OTA Antenna Power Source

[270S]

See picture - Does anyone know where the 12Vdc power source originates when the wall plate button is pushed in (turns on) by the King Over-the-Air Antenna? Which fuse on CB panel, hard wired, …

[bubbles]

In my GT 378 it's in the BCC (battery control center box) under the steps.

[270S]

Originally Posted by bubbles

In my GT 378 it's in the BCC (battery control center box) under the steps.

Is it one of the Stand alone hard wired fuses in my picture?


FYI,I installed a covered bus and moved all of the hard wired items off so that the Battery disconnect actually disconnects the battery.

[bubbles]

The battery control center is that box in the center of your picture. Notice it says Battery Control Center (BCC). Pull the cover and you will see a row of fuses within. One of those is my fuse for the booster panel. Not all BCC's are laid out the same so won't try to pinpoint which fuse is yours. This drawing has been referenced numerous times.

[270S]

Originally Posted by bubbles

The battery control center is that box in the center of your picture. Notice it says Battery Control Center (BCC). Pull the cover and you will see a row of fuses within. One of those is my fuse for the booster panel. Not all BCC's are laid out the same so won't try to pinpoint which fuse is yours. This drawing has been referenced numerous times.

Thanks. I forgot there were fuses inside that too. From the labeling, it appears all the items on the picture right side are Ford F53 related and possibly power some dash items like gauges, fans, .... On the left side, the lights are obvious, don't know why they need 15 amp fuses unless other undocumented items are powered by those too. EAP & ESF - obvious, that just leaves AUX.

No the Main DC Panel does not come labeled like that from FR - Wonders of Photoshop.


Update:
Just spoke to Jeff at FR. He said it is supplied from the AUX (blue) wire. I'll test/verify and update if that is not the case, else this is closed.

[270S]

FYI, these are the Ford F53 fuses under the dash by drivers pedal / feet - if this helps anyone in the future. I assume this panel is hard wired to the start battery, but have not had a need to trace it back yet.

[mikedawson]

I have the same issue but in addition the outside radio seems to also have a blown fuse too as it stopped working at the same time so I am hoping that one blue wire AUX fuse fixes them both. On my BCC the label says "Disconnect Battery before removing cover" I am not very electrical inclined but I am assuming there is no reason to disconnect the battery before removing the cover and to switch out fuses, is this correct?

[270S]

Originally Posted by mikedawson

I have the same issue but in addition the outside radio seems to also have a blown fuse too as it stopped working at the same time so I am hoping that one blue wire AUX fuse fixes them both. On my BCC the label says "Disconnect Battery before removing cover" I am not very electrical inclined but I am assuming there is no reason to disconnect the battery before removing the cover and to switch out fuses, is this correct?

The battery disconnect is after the BCC so turning off the disc sw does no good. You would have to disconnect the battery cable. No need to to change a fuse of that low an amperage. However, I would make sure no gasoline fumes are around,...

I do not have a problem, I was just trying to document the problem. One of my inside radios and the outside radio were powered by the hardwired fuses on the battery posts. In my RV, I moved them off and are now on the covered bus bar after the disc sw in the picture - post #3 and here.

See the pics for full documentation as to how & what I did. For you the wires and fuses labeled 2t * 2B plus 4T &4B are the 2 radios power sources. The blue aux inside the BCC is for the TV switch plate power.

[mikedawson]

Originally Posted by 270S

The battery disconnect is after the BCC so turning off the disc sw does no good. You would have to disconnect the battery cable. No need to to change a fuse of that low an amperage. However, I would make sure no gasoline fumes are around,...

I do not have a problem, I was just trying to document the problem. One of my inside radios and the outside radio were powered by the hardwired fuses on the battery posts. In my RV, I moved them off and are now on the covered bus bar after the disc sw in the picture - post #3 and here.

