Bill Moeller - RV Electrical Systems: A Basic Guide to Troubleshooting, Repairing and Improvement

For RVers who remain mystified by their RVs electrical systems120-volt alternating current (AC) and 12-volt direct current (DC)this book is a godsend. It provides a better understanding of what electricity is and what it does.

This problem-solving reference answers questions such as: Why do interior lights dim or burn out rapidly? and, Why wont the batteries recharge after a night without electricity? It tells you how to repair and improve electrical systems; how to troubleshoot faulty brakes, taillights, and house circuits; how to detect dangerous shorts, faulty grounds, inadequate connections, malfunctioning switches, dead battery cells, or current leakage; and much more.

This book could save your vacation, or even your life.

Ragged Mountain Press
Camden, Maine

Copyright 1995 by Bill and Jan Moeller. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-07-182996-0
MHID: 0-07-182996-2

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Electricity in residences is taken for granted because it is always there, except for the rare power outage, and accessing it requires nothing more than flicking a switch or plugging in an electrical appliance. In an RV, however, electricity is not quite so straightforward. RVers themselves are responsible for bringing electrical power to the RV, which they do when they plug into a campgrounds electrical hookup. Additionally, there are two electrical systems to deal with: the familiar, 120-volt alternating current (AC), the type supplied to residences; and the often not so familiar 12-volt direct current (DC) supplied by the RVs batteries.

How these systems operate and interact is a mystery to many RVers; it is for them that this book is written. It provides a better understanding of what electricity is and what it does. It contains information that helps solve electrical problems that sometimes occur: why interior lights dim or burn out too rapidly, why batteries wont charge properly after a night without an electrical hookup, why there is no power, why batteries die sooner than expected, why there isnt adequate voltage at a campsite. The book explains how to make repairs to both systems, what tools and equipment are needed, and how to improve and upgrade RV electrical systems.

It will be obvious to those with a knowledge of electricity that the more esoteric aspects of the subjectcolumbs, joules, inductive and capacitive reactance, to name a feware omitted, and that we do not delve too deeply or at all into certain theorems and laws. Anything left out, however, in our opinion, is not necessary to a basic understanding of RV electrical systems. The book also does not discuss automotive electrical systems unless such systems directly relate to the RVs electrical functions. Ignition systems are not discussed because their function is relevant only to the vehicles engine operation; alternators are discussed because they are relevant to charging the RV batteries.

Our aim has been to keep this book as simple as possible while still enabling readers to thoroughly understand what constitutes RV electrical systems, how they work, and what to do when they dont. We have arranged the material so that, once read, the book can be used as a reference.

So many people have given of their time and knowledge to help us in the preparation of this book; we couldnt have done the job without them.

We deeply appreciate the assistance of David Smead of Ample Power Company, and David Diamond of Country Coach, Inc., and we apologize for the numerous occasions we interrupted the work of these two busy gentlemen with our queries.

Noel Kirkby of RV Solar Electric, Neil Fridley of Cruising Equipment Company (CECO), and Keith Mann of MagneTek offered invaluable constructive criticism after reading sizable portions of the text.