Alright so we finally made it into Seattle a little over a week ago. Fortunately the park we're staying at has cable. Unfortunately half of the channels we're a bit fuzzy right off the bat. I assumed it must be the park's connection because the day before at the park in Portland it was perfect. Then yesterday it goes completely, just absolutely nothing at all. I still assume it's the park and let them know it's not working.Then today I figure what the hell and break out my extra long cable and hook it straight to the TV, it was perfect. S*&t, Now I know it's my problem! I checked the connection inside first, looked fine. Then I take a closer look at the exterior connection and it looks rough so I hope that's it. Of course not, pull off the cover and the wire looks like it had some kind of blowout. I'm not sure if it was rubbed like that, or melted somehow? I figure what the hell and still try to hook straight to the cable, still nothing. So my question is, how do I go about fixing this? Could I maybe just try to strip the cable below the blowout and put a new connector and a short piece of cable on so it'll reach the exterior connector again(I plan to replace that for sure also)? I imagine trying to run a new cable the same way it's currently run is not feasible? I have a fifth wheel and the exterior connector is on the driver side rear while the TV i in the slide about half way up on the opposite side. I'm open to any suggestions, lol.Thanks for the help, Tim CzarkowskiTotalTravelers.com

I don't understand your pix, You need to re-size to no wider than about 500 pixels.But I can say that IF your coach is equipped with a Winegard antenna and you're connected to cable TV from a terminal on the coach:Your Winegard Panel (the one with your antenna connecton) needs to be OFF. No power indicator light showing.

Sorry about that, those were a bit large eh? lolAnyways I do have the Winegard Antenna, however I have two hookups in the RV, one for the antenna and one for the cable. I tried it run straight from the cable connector into the TV without it making any difference. I tried it with the Winegard Panel both on and off just to be sure. Like I said, two week ago it was perfect, then we got here and it was fuzzy, and now I am getting absolutely nothing on any of the channels.The one on top is the cable and the one on the bottom the antenna.Tim CzarkowskiTotalTravelers.com

Cut off that damaged section of cableStrip it back and add new connector.......use short jumper cable if needed to reach connection on outside panel.

OK, that's what I was thinking. Do you have any idea what might have caused that? I was thinking just motion could cause it to wear through over the eleven years since it was built but it looks like it might have been caused by something else. Whatever it was,the next time it happens I'll be screwed because there won't be enough cable to strip it again. I sure hope that solves the problem, thinking about rewiring it gives me heartburn....... Tim Czarkowski TotalTravelers.com

What caused it is simple. You had/have a corroded or shorted coax cable usually at the connection end and usually at the roof top connection. THAT caused a bleed of 12 volt current, not enough to blow the fuse, but enough to heat up the center copper conductor and cause the coax cable to heat and the melt. Whenever you turned on the Antenna booster that current then flowed. You need to find out why the CABLE input had such back feed of current as the Cable input should never have 12 volt current on it. Only the cable from the booster to the roof antenna should have this current. Doug

Replacing Cable for TV | Good Sam Community

11 Replies

buylow12
Explorer
Jul 17, 2015
Ok, for anyone who might be interested now or in the future. I was finally able to get my cable fixed. I had a RV repairman come out that I found on craigslist and who did some work for me when we first arrived in Seattle. He was able to get behind the the electrical panel on the inside of the fifth wheel so that he could push extra cable out to the exterior jack. This way we were able to cut off more cable and get another new connector on it. Surly that'll fix it right? Nope, the picture was slightly better but still not watchable.

Thankfully when we were unscrewing the interior connection to take a look at it, boom crystal clear. So we replaced that connector also and now my cable is up and running again, without draping a cable through a window or some such.

The moral of the story, check all your connections even if one looks rotted and the other looks perfect, they may both need to be replaced.

Tim Czarkowski
TotalTravelers.com
buylow12
Explorer
Jun 08, 2015
Alright I gave it a shot....... and it didn't work :( I cut the cable up as far as I could and put a new f connector on it and replaced the exterior plate. The channels are coming in now but they're so fuzzy as to be unwatchable. I think that I really needed to take off more of the cable. It was partially melted where I stripped it. It made it much more difficult to get the plastic shield off because of that. I was able to fold back the braided wires but not the aluminum as it was part of that plastic, lol. I think if I just had a couple more inches I would have been able to get to better cable.