See the pics for full documentation as to how & what I did. For you the wires and fuses labeled 2t * 2B plus 4T &4B are the 2 radios power sources. The blue aux inside the BCC is for the TV switch plate power.

Thanks for the info, while I am at it can I get Jeff at FR phone # from you? I just want to check as my 369 has a 4 battery bank and a bunch of the 12 volt wires are on the battery's in the back portion and are very hard to read and get to so I would rather know which one I am after if possible not to mention the wires are very taught. Eventually I will need to add a system like yours to alleviate this hassle.

Thanks again

Mike

[270S]

Originally Posted by mikedawson

Thanks for the info, while I am at it can I get Jeff at FR phone # from you? I just want to check as my 369 has a 4 battery bank and a bunch of the 12 volt wires are on the battery's in the back portion and are very hard to read and get to so I would rather know which one I am after if possible not to mention the wires are very taught. Eventually I will need to add a system like yours to alleviate this hassle.

Thanks again

Mike

Click on the images and they will get bigger. Both images have the wire colors on them telling you what is what. Again, I moved ALL fused wires of the batteries except the Step wires (25A Green wire and 5A Blue Step Override) that only use power when activated and makes it easier to get into RV, but not absolutely required to be on.

Anyone in service can answer questions. Their phone # is 574-206-7600

[mikedawson]

Originally Posted by 270S

Click on the images and they will get bigger. Both images have the wire colors on them telling you what is what. Again, I moved ALL fused wires of the batteries except the Step wires (25A Green wire and 5A Blue Step Override) that only use power when activated and makes it easier to get into RV, but not absolutely required to be on.

Anyone in service can answer questions. Their phone # is 574-206-7600

Thanks for the info and I did blow up the pics but I was actually referring t my wires in the battery compartment being hard to read since I have a 4 battery bank and they are so far back inside the compartment vice a 2 battery bank rig which has the wires much closer to the door than mine are.

Update, all is fixed.....the bad fuse was of course one way in the back with its fuse holder wedged between a bunch of tightly bound cable wraps...what a PIA to get to but its good to go....the HDTV antenna issue was solved by an answer to my original post asking these questions. in the compartment where the Sat/Ant switch is all the way on the back wall is a brown cover on a brown wall you cant see without a flashlight and moving the ant/sat/cable switch box out of the way. A button on this box must be pressed to get power to the HDTV ant which is total BS cause I had this same switch which is a power booster on my old rig for the old fashioned twist up TV antenna's and I know for a fact the new HDTV ant's have a built in power booster so there is no reason to run it through one of the old fashioned ant. power boosters.....grrrrrrrr....thanks again for your help

[270S]

Not to compare the RV industry to Mercedes, but they have a philosophy of why use 1 part when 15 will do. Glad to have helped.


On anther thread, I'll be posting the results tomorrow or Saturday of my new LED headlights that I just received. http://www.forestriverforums.com/for...-172253-2.html Similar issues - New lights, NO documentation for the wiring color codes positive/negative, but deduced white is negative and grey is positive. Gosh forbid black and red or something similar. Or better yet, label the wires!!!!

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by mikedawson

A button on this box must be pressed to get power to the HDTV ant which is total BS cause I had this same switch which is a power booster on my old rig for the old fashioned twist up TV antenna's and I know for a fact the new HDTV ant's have a built in power booster so there is no reason to run it through one of the old fashioned ant. power boosters.....grrrrrrrr....thanks again for your help

The switch panel is not a power booster but it does supply the 12 volts to the power booster (amplifier) which is located in the antenna, just like your old fashioned twist up TV antenna. Where do you think the power comes from for that built in booster? No difference. And by the way, there's no such thing as a dedicated HDTV over the air RV antenna and if there was then that old fashioned twist up antenna is also an HDTV antenna. Some known facts are just misleading passed down misinformation.

