Forum Discussion

melby's avatar
melby
Explorer
Oct 14, 2015

Reverse Polarity- Stereo not working

Hey all
I have a 71 Avion camper parked at an RV more or less year round. I have a car radio hooked up and shortly after I moved into the park, the stereo stopped working. My control panel read "Reverse Polarity". I know a little about the topic, but nothing else has been affected. No shocks, or appliances frying. Any clues?
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Oct 14, 2015
    I'm not getting what a car radio and the stereo have to do with each other.
  • melby's avatar
    melby
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2015
    Sorry, not sure if I'm being clear. There is no car in the situation. I mean to say a stereo you would find in a car. An in dash radio that's in the RV.
  • sch911's avatar
    sch911
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2015
    Measure the radio's input voltage with a voltmeter and see if the polarity is reversed.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Oct 14, 2015
    Does the control panel indicate the 12v system is reversed, or the 120v system?
  • sch911's avatar
    sch911
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2015
    2oldman wrote:
    Does the control panel indicated the 12v system is reversed, or the 120v system?


    Pretty sure that his 1971 system was not capable of doing that....
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Oct 14, 2015
    sch911 wrote:
    2oldman wrote:
    Does the control panel indicated the 12v system is reversed, or the 120v system?
    Pretty sure that his 1971 system was not capable of doing that....
    I only know what he says.
  • melby's avatar
    melby
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2015
    Yeah the panel seems to only feature 12v system items.

    @sch911 I'm working on figuring that out. I'm new to this subject matter.
  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Oct 14, 2015
    Ok, well, 12v stuff does not work well with reverse polarity. 120v is fine.
  • Chris_Bryant's avatar
    Chris_Bryant
    Explorer II
    Oct 14, 2015
    I would guess that it is the 120 volt reverse polarity indicator, and has nothing to do with the radio. Airstream put reverse polarity indicators on their rigs back then, so I don't doubt that Avion would as well- it's just a light hooked between neutral and ground.
  • wolfe10's avatar
    wolfe10
    Explorer
    Oct 14, 2015
    Easy to tell-- unplug from shore power. If light goes out, it is 120 VAC. If it stays on (assuming your battery is not dead) then it is 12 VDC.

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