12 volt plugs
Our 2013 Thor Chateau 31L Class C motorhome has two 12 volt plugs on the dash. Does anyone know if these are connected to the house batteries? Is there a simple and easy way to check besides trying to...
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Those sockets are part of the Ford chassis, so are almost certainly connected to the chassis battery and not the house battery. Thor would have had to do some significant rewiring to do otherwise. On the Ford vans, the sockets are generally powered all the time, not just when the ignition is on (as with some vehicles)...at least, that's how it is on the older model years.
There are a few fairly easy ways to check. One is to turn off the house battery disconnect switch and see if they go dead. Another is to check their voltage when connected to shore power: the house battery and house electrical system should be at the voltage put out by the converter (13+ V) while the chassis battery most likely will be at its resting voltage (12.5 V maybe). If the chassis electrical system is also at 13+ V, it means you have some sort of a setup to charge the chassis battery from the converter, which is a handy feature to have.
A third would be to pull the fuse in the Ford fuse box for the accessory socket(s) and see if they go dead. Finding out which fuse or fuses this is may be easier said than done.
As smkettner wrote, installing a socket is quite straightforward once you've got power to where you want it. Some are designed to be grounded through their mounting screws, which probably will necessitate rigging up a ground lead to the shell or mounting bracket of the socket.
There are a few fairly easy ways to check. One is to turn off the house battery disconnect switch and see if they go dead. Another is to check their voltage when connected to shore power: the house battery and house electrical system should be at the voltage put out by the converter (13+ V) while the chassis battery most likely will be at its resting voltage (12.5 V maybe). If the chassis electrical system is also at 13+ V, it means you have some sort of a setup to charge the chassis battery from the converter, which is a handy feature to have.
A third would be to pull the fuse in the Ford fuse box for the accessory socket(s) and see if they go dead. Finding out which fuse or fuses this is may be easier said than done.
As smkettner wrote, installing a socket is quite straightforward once you've got power to where you want it. Some are designed to be grounded through their mounting screws, which probably will necessitate rigging up a ground lead to the shell or mounting bracket of the socket.
