I have a new Jayco FW and my Winegard Satellite dish doesn't work when I hook it up to the outside cable connection. If I run the cable through the door and hook it up to the Direct TV box, it searches for a signal, locks in and works fine. Presto...300+ stations. Hook it up the right way and nothing...dead.I have it back to the dealer and they can't seem to find the problem. They've had it several weeks doing several warranty repairs but haven't fixed the TV problem and seem lost about solving the problem. I'm sure it's a bad connection somewhere or a bad spot in the cable....but where? There's been talk about maybe being forced to run a new cable, but I'm not very keen about tearing this trailer apart to run a new cable. I'm thinking it might be better to run new cable on the bottom side of the trailer along the framework then up through the floor somewhere then to rip apart interior paneling. Any one have any thoughts about this?

IBcarguy wrote:I have a new Jayco FW and my Winegard Satellite dish doesn't work when I hook it up to the outside cable connection. If I run the cable through the door and hook it up to the Direct TV box, it searches for a signal, locks in and works fine. Presto...300+ stations. Hook it up the right way and nothing...dead.I have it back to the dealer and they can't seem to find the problem. They've had it several weeks doing several warranty repairs but haven't fixed the TV problem and seem lost about solving the problem. I'm sure it's a bad connection somewhere or a bad spot in the cable....but where? There's been talk about maybe being forced to run a new cable, but I'm not very keen about tearing this trailer apart to run a new cable. I'm thinking it might be better to run new cable on the bottom side of the trailer along the framework then up through the floor somewhere then to rip apart interior paneling. Any one have any thoughts about this?r u sure the outside connection is for satellite and not a park's cable tv system?

You probably have the wrong end of a wire. If the outside connection is for cable, then it is set up for park cable, not a dedicated satellite connection. If you connect your satellite, and do not get a signal at you receiver, either it is the wrong wire, or the connectors are bad. a little continuity checking will find your problem.

Check the connections outside my last Jayco had two connections, satellite & cable, next to each other, make sure your on the right connector.

Most RVs have a outside park cable connection only. If your is wired for satellite you will have two outside connections. One for park cable and the other for satellite. Check and make sure you have two if not you are not wired for satellite. And the only way is to run a separate cable for satellite use. Also if you have a single cable connection it most likely has some splitters in it so satellite will not work.

Ditch your Current Directv box and get the Genie system with wireless mini-Genies. I have that system and it doesn't use the trailer wiring. All the mini-Genies plug into the HDMI port of the TV. And each TV can watch a different channel. We love ours.

Satelite wiring in FW dead | Good Sam Community

rk911
Explorer
Oct 08, 2017
IBcarguy wrote:
I have a new Jayco FW and my Winegard Satellite dish doesn't work when I hook it up to the outside cable connection. If I run the cable through the door and hook it up to the Direct TV box, it searches for a signal, locks in and works fine. Presto...300+ stations. Hook it up the right way and nothing...dead.
I have it back to the dealer and they can't seem to find the problem. They've had it several weeks doing several warranty repairs but haven't fixed the TV problem and seem lost about solving the problem. I'm sure it's a bad connection somewhere or a bad spot in the cable....but where? There's been talk about maybe being forced to run a new cable, but I'm not very keen about tearing this trailer apart to run a new cable. I'm thinking it might be better to run new cable on the bottom side of the trailer along the framework then up through the floor somewhere then to rip apart interior paneling. Any one have any thoughts about this?

r u sure the outside connection is for satellite and not a park's cable tv system?
Johno02
Explorer
Oct 08, 2017
You probably have the wrong end of a wire. If the outside connection is for cable, then it is set up for park cable, not a dedicated satellite connection. If you connect your satellite, and do not get a signal at you receiver, either it is the wrong wire, or the connectors are bad. a little continuity checking will find your problem.
Edd505
Explorer
Oct 08, 2017
Check the connections outside my last Jayco had two connections, satellite & cable, next to each other, make sure your on the right connector.
copeland343
Explorer
Oct 08, 2017
Most RVs have a outside park cable connection only. If your is wired for satellite you will have two outside connections. One for park cable and the other for satellite. Check and make sure you have two if not you are not wired for satellite. And the only way is to run a separate cable for satellite use. Also if you have a single cable connection it most likely has some splitters in it so satellite will not work.
azdryheat
Explorer
Oct 08, 2017
Ditch your Current Directv box and get the Genie system with wireless mini-Genies. I have that system and it doesn't use the trailer wiring. All the mini-Genies plug into the HDMI port of the TV. And each TV can watch a different channel. We love ours.
shastagary
Explorer
Oct 08, 2017
if you only have a cable input here is one way some people have modified there cable input to be used as a satellite input. click cable to satellite mod
IBcarguy
Explorer
Oct 08, 2017
I have 2 connections, one for cable and one for satellite. When I first got the Winegard, it worked but only for a short time. Somewhere is a bad connection but they are reluctant to start tearing the trailer apart looking for it.
Bill_Satellite
Explorer II
Oct 08, 2017
Sounds like you have already done a good diagnostic so if you can't fix the cable, no one here can either.
If there a way to get a new cable to where the receiver is located? It does not need to come from the same location. Depending upon where the receiver is located you could run it from a storage bay or the firewall or even feed it through a slide rubber gasket when you are parked. Since the original cable never worked properly I would at least just look at each end of the cable connection to see if it's loose or crushed. You can't make it any worse than not working and you might find a bad connection. You might also want to test to make sure it's wired right and that the satellite coax and Cable coax were not reversed.
Second_Chance
Explorer II
Oct 08, 2017
Several of us on the Grand Design forum were having similar problems with the coax runs for satellite in our rigs. My solution - and implemented by a dozen others with success - was to use a "through-hull" coax port in the floor of the slide where the entertainment center is with new coax from that to the satellite receiver inside. For the newer automatic antennas that use the same coax cable for signal, power and control, it's best to use quad-shielded coax cable for both the inside and outside runs, too. Having bypassed the cheap coax, poor connections, and long runs of the OEM cabling, we now have zero issues with our satellite TV system.

Rob
IBcarguy
Explorer
Oct 08, 2017
The entertainment center is located in a slide out and for now, I've been running the cable from the dish through the rubber seal and up to the receiver box which works fine, but I'd rather have a more permanent set up. Rather than let them tear things apart, I think rather than use the original connection on the other side of the trailer and run new coax, I'll just install a connection in or near the slide out that hooks directly to the box.
Rob - where would I come up with a "through hull" coax port that you mentioned? The floor or slide out wall is thicker than most couplings used to hook up coax.
thanks

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