switching to 12volt?

[rabbit]

Have the same original Newmark converter/electrical service. Have had no trouble with the AC breakers OR the DC fuse blocks. Our trailer is on shore power all the time and have no problems with disappearing electrolyte. HOWEVER, I would listen to Per about the lack of sophistication of the converter and the the possibility that many of them are kaputsky or soon to be. I too am interested in Per's switchover to the "piggyback" converter just in case . . . ?


jack

[ThomasE]

Tina, somewhere between the distribution panel and the battery is an open connection. If you're not plugged into shore power, it should automatically be on battery power. I have a automotive 12volt electrical probe device, looks like a sharpened screw driver that can pierce through wiring and light up if there is power, in your situation I would start near the battery positive wire and work back until it doesn't light up, and that would be near the area of the open connection.

[ThomasE]

Originally Posted by Per Walthinsen

Tina:
Three pictures. First, the original panel front. Second, the grafted-on new converter in the back. Third, the replacement 12v fuse block.

If and when you delve into these things contact me by PM and I can send you a more detailed description and pictures by regular email.

Per, I'd also be very interested in any pictures or descriptions of all the work you've done to the electrical. I've already swapped out the glass fuses for a standard automotive ATC fuse block. So you've bolted on a new power supply to the distribution panel, and left the surrounding enclosure off? I'm interested in the specifics of the electrical hookups after you deleted the existing big ole transformer in there.

[Tina in AZ]

So my latest problem is identifying that wires need to go to the battery. Since the black and Red wires went to nothing and fell off when I untapped everything.

So I cannot figure out what wires needs to be connected to the battery. These are the color of wires I have and where I have tried to trace where they go:

Red- Left tail light
Yellow- converter box
Green- all exterior lights(tail lights and amber running lights)
White- grounding wire, exterior, and interior lights
Brown/beige- right tail light? I have not seen it there, but it looks like it might head over that way
Black- converter, interior lights, but this wire does not exit the trailer in the front, I thought this needed to go to the battery...

[Per Walthinsen]

Tina:
The tail lights, stop lights, exterior marker lights are not connected to the trailer battery but are extensions of the lights in your tow vehicle.

As has been pointed out in a different thread, there is a potential for serious safety problems with incorrect or poor wiring. It took me a long time to get to the point where I felt comfortable with electrical wiring, but after 50+ years of working with it some things have become intuitive to the point that I feel a certain confidence doing these things. My point is that it may be the better part of valor to get help from someone who has plenty of experience in this.

When working with trailer wiring on a used (or new) trailer I would NOT rely on color coding, as a rule. Rather rely on a multimeter or some similar device which can tell you about polarity, continuity, voltage, etc.

As Byron K. points out, use wire that is meant for automotive use. A trailer moves and shakes, and the resulting friction and rubbing demands strong insulation and good anchoring. Proper fusing, even if you have to resort to in-line fusing, is your greatest protection against disasters.

About the Newmark: the picture shows what you find when you take the case apart. Most of that stuff goes, so if my memory serves, the grafted on new converter ends up using greatly simplified wiring. I cannot give you a schematic, but someone familiar with trailer wiring should find it a piece of cake.

No offense meant, but for your safety I would recommend getting an "electrically experienced" person to help you.

Another recommendation: my preference is for soldered wiring connections, not just crimped ones or wire nuts (that vibration thing again) followed by plastic electrical tape and heat shrink tubing. I have spent a few minutes in our Burro on a terrible gravel road and the jostling was incredible.

Thomas: Unfortunately I cannot give you the specifics of the wiring done many moons ago, but in the picture you see of the new unit mounted I left most of the rear enclosure off. The new unit fits easily into the box, so when you look at it with the panels back in place you may not notice anything has changed.

[Per Walthinsen]

Sorry, I left the picture off.

[ken h]

If your convertor has a transfer switch inside the contacts could be just dirty , if you have a switch that looks like this inside . They say you should use a business card as sandpaper you do not want to file the contacts off just clean them. put the paper between the contacts, push them closed and pull the card out . Do both sides of the contact . If you have a electronic charger this info will not help.

[Tina in AZ]

Thanks Per and Ken.

I believe it is time to call my family member that is an electrician. But he is out of state so it's still not going to be too simple.

I had originally thought I was just looking for the other end of cut wires. This has turned into a much more complex situation.

....due to my frugalness I do not have a smart phone. This would be a great situation to have an iPhone to skype and show him the trailer wiring. hmmmm....I guess I can haul my laptop around..

[Tina in AZ]

I think I just about have this wiring thing all worked out. I'll post again when I know if and how I resolved it all. The jury is still out.

[Tina in AZ]

We have everything running off the battery!!!!

Before I started just trying things, I wanted to understand the electrical system the best that I could. I talked to an electrician and now I understand what the converter is for and all that. I traced all my wires and made a diagram of what wires went where in the trailer. I read all the information pertaining to the electrical form the hand written Burro manual on this site.

What finally brought it all together for me was the Trillium wiring PDF in the documents section of this forum. I was looking for 2 additional wires to be coming out of the trailer that did not exist! The diagram showed me that there is only one ground wire and on its way to the tow vehicle, it splits off to the battery. Same with the live/hot wire. I'm sure this sounds very elementary to all of you. but I did not understand a thing about the wiring at the beginning of last week.

Thank you all for your help and support. I feel like I have a much better grasp of how my trailer work and how to fix potential problems that may come up in the future.

[Tina in AZ]

I'm so glad to hear about this issue now. This 12v charger will just boil your battery dry. It does not have a regulator in it. So we will leave the panel disconnected from the the tow vehicle so that it won't do this. We may however, use it in route for a hour or so if we are dry camping for a longer period of time and want to charge the battery a bit.

Originally Posted by Per Walthinsen

Tina:

If I were in your shoes I would mentally and otherwise prepare to part with most of the Newmark. The 120v part (breakers) are OK, but the 12v charger and distribution panel is a disaster and in our case was a serious fire danger. It will boil out and destroy your battery, etc. and puts out very poorly regulated 12v juice (ours was a model PCS 20RAC). There seemed to be no way to locate the manufacturer either.

[Carol H]

Well done!!!! Now get out and enjoy your new trailer.