So any ideas on how I might be able to do that? I looked underneath there below the cable input and it looks like there is a panel I might be able to remove. There was an opening to the left of it and I felt around up there and felt a couple cables. There is a picture of the area below. I think I'd probably be going beyond my meager abilities removing it, maybe I ought to just pay someone....... :(

Tim Czarkowski
TotalTravelers.com
buylow12
Explorer
Jun 07, 2015
I was thinking maybe the 12v was what caused it. It didn't make sense to me though since the coax is able to carry it to the antenna. However I guess that makes since the cable seems to have already been damaged and so the current didn't have anywhere to go. I suppose it was good it was at the end of the cable and not somewhere else.

I purchased the set below because I'm planning on converting all my florescent lights to led. I assume that tool is probably not sufficient for stripping and crimping coax though. I about to head up to Home Depot and get what I need. Do you think they'll have a new exterior hookup I can use?

I think there is enough cable that I won't have to add an extension on to it. But should I maybe add an extension anyway? That way if something happens again, maybe I could just replace that? As far as I can see there is no other way to get at the cable till it's in that folding thing for the slide. Even then there are a number of cables so I'm 100% on which one is it.

Thanks again,

Tim Czarkowski
TotalTravelers.com
RoyB
Explorer II
Jun 07, 2015
I'm betting that the campground had a wiring problem which caused your trailer frame to be "shocking" hot. The only path back to the pedestal ground was the cable TV connection.

Looks like you have enough room to install a new connector splice.

It will look something like this...

Flag down a local cable TV guy in your neighborhood. He might do it for you for a cup of coffee and some conversations...

Roy Ken
Chris_Bryant
Explorer II
Jun 07, 2015
Are you sure that's the cable outlet? Normally, a separate outlet like that is for satellite, and the cable is connected to the power supply, so with the switch off, the cable signal is fed to all TVs.
Regardless, you do need a new end on the cable inlet- do you have any inside access at all?
sch911
Explorer
Jun 07, 2015
I agree with others cut it off where it's good, then reinstall a new end. Make sure to use the correct tools for the stripping and crimping. These tools are available at Home Depot and Lowes.
dougrainer
Nomad
Jun 07, 2015
What caused it is simple. You had/have a corroded or shorted coax cable usually at the connection end and usually at the roof top connection. THAT caused a bleed of 12 volt current, not enough to blow the fuse, but enough to heat up the center copper conductor and cause the coax cable to heat and the melt. Whenever you turned on the Antenna booster that current then flowed. You need to find out why the CABLE input had such back feed of current as the Cable input should never have 12 volt current on it. Only the cable from the booster to the roof antenna should have this current. Doug
buylow12
Explorer
Jun 07, 2015
OK, that's what I was thinking. Do you have any idea what might have caused that? I was thinking just motion could cause it to wear through over the eleven years since it was built but it looks like it might have been caused by something else. Whatever it was,the next time it happens I'll be screwed because there won't be enough cable to strip it again. I sure hope that solves the problem, thinking about rewiring it gives me heartburn.......

Tim Czarkowski
TotalTravelers.com
Old-Biscuit
Explorer III
Jun 07, 2015
Cut off that damaged section of cable
Strip it back and add new connector.......use short jumper cable if needed to reach connection on outside panel.
buylow12
Explorer
Jun 07, 2015
Sorry about that, those were a bit large eh? lol

Anyways I do have the Winegard Antenna, however I have two hookups in the RV, one for the antenna and one for the cable. I tried it run straight from the cable connector into the TV without it making any difference. I tried it with the Winegard Panel both on and off just to be sure. Like I said, two week ago it was perfect, then we got here and it was fuzzy, and now I am getting absolutely nothing on any of the channels.

The one on top is the cable and the one on the bottom the antenna.

Tim Czarkowski
TotalTravelers.com