Unidentified wires in fridge bay--2000 Dynasty

[Vanwill]

I'm in the process of installing a Samsung RF18 in my 2000 Dynasty 36. Coiled and tacked to the ceiling in the fridge bay are two unidentified wires. One is a coax cable as would be run to a TV. But there is a 12-conductor cable of #18 AWG wires. They do not show on my wiring diagram. Any idea what they were intended for?

[YC1]

Guessing the coax might be for an outside tv. Look closely at the wire bundle with a bright light and magnifier. It might have some information printed on the wires themselves.


In your last issue with the ground I was about to suggest you buy a "fox and hound". With one of those you can connect a signal and then wander around with a non contact probe to find out where the wires go. While traveling earlier this year I lost power to some lights and could not find the fuse. Tapping into another source temporarily was the solution till getting home to my tester. It took less than ten minutes to find the fuse that had blown.


I would be very interested to see where the other end of the coax goes. If it goes to a splitter it could be a source of poor television reception because of the open termination.

[Vanwill]

Myron, I've got one of those "fox and hound" devices, so I'll give it a try. HOWEVER, it is a cheap one, and I've always found it to be hit-or-miss as to whether it will help. Mine was about $35 in Lowe's. I think that cross-talk among wire bundles is what decreases its usefulness. If I'm tracing something over a fairly long distance and the wire is in a bundle, it will USUALLY find the bundle, but seldom the individual wire.

Are there any of those devices that are digital, or otherwise have overcome the cross-talk problem? How much are they? What kind do you have?

[onechaddude]

Van. It could be the "pre-wire" for a satellite dome or dish from the factory. They were planning pulling the wires from the refrigerator vent over to the dish to connect it. Just a thought.

Chad

[Jeff753]

The coax likely runs from the front passenger speaker hole to above the fridge. It's probably an extra pull. I would extend it to the bedroom tv if you can.
The wires may be for bay lights and electric cargo bay door locks. Maybe you can see the bay light wire color. I found premier for bay door locks on my 2001 even though I don't have the locks


Jeff
2001 Dynasty Regent tag axle
Cummins 350 8.3 ISC

[DtBt]

Monacos are full of unused cables for options not installed.

[YC1]

Fox & Houndâ„¢ – 3399
This is the one I use. It has a couple of levels of signal strength.

Originally Posted by Vanwill

Myron, I've got one of those "fox and hound" devices, so I'll give it a try. HOWEVER, it is a cheap one, and I've always found it to be hit-or-miss as to whether it will help. Mine was about $35 in Lowe's. I think that cross-talk among wire bundles is what decreases its usefulness. If I'm tracing something over a fairly long distance and the wire is in a bundle, it will USUALLY find the bundle, but seldom the individual wire.

Are there any of those devices that are digital, or otherwise have overcome the cross-talk problem? How much are they? What kind do you have?

[wa8yxm]

Originally Posted by DtBt

Monacos are full of unused cables for options not installed.

This is true of many motor homes.. It is cheaper, it seems, to have one universal wiring harness that goes into several different models and which powers/serves several assorted options, than to have a different harness, in some cases for each motor home made.

Has to do with the cost of having many different part numbers.

[Yukon Jack]

Vanwill,
The suggestions noted for the coax cable seems to be legitimate ideas.

Relative to the 12 conductor cable, it may be the multi-conductor cable for a Bose DVD Stereo system as Monaco has been known to mount the Bose base-subwoofer that powers the speakers in a variety of odd locations based on the different models and where space is available.

Just a thought.

Merry Christmas and happy RV'g.

Jack

[Vanwill]

Originally Posted by YC1

Fox & Houndâ„¢ – 3399
This is the one I use. It has a couple of levels of signal strength.

Myron, thanks for the tip! That is no doubt better than what I have. I'll get one after Christmas...and Q. Amazon has it for about $150. Does that sound about right?

[Vanwill]

Thanks for everyone's responses!

[jacwjames]

Vanwill,
Try using the google shopping site " Froogle.com ", it will take you to the shopping site. I found a Fox and Hound on there for $79.49, free shipping and no tax.

3399: Triplett - Big Sales, Big Inventory and Same Day Shipping!

Best price I could find, almost thinking of getting one.

This last week I was trying to track down a wiring problem in a new house by BIL just bought, outlet hot but could not find what it controlled, drove me crazy. As a last resort I was going to tear into the wall but time ran out.

[Vanwill]

Originally Posted by jacwjames

Vanwill,
Try using the google shopping site " Froogle.com ", it will take you to the shopping site. I found a Fox and Hound on there for $79.49, free shipping and no tax.

3399: Triplett - Big Sales, Big Inventory and Same Day Shipping!

Best price I could find, almost thinking of getting one.

This last week I was trying to track down a wiring problem in a new house by BIL just bought, outlet hot but could not find what it controlled, drove me crazy. As a last resort I was going to tear into the wall but time ran out.

Wow! I'll check that! Thanks!

[YC1]

That is an excellent buy on the Triplett. I have found some interesting uses for this. We live on a piece of property that was wired by, well a very lazy person. Losing an AC run could have been a real pain till I decided to give the toner a test chasing a buried wire. Sure as heck the thing led me right to the break.