How do replace my AC unit with a Maxxair fan?

[daboognish88]

I got rid of the rotten old AC unit and want to replace it with a Maxxair. Problem is I don't know how to wire it.
Do I have to run all new wire to the battery (or wherever it runs to) or can I use the same wire but convert it somehow to connect to the Maxxair? I suspect it will be hard to run new wire through this ceiling.
The existing wire from the AC says its
12/2 WG, 600 V, (UL), ETTCOFLEX, TYPE NM

I think the AC only ever ran on shore power. So I'm not sure if this will even connect to the RV marine battery.
Any tips?
Thanks.

[2112]

daboognish88 wrote:
Fish tape! Got it.
Well I removed the old light wire from the fuse box and replaced it with a new one.. wired it to the fan real quick to test it out..touched the fan's negative to the seatbelt bolt.. and voila! Let there be.. wind!
I met some strong resistance. Watt are you thinking, they said. Wire you doing this by yourself, they said. Well I stayed positive and kept myself grounded and wired up my motorOhm on my ohm. Shocking I know. lol Ok I'll show myself out.

Thanks everyone! I'll try that fish tape.

LMAO You do have a good sense of humor

Sometimes I find a fiberglass cable push rod easier to use in some cases.

[daboognish88]

Fish tape! Got it.
Well I removed the old light wire from the fuse box and replaced it with a new one.. wired it to the fan real quick to test it out..touched the fan's negative to the seatbelt bolt.. and voila! Let there be.. wind!
I met some strong resistance. Watt are you thinking, they said. Wire you doing this by yourself, they said. Well I stayed positive and kept myself grounded and wired up my motorOhm on my ohm. Shocking I know. lol Ok I'll show myself out.

Thanks everyone! I'll try that fish tape.

[drsteve]

Amazon

[BarneyS]

If you want to use a metal "fish tape", just unplug from the 110v if you are plugged in, and disconnect the positive or negative cable from the battery. No chance of getting shocked then.
Barney

[daboognish88]

drsteve wrote:

daboognish88 wrote:
I'm sure this is incredibly naive (which is why I'm gathering as much info as I can before doing anything) but what I'm really confused about is how I would connect the positive and negative 16 gauge wires of the fan to the one 16 gauge wire that would normally be running the light or furnace.

Do you have a friend or neighbor who knows about this stuff, and would be willing to lend a hand?

I have a cousin who's a couple of hours away who's an electrician but he's kind of a dick. (Did some bad stuff to another family member.) Ha. I might ask him if I can't figure this out myself. Again I may be naive as to how this works currently but I'm not dumb enough to try anything before fully understanding it. I'm pretty sure I'll get it before long.. especially with all you kind folk's advice! Now I need to figure out how I'm going to run the wires behind the panels. I was thinking of attaching it to some clothes hangers to feed it through the conduit.. but I ehh, I suppose I better use a plastic rod of some sort instead of a metal clothes hanger. lol

[daboognish88]

2112 wrote:
The vehicle frame is ground. The battery negative connection is bonded to the frame. There is no need to run the ground wires back to the fuse panel. They are connected to the frame at a convenient location to reduce line length. This applies to the 12VDC side only. 120VAC is different. All three wires on an AC circuit will return to the panel.

Aha! That makes a lot of sense. That's why there seems to be wires appearing out of nowhere. They must be grounded in a place that I can't get to.
So if I do run new wires I'll have to ground to the chassis.. possibly through the seatbelt bolt?
And yes this will be through the 12vdc system.
Thanks.

[drsteve]

daboognish88 wrote:
I'm sure this is incredibly naive (which is why I'm gathering as much info as I can before doing anything) but what I'm really confused about is how I would connect the positive and negative 16 gauge wires of the fan to the one 16 gauge wire that would normally be running the light or furnace.

Do you have a friend or neighbor who knows about this stuff, and would be willing to lend a hand?

[2112]

The vehicle frame is ground. The battery negative connection is bonded to the frame. There is no need to run the ground wires back to the fuse panel. They are connected to the frame at a convenient location to reduce line length. This applies to the 12VDC side only. 120VAC is different. All three wires on an AC circuit will return to the panel.

[daboognish88]

SoundGuy wrote:

daboognish88 wrote:
I'm sure this is incredibly naive (which is why I'm gathering as much info as I can before doing anything) but what I'm really confused about is how I would connect the positive and negative 16 gauge wires of the fan to the one 16 gauge wire that would normally be running the light or furnace.

There isn't just one wire running anything, you need two - one for positive, another for negative. If this basic electricity fact escapes you then it's a pretty good indication you ought to leave this to someone who does understand electrical wiring. 😉

I know it needs a positive and negative that's why I asked the question pertaining to why I only see one wire. There is only one wire coming out of the fuse box labeled "furnace". So what I'm really wondering is if there is another wire coming from somewhere else that serves as the "ground".
I know not to do anything before I fully understand it and if that day never comes than so be it.. but I'm pretty sure given enough study I will figure this out. Thanks for help though. 😛

[SidecarFlip]

SoundGuy wrote:

daboognish88 wrote:
I'm sure this is incredibly naive (which is why I'm gathering as much info as I can before doing anything) but what I'm really confused about is how I would connect the positive and negative 16 gauge wires of the fan to the one 16 gauge wire that would normally be running the light or furnace.

There isn't just one wire running anything, you need two - one for positive, another for negative. If this basic electricity fact escapes you then it's a pretty good indication you ought to leave this to someone who does understand electrical wiring. 😉

After following along, I believe you have the correct answer.

[SoundGuy]

daboognish88 wrote:
I'm sure this is incredibly naive (which is why I'm gathering as much info as I can before doing anything) but what I'm really confused about is how I would connect the positive and negative 16 gauge wires of the fan to the one 16 gauge wire that would normally be running the light or furnace.

There isn't just one wire running anything, you need two - one for positive, another for negative. If this basic electricity fact escapes you then it's a pretty good indication you ought to leave this to someone who does understand electrical wiring. 😉

[daboognish88]

I'm sure this is incredibly naive (which is why I'm gathering as much info as I can before doing anything) but what I'm really confused about is how I would connect the positive and negative 16 gauge wires of the fan to the one 16 gauge wire that would normally be running the light or furnace.

[daboognish88]

Correction: my motorhome USED to have a furnace but no longer does. I thought it was run off 110 volt shore power but it actually runs off the house battery. I just noticed too that there is no wire running the lights from the 12 volt fuse box. Its missing.. at least at that spot.. and there is no fuse and one of the prongs for the fuse holder is broken. I thought I recalled at least one of the lights working at one point when I got the van which leads me to wonder if the previous owner just wired the lights to the furnace fuse when original light fuse holder broke. I'll have to investigate. But seeing as how the light fuse prongs are damaged I should probably get a new fuse box first anyway.

[daboognish88]

SoundGuy wrote:

As I said, if it were me I'd just pull +/- 12 vdc from a nearby overhead light and be done with it ... now that's "simple". 😉

daboognish88 wrote:
Yea I decided I'm just going to leave the original AC wire alone in case I or someone else ever wants to reinstall AC.
I've tried going from a nearby light but the wire must be damaged somewhere along the line.

That makes no sense - if the light works there has to be +/- 12 vdc at the light so just tap off that source.

The light doesn't work. I originally thought it might have been a blown bulb but alas. So unless there's another way I think I'm going to have to run a new wire.