Help with Electrical
Brand new here, brand new to RV's --- HELP Recently acquired a 1989 Southwind, P-30. Was well taken care of its whole live. Owned it for 3 weeks and took it to a local shop to have it gone through,...
Forum Discussion
I just did a search on the net for "southwind electircal schematics". The first one looked at, a 1996, may be similar and shows the battery scheme and isolation relays. Not sure the link will work. If not, paste the address into your browser.
https://www.google.com/search?q=southwind+electrical+schematic&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiilP6L2IjOAhVRziYKHa87DCYQsAQIHQ&biw=1536&bih=783#imgrc=jl3JWhL_VVoBoM%3A
There are many drawings, just make sure they actually match your MH before believing they are relevant to your problem. I have been led astray by misinformation on the internet.
Also, I'll try to explain how to measure current drain on a battery but I don't know how much you understand about electricity and I don't want to confuse you further. Not sure what level to explain on.
On many meters there are 2 current measurement settings, high or 10 Amp setting and a low or milliamp (mA) setting. Many meters require you to also move the leads to use the high or low current setting.
When using a meter to measure current, don't turn on any high current item. The meter leads can only handle lower currents such as 10 Amps.
Turn off all 12V equipment. Pull the fuse that powers the LP gas detector.
Disconnect the positive cable from all batteries, then using your DVM with switch set to high current and the leads plugged into the high current connections, connect the leads between the battery cable and the battery.
To verify you are properly connected to measure current, turn on a light (not high current item) or more until you see a current reading. If your light doesn't come on or you don't see a reading on the meter, your not connected through the meter. If you do see a reading, turn off the lights and proceed.
If the meter shows no reading on high current, move the leads to the mA connections on the meter and set the meter to the 200 mA position. If no reading, select the next lower current position and so on until you see a reading or you're at the lowest setting.
If you see a reading in the mA ranges or more then there is something drawing current that can run a battery down over time. The smaller the current value the longer it will take. A microamp reading will probably not cause a problem in a short period of time.
I hope this helps and doesn't confuse you. Let us know what you see.
https://www.google.com/search?q=southwind+electrical+schematic&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiilP6L2IjOAhVRziYKHa87DCYQsAQIHQ&biw=1536&bih=783#imgrc=jl3JWhL_VVoBoM%3A
There are many drawings, just make sure they actually match your MH before believing they are relevant to your problem. I have been led astray by misinformation on the internet.
Also, I'll try to explain how to measure current drain on a battery but I don't know how much you understand about electricity and I don't want to confuse you further. Not sure what level to explain on.
On many meters there are 2 current measurement settings, high or 10 Amp setting and a low or milliamp (mA) setting. Many meters require you to also move the leads to use the high or low current setting.
When using a meter to measure current, don't turn on any high current item. The meter leads can only handle lower currents such as 10 Amps.
Turn off all 12V equipment. Pull the fuse that powers the LP gas detector.
Disconnect the positive cable from all batteries, then using your DVM with switch set to high current and the leads plugged into the high current connections, connect the leads between the battery cable and the battery.
To verify you are properly connected to measure current, turn on a light (not high current item) or more until you see a current reading. If your light doesn't come on or you don't see a reading on the meter, your not connected through the meter. If you do see a reading, turn off the lights and proceed.
If the meter shows no reading on high current, move the leads to the mA connections on the meter and set the meter to the 200 mA position. If no reading, select the next lower current position and so on until you see a reading or you're at the lowest setting.
If you see a reading in the mA ranges or more then there is something drawing current that can run a battery down over time. The smaller the current value the longer it will take. A microamp reading will probably not cause a problem in a short period of time.
I hope this helps and doesn't confuse you. Let us know what you see.
