside the converter box is a 20 amp fuse under a label that says it protects the battery. That fuse is there to protect the system from morons like me, ones who put the white wire on the battery's positive terminal, and the black one on the negative. It goes the other way. If you do it wrong, the 20 amp fuse commits suicide to save the rest of the system.

So I replaced that yellow fuse, and everything works fine now. And I painted a white spot on the battery case by the negative terminal to remind myself which way the wires go.

Mr. Tearhead

[starleen2]

I too would have made the same mistake - to me Black seems to be the universal - Negative for 12 v systems

[Miriam C.]

U

S recommended DC power circuit wiring color codes.
Function label Color
Protective ground PG bare, green, or green-yellow

2-wire ungrounded DC Power System
Positive L+ no recommendation (red)

Negative L- no recommendation (black)

2-wire grounded DC Power System

Positive (of a negative grounded) circuit L+ red

Negative (of a negative grounded) circuit N white

Positive (of a positive grounded) circuit N white

Negative (of a positive grounded) circuit L- black

3-wire grounded DC Power System
Positive L+ red
Mid-wire (center tap) N white
Negative L- black

Don't know if this helps but maybe........

[Bromleymark]

That "universal black" is what got me. I bought this teardrop from a bank after it closed out a dealer. The only thing missing was the owner's manual, assuming there ever was one. A person with more electrical smarts than I have probably would have detected the problem before hooking up the battery. At least the fuse was cheap!

[Ageless]

White is used in the trailer lights wiring. In automotive use; red is positive; black is negative. Almost every 12V accessory that uses a double black wire has a white stripe on the positive. Little wonder we are easily confused.

[Corwin C]

I use a multimeter on anything that I didn't wire myself (and even then I check more often than not). Its a useful tool and relatively in-expensive. I would recommend it to anyone. A meter will tell you which wire is hot, ground, etc. provided you know how to use it (it's not that difficult). Color codes, I don't trust them at all.