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Posted By: Show Power Outlet Issues - December 01st 2017 7:22 pm
Hi all,

I came into ownership of a 79 Trans Van last year and it had a deep cycle battery installed and it looks to power the back half of the van. Including lights, fridge and pair of power outlets.

The issue I have is that, all the lights and fridge appear to run fine off the battery power, but the power outlet does not. When I plug the van up to a power source, the outlet works just fine.

Here's what my breaker looks like, if it helps.
https://i.imgur.com/0z9GXJL.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/dzp93is.jpg

The bottom fat line is for the outside power. The line on the left (I believe) is from the fridge. Which tells me that one of those smaller two on the bottom is going to the outlet. The wiring is under glued carpet so I'm not sure which.

Any ideas?

Thanks.
Posted By: Dyno_Dave Re: Power Outlet Issues - December 02nd 2017 4:56 pm
Do we know for a fact that the outlet in question is connected to an inverter?
Posted By: jcd74 Re: Power Outlet Issues - December 03rd 2017 12:25 am
The 20 amp slim line, is it tripped? push all the way off then on. The way people wire stuff scares the crap out of me.
Posted By: jcd74 Re: Power Outlet Issues - December 03rd 2017 12:28 am
Could you take the panel cover off and take a pic.
Posted By: Show Re: Power Outlet Issues - December 03rd 2017 5:43 pm
So I had never seen an inverter in the van up to this point. What I did see was a fuse box on the back of the driver's seat, and some of these handle the lights in the back of the cab.

[Linked Image]

Only just this morning while taking this picture did I realize that cables go in UNDER the seat. So, found the inverter.

[Linked Image]

I've tripped both lines numerous times to troubleshoot. With no outside power, and lines circuits on, fridge and lights work, but nothing for the outlet.

With outside power with both lines on, I get power for everything including the outlet. Here's the inside of the breaker box.

[Linked Image]
Posted By: jcd74 Re: Power Outlet Issues - December 03rd 2017 7:04 pm
I think Dyno Dave hit the nail on the head. Unless the Fridge and lights are on a dedicated circuit to the Inverter, they are 12 volts. Connect to shore power and turn both breakers off, lights and fridge still work? If so they are 12V being fed from the fuse panel. You can confirm this by removing one of the lamps and checking it's rating on the bulb. The overall install looks legit, done by someone who knows what they are doing. The neutrals and grounds are separated in the panel, they grounded the chassis. The outlet by the inverter (more than likely a Battery charger) is there to charge the battery when you are connected to shore power. You would never wire a line cord to be hot with the prongs exposed, and never backfeed a female outlet. If you look at the 20 amp circuit it was not installed with the same care, notice the missing cable connector. This was probably added after by the last owner so they could have at least one convenience outlet when parked. Good news is you have one space left if you want to add something, Looks like a GE slimline breaker. The bad news the van was never intended to have line voltage power unless it is connected to shore power.
Posted By: CatFish Re: Power Outlet Issues - December 03rd 2017 10:24 pm
On my Ford I had two 120v outlets fed from the inverter and two outlets from shore power only. The inverter fed outlets had power all the time (via the battery/inverter) and were used for low amp items, fridge, lights, etc. The other two were for high amp draw fixtures such as air conditioner or heater which used too much current for the inverter and had to be shore only.
Your system may be similar.......
Posted By: Show Re: Power Outlet Issues - December 04th 2017 6:57 pm
Thanks a bunch for the input folks. Going by what jcd and Dyno said, seems like that outlet is only there to be used when the van is hooked up to power.

Good to know!
Posted By: Show Re: Power Outlet Issues - December 14th 2017 7:49 am
Okay, since this is semi-on the topic. The fridge that sits right above the breaker hasn't worked since I've owned this thing, and I'd like to take it out to either repair it or replace it. Trying to remove it just raised more questions that are above my pay grade.

So perhaps this is common knowledge, but it doesn't look like the fridge is plugged into the breaker at all. Which I can only guess to mean that it's either plugged into the inverter or directly into the battery. Alls I know for sure is that it switches on whether the circuits are flipped on or not.

My confusion comes with how this thing is actually wired to get power. When I tried to pull it out I saw that it wasn't connected via power outlet. Here is the view of back of the fridge from the side. Looking at the power supply dealie and the two power wires that run into the van somewhere

[Linked Image]

Those two wires (on the left) go into the back of the fridge like this

[Linked Image]

My question is if anyone has any experience with this set up. If so, is it bad and should I be redoing the wiring? Or is this somewhat standard for an old fridge? If I end up having to replace this unit altogether, will a newer mini fridge have the same power set up?

Thanks in advance.

Posted By: jcd74 Re: Power Outlet Issues - December 14th 2017 12:37 pm
All appliances and motors are required to have a name plate giving its specs. Quite often you will find this inside the fridge. If you find a sheet of paper with the fridges wiring, your in good shape.
Posted By: Show Re: Power Outlet Issues - December 15th 2017 5:44 am
The specs are not as much of an issue as the set up. I can't tell if this was mickey moused together just to make it work, or if this type of wiring set up is normal for the rv fridges. This thing is not dual fuel.
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