8 replies to this topic

[bajaphile]

Hi All,

 

Just bought my first FWC and had a couple questions. It is a 2005 Hawk.

 

i already have a Blue Seas ACR (7610) that I pulled off my previous truck which had a DIY dual battery system to run a 12v compressor fridge. I used 1 ga wire with 150amp circuit breakers at each battery. I also have this same setup in my Land Cruiser and it works great.

 

I was curious on simply bypassing the 3 prong stock connector and wiring directly to the house battery in my Hawk using my existing parts (Blue Seas ACR, circuit breakers rated for wire gage and length..). Would electronics work as designed? 

 

If not, my other option would be to use a smaller circuit breaker and run smaller gauge wire to the female 3 prong connector and connect to the plug on the camper. I would still use the ACR to isolate the batteries. 

 

Thanks for any help.

[Wandering Sagebrush]

“I was curious on simply bypassing the 3 prong stock connector and wiring directly to the house battery in my Hawk using my existing parts (Blue Seas ACR, circuit breakers rated for wire gage and length..). Would electronics work as designed?”

 

Best guess is it would, unless there is something on the battery bus that’s not on the common bus.  Unless I’m missing it, that’s what/how every solar system is wired.

 

Are you leaving the camper on full time?  It might be a pain if not.

 

If it were me, I’d use the FWC supplied connector.

[Vic Harder]

I would use beefy Anderson Power Poles for those cables. That's what I did for both of my shell builds, but they both had just two wires. 

So, that said, I don't know what the third wire is for.  Can you trace that?

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Third is probably running lights.

[bajaphile]

Well I went and just used my voltmeter to test the plug pins and see if it directly connected to the house battery. I did not get any volt reading, which makes me think there may be an isolator, or some other device inline between the plug and battery. 

 

I guess I'll just buy the receptacle Attwood trolling motor plug and wire it in to a circuit breaker if there is already an isolator installed in the FWC. 

 

The electrical diagram I found online did not mention any isolator though, so I'm a little confused. 

[ntsqd]

Oft times when an item is used things have been changed around enough by previous owners that something like a factory wiring diagram is meaningless or nearly so. I'd look at the connections made at the battery and trace where they go.

 

I would use the Anderson SB series connectors to make it easy to R&R the camper, even if you don't intend to do that very often.

i.e. https://powerwerx.co...rs-sb175-175amp

Edited by ntsqd, 17 March 2020 - 12:38 AM.

[klahanie]

One thing about the Attwood plug is it will limit the max ga wire that could be used to 10 or 8 ga. That might be fine for most people but I'd guess most people haven't used 1 ga in their set ups. If you still feel that need you could use the Anderson mentioned or do without and disconnect at the battery. The latter is what I do - no plug. But I only hook up once a year.

[camelracer]

Only 2 poles of the Attwood plug are used on that year camper. Running lights came later. There should be a ShurePower battery separator in the camper that disconnects until it sees about 13v from the truck.

[bajaphile]

Thanks guys for the replies. I am just going to chop off the current Marineco 3-prong plug (I just looked at it, and it says Marinco, not Attwood, oops), and replace with Anderson power pole connectors, which I've used a lot in the past already. Thanks.