Electrical wiring question for Wolf Pup 2018 16BHS

OregonMan wrote:
My 2018 Wolf Pup 16BHS needs some repairs, including to some wiring. The trailer came with a C02 detector that was connected with wiring underneath the fridge. This thing would beep at me relentlessly whenever the trailer battery got low and it didn't have an off switch. During a trip I got frustrated and ripped it out of the wall, leaving a couple exposed wires. This is a safety concern and I'm hoping someone knows the best method of dealing with these ripped wires - is taping them together with electrical tape and capping them off enough, or do I need to go in there and remove the wires entirely? I essentially have 0 electrical wiring experience. Thanks for any tips here.

The safety concern should be the lack of a CO detector. Reconnect the detector and figure out your battery problem.

Here is my tip regarding electrical wiring:

If there are TWO wires, don't connect them together. That would be the same as ONE wire. If only one wire was needed, there wouldn't be two.

:C

Huntindog wrote:

MFL wrote:
Just so you know, depleting your camper battery continually, to a low state of charge, will use up it's overall life quickly.

He has probably already damaged it, as he stated it was pretty lame

Agree, likely, but if too late for current battery, the FYI will help protect new replacement battery.

A small generator would be a great investment, for a person that boondocks often.

Jerry

If the wires are still exposed, you may want to consider not abandoning them but repurposing them. You can add a small 12-volt LED light with switch or maybe a simple USB charger port. However, first deal with the repeated low battery issue as you shouldn't be finding or placing yourself in that predicament too often.

Just so you know, depleting your camper battery continually, to a low state of charge, will use up it's overall life quickly.

Thank you for the advice - I did buy a replacement portable C02 detector. Definitely agree they are important, but I wanted a model that wouldn't rely on the battery because sometimes I boondock without power and frankly the battery my trailer came with is pretty lame (doesn't seem to hold much power). The replacement C02 detector runs off of batteries so it will work without being wired to the trailer. I'll go in there and tape and cap the the wires off just to be safe.

That might actually be a LP gas AND Carbon Monoxide detector.

I would concur with replacing the detector especially for Carbon Monoxide which is colorless and odorless and will kill you.

LP gas detector is also important, LP gas is heavy and falls to the lowest level (your floor) and the concentration can build up to explosion/fire saturation level before you ever smell it very quickly.

As far as the wires, they should be 12V, not a big safety hazard so you can use some electrical rated black tape to wrap around the individual wires and push them into the opening.

For Carbon Monoxide detectors, I prefer the ones that have a digital display and have battery operation (drycell).

Like this one..


HERE for $20

The digital display will show a reading way before the alarm will sound so you can take action well before the alarm level. This display is very good to have since due to a lot of nuisance alarms in the past the alarm trip levels have been rolled back to higher PPM levels.

All new CO detectors have a built in End Of Life alarm which disables the detector after 10 yrs of the first power on and it must be replaced.

Agree with Jerry. Not having the CO detector is also a safety issue. It is there for a reason. And taping off the wires is fine if you choose to not replace the detector. Beeping is due to CO detector end of life time reached and needs to be replaced, or from low battery voltage.

I’ve been RVing for quite a while and the biggest safety upgrade during those years is a CO2 detector. Reinstall!

The reason it didn't have an off switch, is because it should not be turned off. It is designed to beep, when battery gets low, but most important is to save your life from CO. You should reinstall it, or at the least, buy a portable model, to replace it.

To answer your question, yes you can tape the wires off separately, to keep them from touching.

Jerry