12v Outlet in R-29 Forward Cabin

[LADYBUG TOO]

Andrew,

I fished the ground wire(definitely not the neutral) from the 120v system but still don't have power at the 12v outlet. Can you tell me where the B+ is fed from. There is a yellow #12 connected to the B+ on the outlet. Do i need to get into the bilge to trace it?? Pat, Ladybug Too

 

[Levitation]

I don't have a 29 so I'm talking out of school here...
Andrew may be gone for the weekend...
The infamous 120 volt ground versus the 12 volt circuit has been a problem for folks...
For 12 VDC you need a ground wire to the negative pole of the battery set not the 120...
And a +12 wire from the breaker or fuse controlling that plug(s)... And it needs to be turned on or a good fuse...
So, until Andrew can help you use these comments to guide you in looking for the problem...

My first inclination would be to run a test wire from the battery negative to that plug and use an alligator jumper to hook it up to see if the negative is the problem... Any old wire will do for testing...
If it cures the problem, then you have a wiring error on the 12 volt ground circuit from the factory (possible, but by now they should have cured that particular glitch)
If it is not the problem, then you don't have +12 all the way to the plug and you need to solve that.. Trace the + wire to the breakers/fuse and then ot the batteries....

denny-o

 

[hlgearheart]

Andrew,

I fished the ground wire(definitely not the neutral) from the 120v system but still don't have power at the 12v outlet. Can you tell me where the B+ is fed from. There is a yellow #12 connected to the B+ on the outlet. Do i need to get into the bilge to trace it?? Pat, Ladybug Too

Hi there, The 12V outlet should have a red 10 gauge and yellow 10 gauge wire going to it. Yellow is ground. It sounds like the red wire has come loose and fallen down into the hole. I will look tomorrow and see what would be the easiest way to find that red wire.

Howard

 

[LADYBUG TOO]

Problem solved thanks to hlgearhart. My hard head still has trouble accepting yellow as aground but battery negative is not necessarily the same. I finally got enough light through the fixture mounting hole to see the red lead. I fished it out and sure enough, the crimp was weak on the connector. A little squeeze and she is back in business. I spent a lot of time trying to make the task tougher than it was. After hlgearhart's post, it took all of ten minutes.

Thanks again. This site really helps solve problems. Pat, Ladybug Too

 

[thataway]

Boat wiring can be confusing--and battery negative can be either black or yellow (new convention--so it is not confused with the "hot" in 120/240 volts). Ground is generally green, both in bonding and the ground in the 120 volt system.