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Old 07-23-2021, 01:42 PM   #1
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12 volt wiring

I am trying to add a USB power receptacle on my side of the bed. Why in the world not put one on both sides? I have 2 "schematic, electrical 12 volt" that I got from Jayco but neither of them actually identify the color of the wire or the color of the ground. It appears that "the bedroom area" is attached to fuse #6 and the color is identified as yellow. Does that mean the main power to this area is all associated with a yellow "hot" wire? I have identified a yellow wire behind the paneling next to the bed, but where is the ground. The receptacle I have purchase is the same as the others used in the rig but it has a red and a black wire. Also behind the same paneling, there is an assortment of other wires including a number of white wires, a red wire, one red with a white stripe, and a green wire. The schematic also says the reading light over the bed is on the same circuit and it has a black wire and a wire. It shouldn't be this complicated to add a simple 12-volt receptacle. In my old VW bus, the owner's manual had a wiring diagram with every wire identified by its color so I could trace a wire from the front to the back of the car. Can you help?
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Old 07-23-2021, 03:59 PM   #2
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What does your meter show?
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Old 07-23-2021, 04:17 PM   #3
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12 volt wiring

So far all I've done is to pull the AC outlet out so I can see into the space behind it. All I've been able to see are strands of braided wire of various colors.
How will a meter help me identify the ground?

Thanks
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Old 07-23-2021, 04:36 PM   #4
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White wires should be the ground. That is why you see a lot of white wires. Put the black(negative) lead of the meter on white and red(positive) lead of meter on each of the other colored wires. This will let you know what voltage you are dealing with.
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Old 07-23-2021, 04:39 PM   #5
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I agree, they should put a 12V outlet on both sides of the bed.

The TT chassis is the common ground, there is no common ground wire that runs along with all the DC hot wires. This is a common 12V wiring practice in the automotive world. Jayco takes the ground from the device and run it directly to the TT chassis. Sometimes they will daisy chain a few items together that run down to the chassis.

You will need to run a short piece of white 14 gauge wire from your new device to another white ground wire, or directly to the chassis. I would strongly recommend verifying the wire your are tapping into is the ground.

Good Luck
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Old 07-23-2021, 05:09 PM   #6
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12 volt wiring

So run a wire from the chassis and use a meter to check for continuity? There are a bunch of white wires visible behind the wall. Do you have any idea if the color section on the wiring schematic refers to the primary wire color of that circuit?
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Old 07-23-2021, 07:48 PM   #7
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I am trying to add a USB power receptacle on my side of the bed. Why in the world not put one on both sides? I
Assuming there is a receptacle on the other side of the bed. Can you get to it and its wring? what about jumping the wires from that receptacle and running the wires to the new receptacle. Wire the new receptacle the same as existing. As others mention, white wire is generally ground.
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Old 07-23-2021, 10:05 PM   #8
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So run a wire from the chassis and use a meter to check for continuity? There are a bunch of white wires visible behind the wall. Do you have any idea if the color section on the wiring schematic refers to the primary wire color of that circuit?
Not uncommon to have a bunch of white wires running along side each other. I bet if you follow them down they will all attach at the chassis. Sometimes they daisy chain them together.

If you want to use an existing white wire. Check it for continuity to the trailer frame. Just to verify it is a ground wire.
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Old 07-26-2021, 12:11 PM   #9
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Hi,new to this site. I have a 2016 Jayco Greyhawk 29 MV. I am getting a fairly large parasitic draw on my chassis battery. I put a meter between my - battery cable and my - post on the battery. I had it set m/a instead of amps and blew the fuse. Next I installed my test light between the - cable and the negative post and it lit up. I pulled 1 fuse at a time to try and isolate the circuit but none of the fuses pulled made the light go off. The aux start button doesn't work either. I have tested the solenoid on the fire wall and it is ok. Is there something I am missing? Is there wiring and another solenoid somewhere? Is there a panel on my steps I can pull. Thanks, Chuck
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Old 07-26-2021, 12:15 PM   #10
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In my old VW bus, the owner's manual had a wiring diagram with every wire identified by its color so I could trace a wire from the front to the back of the car.

