12 volt wiring is like plumbing with acid

"SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media" (silentbutnotreallydeadly) 04/17/2019 at 01:52 • Filed to: 12 volt Hell

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...and I appear to suck at it. Even when I know what I’m doing...

The ute end...

So... we have the use of Mum’s camper. And it’ll be taken out straight after Easter using the Nissan farm ute.

However , the power connection to the camper is ‘ 7 pin round large’. The connector on the Nissan was 7 pin flat and the plug appeared to have been hit with a hammer. The ute had also once had a brake controller...but not anymore.

The camper...

Todays job was to fit the new brake controller and complete the wiring to the new plug on the ute. That bit was quite straightforward as all the wiring was in place. So no worries there...

However, when it came to testing...failure. All the lights are good but the brake control signal wire was ‘disconnected’ according to the controller.

Then I found that the signal wire was live. That’s not right. And so was the reverse signal wire. That wasn’t right either. But that was easy to explain because that wire was going straight to the battery for some mysterious reason. And it was twinned with the brake control wire...they were shorted.

And that was on me. When I soldered and covered a cable join, I was tardy with the tape and bzzzt between the two cables . Sod it. Easy fix given I’d nearly dismantled everything anyway...but it turned a 1.5 hour job into a 3 hour trudge.

Now the brake controller works...no idea if the camper brakes work though!!

But at least we can go camping.

The camper end...

HammerheadFistpunch > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 04/17/2019 at 02:17

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Im getting better at it, but its still no fun.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > HammerheadFistpunch 04/17/2019 at 02:34

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I’m about to build a quick and dirty VSR board so we can run our power pack as a 2nd battery in the Nissan...wish me luck!

HammerheadFistpunch > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 04/17/2019 at 02:36

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best of luck.  Im buying my parts for my complet sub panel soon. I’ve finally got my design dialed, my parts list compiled and Im ready to spend money and do lots and lots of wire cutting.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > HammerheadFistpunch 04/17/2019 at 02:41

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Oh let the fun begin then!

Ive just found something easier...

HammerheadFistpunch > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 04/17/2019 at 03:09

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like a redarc but actually affordable?

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > HammerheadFistpunch 04/17/2019 at 03:33

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Yeah but less reliable than Redarc . It’s also not water resistant, requires clean and clear air and preferably ignition switching to turn on.

All of which doesn’t trouble the VSR so that’s what I have gone back to.

I'll use the DC DC charger one day...

pip bip - choose Corrour > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 04/17/2019 at 03:54

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you know more about wearing than me.

like Manuel, i know nothing.

shop-teacher > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 04/17/2019 at 07:13

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I can never manage to solder anything, without burning the crap out of m y fingers

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > pip bip - choose Corrour 04/17/2019 at 07:59

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Wiring is wearing... plumbing is fucked.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > shop-teacher 04/17/2019 at 08:03

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It's not hard once you realise you can't heat wire with your will and bare fingers.

pip bip - choose Corrour > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 04/17/2019 at 08:20

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i meant to write wiring there, not wearing

Snuze: Needs another Swede > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 04/17/2019 at 09:16

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I do electriciman soldering - the bigger the glob, the better the job!

DipodomysDeserti > SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media 04/17/2019 at 09:29

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I’m currently trying to unfuck the wiring in my sixty year-old house. I like working on motorcycles a lot more.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > DipodomysDeserti 04/17/2019 at 09:31

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The wiring in my house is 24o volt AC. For that, I pay an electrician...