91 Bigfoot Power Center - Fiberglass RV
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Old 02-15-2016, 05:32 PM   #1
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Trailer: Sasquatch
Montana
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91 Bigfoot Power Center

I'm sure there are plenty of threads on these, but I didn't see anything in my search.

I've got the original MagneteK converter/charger in my 17' Bigfoot.

I actually wired the 12V side of my last camper, but some of that has faded, and actually since I wired it myself I understood a little better where everything went.

With this one I have a few questions. Sorry the photo is sideways...

Now obviously someone wrote this stuff in there so you can't tell me for sure what they had in mind, but can you tell me what you would assume each of these fuses are for?

#2 is obviously the water pump. #3 is the furnace. #1 "Ceiling" I would assume means all the light fixtures. Would you agree? #4 "Kitchen"...the fridge only? Or the fridge and the one light fixture under the overhead cabinets in the kitchen?

I'm assuming they wired all these the same way so someone will know.

The other questions I have: the 15amp fuse in #2 Opt Acc is the "fuse battery circuit". Can you explain what that fuses? Is it the main fuse for the 12V coming into the power center from the battery? If so, does it make sense that it would be a 15amp fuse, when there are four other 15amp fuses for the 12V appliances? I mean it seems like if I have four circuits which are fused at 15amps each, that the main battery fuse would be higher amp...Or no?

The reason I was looking at the power center is to see where to connect a fantastic vent/fan. I see there are empty spaces, but no actual terminals to connect any wires. How do I deal with this? The power center I wired in my last camper had a dozen or more terminals all lined up and ready to go.

I know this stuff can get complicated fast...I don't know a ton about electricity but there was a time I was starting to understand it pretty well, so some of it will come back as I get into this again.

Thanks!
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Old 02-15-2016, 07:36 PM   #2
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Name: Francois
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simple...sorta....

first it's called a Power Center....it has an AC fuse panel, DC fuse panel and a converter...

going from left to right the first six positions for fuses (of which you have four) get their poser from the converter WHEN the coach is plugged in...the next three positions (you have one) get their power from the battery all the time. When plugged in the converter charges your battery as well as feed power to the first six postions (through the blue wire)...when unplugged a relay is tripped and the first six get their power from the battery as well.

The reason for all this complicated mess is that DC power from the converter often causes a hum/noise is some appliances like TVs and/or radios....so they supplied you with one circuit of what is called "filtered power"....I'm guessing your red wire will be going to a cigarette plug/TV amtenna gizmo at the rear of the coach...located underside of overhead cabinet curb side of trailer

The fridge if like mine most probably has an inline fuse buried somewhere....the fridge always needs 12V power to run the "black box"...on mine this circuit also powers a couple of lights that stay on even when I remove all fuses!!!

Your fuse marked "Kitchen" probably goes to the hood fan area and takes care of everything there (fan, light, monitors...etc)

You will probably hear shortly that you should get rid of the whole unit and order a PD4045 power center as these converters are junk and routinely overcharge batteries......or you could do like me and just get rid of the converter....connect everything to the battery (ies) and install a smart three way charger.....have fun
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Old 02-15-2016, 07:49 PM   #3
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and a correction....

when I said "buried somewhere" about the fuse for the fridge, above sofa, above dinette and the bathroom (no fuse for those 4 items at panel) I have come to realize that there is a fuse (barrel type) located under the left dinette seat...it's on the main power line as soon as it enters trailer.....that fuse would blow if there was a problem with the above items....along with EVERYTHING else of course as the power center would also loose power
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Old 02-15-2016, 07:54 PM   #4
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Thank you.

There is a cigarette lighter style plug on a surface behind the driver side dinette seat. So calling it a "fuse battery circuit" is just a technical jargon way of confusing me? That would not surprise me. That's where I'll connect my inverter for charging batteries when I'm boondocking (95% of camping for me).

The PD4045 is what I put in my last camper. This would be an easier install since I'm not rewiring the entire thing, but all the same, I think I'll wait on that. We'll see...

So I have two positions left which would be able to get power from the battery and/or shore power, depending on whether I'm plugged in? That should be plenty.

What about terminal posts for those positions? I'm guessing there's something I'd need to buy, to stick in those holes so I can put a fused circuit there?

Thanks again.
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Old 02-15-2016, 08:35 PM   #5
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look.....

take the fuse board off and have a look behind (two screws either side of large blue wire)...I'm guessing it will be more complicated than "sticking something in those holes".....

but really, first thing would be to plug the trailer in, put a voltmeter anywhere and see what voltage that converter is putting out....
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Old 02-15-2016, 09:05 PM   #6
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Alrighty.

Oh come on. Things are always that simple. Especially with electronics.

Thanks.
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Old 02-16-2016, 02:27 PM   #7
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When plugged in, the charger is putting out about 14.2V at the battery.
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Old 02-16-2016, 03:30 PM   #8
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good....

now leave it there like that for 12 to 24 hrs...if it does not drop down to around 13 volts or so you have a reason to get rid of it....it will "fry" your battery/boil out the water/acid in it over a period of time.....if that is the case, you could keep it and "go manual"...that is, when plugged in, disconnect the battery after the first 12-24 hrs (roughly the amount of time it takes to bring a battery to full charge....note these are only "ballpark" values)
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Old 02-16-2016, 05:21 PM   #9
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No I'll hold to you that time estimate!

Ok thanks. In the past it would not have mattered. I never once plugged in my last camper. But I expect to use this one a little differently, since it has so many luxuries.

I'll get out the volt meter again before I go to bed and see where it's at.

Thanks!
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Old 02-17-2016, 01:58 PM   #10
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Well I couldn't stay up late enough to see what happened after 12 hours...so I unplugged it and went to bed. What I did find, though, when I checked the voltage in the morning, was the resting battery at a whopping 11.8V.

So a new battery is in the works.
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Old 02-17-2016, 02:17 PM   #11
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Through your photos, those 15Amp fuses are for DC(i.e. 12volt DC) as my understanding. The words...Opt. Acc. could mean " Optional Accessory" means for future use of an extra 12VDC appliance. The fuse for battery alone couldn't be as low as 15Amp, I've never seen that low anyway and normally for battery, fuses are rated at 30Amp.
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Old 02-17-2016, 02:31 PM   #12
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As I see, in your main control panel, everything is labelled clearly right there, i.e. top part is for 12VDC, bottom for shore power 120VAC. The only thing missing here is fuse for battery 12v. If this battery is in fact your towing vehicle battery, then the panel doesn't need one because it already had somewhere, either under your T.V hood or in your T.V panel. If it is an extra battery, its fuse must be located somewhere closed to it or it could be an in-line fuse...
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Old 02-17-2016, 04:13 PM   #13
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Well, as it's labeled, things aren't totally clear, i.e.. what does "ceiling" mean? How about "kitchen"? I can assume, but it's not completely clear.

But yeah, I understand AC and DC sides of the center. I will have to track down the fuse for the battery. It's not on the cables close to the battery, which worries me. And yeah, that was my concern with that 15amp fuse. If that was for the battery, it seemed way too low. But going back and reading the description, it makes sense to me now what it's for.

The battery is just for the trailer, not the tow vehicle.

Thanks.
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Old 02-17-2016, 04:17 PM   #14
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Oh I just realized why things are so clear to you You're looking at Franswa's setup in his camper. My setup is the photo in my post, and the version of that photo Francois was nice enough to flip upright for me in his post, first photo on the left in his first post. My power center has AC on the left, DC on the right.
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