Front TV on Holiday Rambler - power bypass?

[MagillaGorilla]

On my 2005 Holiday Rambler MH the TV in the front will not run if the engine is running. I guess this is a safety feature so the driver wont use is 4 foot long neck to stretch it back and watch TV while driving.

When I bought the MH the dealer told me there was a easy way to by pass this but did not tell me what it was. I would like to by pass it because when we tailgate at football games we tend to get stuck in traffic and the guys behind me would like to watch the 1:00 game. This is exactly what we did in my old MH but we cant do in the new one.

Anyone know how to easily bypass this without running power cords all over the place.

[Bill_Satellite]

MagillaGorilla wrote:
On my 2005 Holiday Rambler MH the TV in the front will not run if the engine is running. I guess this is a safety feature so the driver wont use is 4 foot long neck to stretch it back and watch TV while driving.

When I bought the MH the dealer told me there was a easy way to by pass this but did not tell me what it was. I would like to by pass it because when we tailgate at football games we tend to get stuck in traffic and the guys behind me would like to watch the 1:00 game. This is exactly what we did in my old MH but we cant do in the new one.

Anyone know how to easily bypass this without running power cords all over the place.

As mentioned, in most cases you can just access the TV plug and move it to the other plug IF it is a dual plug outlet. If it is not, you will see that there is a standard 120V line running to the outlet plus 2 small 12V wires (check with a meter). Cutting one of those wires will kill the relay that controls that plug and it will work all the time. On rare occasion this is not easy to do or find but it's usually right out in the open. If not, you should be able to find a fuse that is used for this purpose and remove it.

[donfrump]

Iam confused here now? Did the OP ask for legal advise or how to wire Front TV to work all the time as in by pass ignition lock out?

[DrewE]

Laws vary somewhat from state to state. A few states don't regulate TV use in a vehicle; most do. Of those that do, some stipulate that it cannot be in view of the driver, others that it must be physically behind their head (regardless of whether or not they can see it), and probably there are still further variations. That's the technicality of the laws; in practice, I would hope (but not assume, alas) that the vast majority of police officers would exercise a little bit of common sense here and recognize that the intent of the laws is to prevent the driver from being distracted, and that intent is served perfectly well by having the television blocked from the driver's view.

Modern digital broadcasts do not hold up well at all when the receiver is in motion. Stopped in traffic is, of course, a different situation, as is watching other source material like DVDs.

[btilfan]

yep, mine too. just plug the tv into the other receptacle on the same wall socket.

[MagillaGorilla]

Executive wrote:
On mine there are two plugs there. One is hot the other one isn't...if you're in bumper to bumper traffic and a LEO spots you with it on, you're subject to getting a ticket, especially if his team is losing..:W...I believe it's illegal in all states....Dennis

Although this may be true no one here seems to get pulled over for it. Most MH in the line will have the 1:00 game on while they wait in traffic. From my drivers seat you cant see the TV at all.

[Executive45]

On mine there are two plugs there. One is hot the other one isn't...if you're in bumper to bumper traffic and a LEO spots you with it on, you're subject to getting a ticket, especially if his team is losing..:W...I believe it's illegal in all states....Dennis

[Ranger_Smith]

The plug that the TV is plugged into has a 12 volt ignition wire going to it. There is a relay in there. When the ignition is on the relay is energized and disconnects the power. Just disconnect toe 12 volt wire