[mikedawson]

Originally Posted by bubbles

The switch panel is not a power booster but it does supply the 12 volts to the power booster (amplifier) which is located in the antenna, just like your old fashioned twist up TV antenna. Where do you think the power comes from for that built in booster? No difference. And by the way, there's no such thing as a dedicated HDTV over the air RV antenna and if there was then that old fashioned twist up antenna is also an HDTV antenna. Some known facts are just misleading passed down misinformation.

Sorry Bubbles but you are incorrect again, the old TV antenna on RV's will not pick up a fraction of the digital channels that the HDTV antenna's will, I've seen it myself when I retrofitted the new ones for the old crack up style....sitting in the same spot at my home I received about 9 channels with the crank up style and then after the retrofit it picked up over 65. Older crank up antenna do not pick up Digital signals correctly but maybe you might want to call it a Digital antenna but HDTV works for me, either name you use they do as they are advertised.

[270S]

Here is the picture of the Antenna Selector Switch and the power On/Off button (green light wall plate) to King External Antenna.

Also the layout diagram shows how everything is cable connected, but not how the 12Vdc power is sent to the King Antenna via the wall plate (green light). The wall plate is in the upper right of the diagram and the King controls just below it. The selector switch front and back is to the left of the King controls.

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by 270S

Here is the picture of the Antenna Selector Switch and the power On/Off button (green light wall plate) to King External Antenna.

Also the layout diagram shows how everything is cable connected, but not how the 12Vdc power is sent to the King Antenna via the wall plate (green light). The wall plate is in the upper right of the diagram and the King controls just below it. The selector switch front and back is to the left of the King controls.

Yes the booster panel goes to a King antenna if one is installed but that drawing is dated 2009 and at that time the antenna installed was the Winegard batwing on Georgetowns. All views (front/back/connections) of the power panel and its interconnect is a Winegard booster panel not a King panel. The OP says that the King antenna has it's own power supply and the booster panel (or similar) is not needed. I think a power panel does come with the King antenna install kit but it would do the same thing as is done with the panel shown and typically when owners switch to the King they just use the existing panel. My panel power comes from the battery control center box (2012 GT) but don't know if still the same on later models.

[270S]

Originally Posted by bubbles

Yes the booster panel goes to a King antenna if one is installed but that drawing is dated 2009 and at that time the antenna installed was the Winegard batwing on Georgetowns. All views (front/back/connections) of the power panel and its interconnect is a Winegard booster panel not a King panel. The OP says that the King antenna has it's own power supply and the booster panel (or similar) is not needed. I think a power panel does come with the King antenna install kit but it would do the same thing as is done with the panel shown and typically when owners switch to the King they just use the existing panel. My panel power comes from the battery control center box (2012 GT) but don't know if still the same on later models.

This industry & FR especially does not provide system documentation to its customers like most professional industries do. The RV industry hardly changes (look at RV designs!) and a 2009 dated drawing is probably the current one with updates typically annotated as time goes and changes made. This is a schematic vs a hard wired diagram (build drawings with frame positions) that usually change multiple times per year for any given model based on serial number.

Regardless, this drawing is 100% how my 2017 FR GT is cabled. The only item I still have to do is find/verify the 12Vdc power sourcing. I don't do trust anymore when it comes to anything RV, just solve or verify. I will start with the Blue Aux fuse in the BCC as FR mentioned to me in a phone call, but will he was not absolute about is so I will continue on if not that one.

[bubbles]

My 2012 GT 378TS is also cabled per this dwg. In fact I have posted this dwg many, many times for issues and used it to incorporate my sat system. My fuse is in the battery control center box, but can't recall if it is in the Blue Ox position. I misspoke when I referenced the OP (you). I meant to reference "mikedawson" posts. Sorry.

[270S]

I checked (verified by Removed, turned on, no power, reinstalled & everything back to normal) that the 15A Fuse in position F9 (Aux Blue) does in fact provide the power to the switch plate that then provides power to the external OTA Antenna. Thread complete.