Wiring a new 12v receptacle

[Stephen]

I have a 92 C class Fleetwood. It has one 12v back by the bed and one up by the dining table. The back receptacle did not work and the front one was giving my problems. The front one had an orange wire an a white wire going into some sort of circuit board for the TV the back one just had an orange and a white. I took out the receptacle with the circuit board and wired the orange to the top of the new receptacle and the white to the ground. I wired the back one the same way. Every time I reconnect the house battery it blows the fuse.

I admit that my electrical knowledge has to do with unscrewing a bad light bulb and screwing in a new one. Still...

I don’t’ know what I’m doing wrong, but I obviously am shorting out the system and popping the fuse.

any suggestions?


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[Trebor English]

Can you pull the new sockets out of their holes far enough so that neither the orange nor the white wires touch anything?  Do you have a volt meter?

 

[Weight]

What type of outlet?

 

[Stephen]

Can you pull the new sockets out of their holes far enough so that neither the orange nor the white wires touch anything?  Do you have a volt meter?

Yes, I can pull the receptacles out to expose the wire. Yes I have a volt meter, but to be honest I have no idea how to use it.


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[Stephen]

What type of outlet?

This is the new outlet.

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[Trebor English]

With the original receptacles did the orange wire go to the center and the white to the side? Is the hole in steel or wood? Was the outside of the old receptacle contacting a steel grounded hole or an insulating wood hole?

 

[Stephen]

This is the new outlet.

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Rats! The picture didn’t come through. Guess I don’t know how to do that either.

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[highdesertranger]

first make sure you have the hot and ground identified correctly. you can do this with a "digital voltage meter" DVM. undo the wires to the socket and hook up the meter. hook up the red to what you believe is hot and black to ground. if you are right it should read close to battery voltage, if you are hooked up backwards there will be a negative sign in front of the reading. now you have IDed the wires, do this to both sockets. do not rely on the color of the factory RV wire. highdesertranger

 

[Stephen]

With the original receptacles did the orange wire go to the center and the white to the side? Is the hole in steel or wood? Was the outside of the old receptacle contacting a steel grounded hole or an insulating wood hole?

The old back outlet had the orange wire going to the center and the white to the side. The front one had the orange and white wires plugged into the circuit board and then a red and black wire coming from that to the receptacle itself wired as the back one.

We never watch TV so I thought I could just bypass the circuit board and wire directly to the new outlet. WRONG!


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[Stephen]

New one

Old one


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[Stephen]

Damn! Still can’t take a pic!


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[highdesertranger]

that thingy on the back of the socket is an antenna amplifier for the TV. highdesertranger

 

[Trebor English]

If the new socket has the +12 connected to the ground side of the socket and the socket is in a grounded hole that would blow fuses. Can you remove the socket? Is the mounting hole grounded?

 

[Stephen]

If the new socket has the +12 connected to the ground side of the socket and the socket is in a grounded hole that would blow fuses. Can you remove the socket? Is the mounting hole grounded?

The hole is wood, so I presume grounded.


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[Trebor English]

Wood would be useless for grounding, too much resistance. Do you have an internet link for the new socket? Does the package have a brand and part number?

 

[Stephen]

Wood would be useless for grounding, too much resistance. Do you have an internet link for the new socket? Does the package have a brand and part number?

Prime Products (08-5010) 12V Universal Utility Outlet https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00076WQDG/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_i_HazfBbTXT4JA2

This is what I bought.


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[Trebor English]

The steel face plate has two screw holes. My guess is that screws have the body of the socket grounded, the wires are reversed, the +12 is shorted to ground. Disconnect the orange, white, red, and black and make sure the fuse doesn't blow.

 

[Stephen]

The steel face plate has two screw holes. My guess is that screws have the body of the socket grounded, the wires are reversed, the +12 is shorted to ground. Disconnect the orange, white, red, and black and make sure the fuse doesn't blow.

If I disconnect all wires, nothing blows. There are no red or black wires. Only orange and white. I did what highdesert suggested and the red shows positve and the white negative if I am using the volt meter correctly. There is no great place to ground by either place. Just the metal frMe of the window.


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[Trebor English]

Connect the red wire only to one socket.  As long as the socket doesn't touch anything there should be no fuse blowing.  Use the meter.  Connect the black meter wire to the black wire that's not connected to the socket any more.  Reach inside the socket with the red meter wire.  Either the side of the inside of the socket or deep in the end of the socket will show up as 12 volts on the meter.  You want the plus side deep in the end not the side.

 

[Trebor English]

Connect the black meter wire to the WHITE wire that used to connect to the socket.  Sorry.