German Engineering.


Like others have said, white is ground. Your multimeter will help.
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Old 07-27-2021, 05:26 PM   #11
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That's what I grew up with but I'm flexible. see previous "12 volt wiring" thread.
OK, another adventure in do-it-yourself projects. I was able to confirm that the white wires are indeed ground wires. But then I assumed that the colored wires would all be hot wires right? Using a 12-volt tester, one with an alligator clip on one end and a sharp probe on the other, I connected to the ground wire and stuck the probe into each of the wires one at a time, and none of them were hot. Everything else is working, I pulled to fuse for the room, and everything in the row when off. I tried turning every switch on and off but still no hot wire. What in the world am I missing?
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Old 07-27-2021, 08:27 PM   #12
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So far all I've done is to pull the AC outlet out so I can see into the space behind it. All I've been able to see are strands of braided wire of various colors.
How will a meter help me identify the ground?

Thanks
I found these to be a great help in identifying the wires...

EDIT: I'm talking about the two black and red hooks that replace the leads on your digital multi meter. When I bought these, it was only the hooks. It looks like they include more now..

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07R8...b_b_asin_title
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Old 08-04-2021, 11:58 AM   #13
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If you have a USB on the other side of bed, pull it out and see what color the wires are on it. Might be able to determine what wires to look for.
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Old 08-04-2021, 12:08 PM   #14
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I found these to be a great help in identifying the wires...

EDIT: I'm talking about the two black and red hooks that replace the leads on your digital multi meter. When I bought these, it was only the hooks. It looks like they include more now..

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07R8...b_b_asin_title

Nice addition to tool suite. No more needing 3-4 hands to get a voltage reading. Going to get a pair.
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Old 08-04-2021, 12:19 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by felidoc1 View Post
So far all I've done is to pull the AC outlet out so I can see into the space behind it. All I've been able to see are strands of braided wire of various colors.
How will a meter help me identify the ground?

Thanks
Take a DMM (digital multi-meter) and plug the leads in. I always plug the red lead in the red spot and black lead in the black spot. Set the meter to VDC. Hold the red lead on the + terminal of your car battery which probably has a red connection and the black lead on the - terminal on the battery. The DMM should show 12 to 14 volts. Now reverse the leads red to - and black to +. The DMM should now read -12 to 14 volts. That’s how you identify which is hot and which is ground with a DMM.
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Old 08-04-2021, 12:26 PM   #16
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Why do you need a 12v source? A standard 120v residential receptacle with built in usb charging works better.
You will also have the ability to have usb ports that will put out higher amperage for the newer phones and tablets.
My 19 Whitehawk only has USB on one side of the bed also.
My power hungry samsung takes for ever to charge when plugged in on that side.
The popup power station by the sink won't charge my phone at all. The green led just flashes.
Im thinking the usb ports jayco installed probably put out less that 1 amp.
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Old 08-04-2021, 12:40 PM   #17
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Why do you need a 12v source? A standard 120v residential receptacle with built in usb charging works better.
You will also have the ability to have usb ports that will put out higher amperage for the newer phones and tablets.
My 19 Whitehawk only has USB on one side of the bed also.
My power hungry samsung takes for ever to charge when plugged in on that side.
The popup power station by the sink won't charge my phone at all. The green led just flashes.
Im thinking the usb ports jayco installed probably put out less that 1 amp.
If you go the outlet route, you need 120v or an inverter. If you use 12volts, you can charge a usb device with the 12volt battery
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Old 08-04-2021, 12:45 PM   #18
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If you go the outlet route, you need 120v or an inverter. If you use 12volts, you can charge a usb device with the 12volt battery
Ya that makes sense if he needs to charge just off his battery.
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Old 08-04-2021, 12:56 PM   #19
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If your unsure what the ground is, put your meter in ohms, then put one lead on the any ground in the panel and then touch the wires behind the outlet until you get a reading, or some meters will make noise when two wires are connected.
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Old 08-04-2021, 01:44 PM   #20
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i added these to both sides of the bed outlets.. Cheap and easy..
https://www.amazon.com/LENCENT-Exten...106080&sr=8-41
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