TV and VCP dc circuits

[Remilisa]

I inherited a 2000 concourse and have been trying to figure out the power supply to the TV vcr and VCP. It seems to have power from two different parts of the rv. Possibly the coach and starter batteries. Does anyone have any information on this. Thanks

[chin_k]

I have a 2000 Concourse, but it is setup differently. Both the TV and the VCP are powered off the inverter, so they are running on 110 V AC. The inverter is connected directly to the coach batteries, without any fuse.

I do not know who it is connected from the factory. Sorry.

[caconcourse]

Welcome Remilisa,

The original TV and VCP circuits are 12 Volt, powered from the coach batteries. There should be a label inside the cover of the "brown box" (power converter/distribution panel) under the sink cabinet, showing the circuits and fuse assignments. The TV and VCP have separate circuits and fuses (20amp). It is quite possible that the original configuration may have changed, since most people have replaced the TV and many have upgraded the original Magnatek Power Converter.

Note that the coach stereo may be wired to the vehicle battery, which can be an unknown battery drain during storage. It is not clear if that was intentional or a mistake, but some were wired that way, including my 2001 Concourse.

Here is a picture of the circuit assignment label:

Origninal Magnatek DC circuit assignments

Clay

[Blue~Go]

On the coach radio, I'm guessing it was intentional. Here's why I say that (this is what I think I know, anyway, I'm no expert): Car stereos have two power leads. One of them is always "hot" and it's what saves the presets and that sort of thing. If that one were wired to the house bank, then every time you put the coach in storage the radio presets and etc. would be lost. Most people would expect it to work like the dash radio (no loss of presets) and presets were likely a bit more important back in the day. So I think that wire was led to the Ford start battery, and the other power wire went to the house bank (I forget the name of the two wires, one is sense IIRC).

But then you put the coach in storage, or you play the radio a bunch while out camping and... oopsie, that's drawing down the start battery. I think that doesn't tend to happen with the regular dash radio because you tend to drive a regular car more often, and you typically use the radio while you are also running the engine.

Thanks to a good post by Bob W, I re-wired my coach stereo to draw from the house battery (both power leads). It was fairly easy. I don't tend to use presets since I'm always in new areas, and I also don't turn off my house batteries very often, so I don't really miss the "advantages" of having the one lead go to the Ford start battery. And no "secret" draw from the start battery by a house item.

[Remilisa]

What does vcp stand for and what electronics were powered by this circuit? Thanks

[Remilisa]

And thanks so much for the replies. I checked the voltages on the TV and vcr power supplies and when the 20amp fuses are in circuit the voltages were the same as the coach 13.6 and fell to 12.5 when disconnected. I guess I will have to disconnect the starter battery to determine if that is the "backup" power that I measure when the fuses are pulled. Does anyone know what powered the antenna booster socket? Thanks

[Remilisa]

Hahaha. Maybe video cassette player? Instead of vcr

[Astrodokk]

That's exactly correct, it doesn't record so they label it as a player only.