Fridge DC switch question

[ThePair]

Ok, I finally installed the new double pole-single throw switch into the box, and it works exactly as I planned!

I wired the hot lead from the fridge 12V to one of the hot terminals, and ran a little bridge wire to the other hot terminal. The load terminal on one side got the wire that goes to the fridge to carry the 12V when live, and the other load terminal has a wire that I spliced onto the hot wire for the fan.

Now, when the switch is on, both the fan and the fridge get power. If the fan switch inside is on, then the fan is on regardless of the switch setting.

Thanks for all the help! I may now want to put in a switch for the radio -- how hard is it to get to the power leads right behind the unit, to put a switch maybe on the side of the cabinet or under the sink? Is the radio easy to pull out, or are there special tools needed?

What problem are you trying to solve by adding a switch to the radio?

My radio has two off positions. The first one stops the music, but the display stays on. The second one kills the display.

For fear of the radio bumping on during storage, I pop the fuse for the radio in the converter panel when I close the TM. Left column, second from the bottom. I store it in one of the empty slots below it.

Perhaps you want to turn the radio on/off from the outside while the TM is closed down?

[ThePair]

Originally Posted by PopBeavers

What problem are you trying to solve by adding a switch to the radio?

My radio has two off positions. The first one stops the music, but the display stays on. The second one kills the display.

For fear of the radio bumping on during storage, I pop the fuse for the radio in the converter panel when I close the TM. Left column, second from the bottom. I store it in one of the empty slots below it.

Perhaps you want to turn the radio on/off from the outside while the TM is closed down?

Well, I guess I don't really need it at all, it's just "always thinking ahead". The kids were messing with the unit, and figured out that the glowing button makes the whole thing turn on. Since we don't usually use it all that much, currently, I was thinking of just killing the power--no battery drain concerns, either.

However, I then discovered that I can pop the front plate of the radio off (theft-deterrent) which will prevent them from messing around, also. So, I'm now thinking that a combination of removing the plate and pulling the fuse (it's the only thing on that fuse?) would be an easier solution, at least for now.

I intended the switch to be inside, probably under the sink, so it's simple for me to reach, but not likely to be a target for the kids. I suppose pulling a fuse could accomplish the same (and not losing the face plate!).

Originally Posted by ThePair

I intended the switch to be inside, probably under the sink, so it's simple for me to reach, but not likely to be a target for the kids. I suppose pulling a fuse could accomplish the same (and not losing the face plate!).

I wired up my radio just like that. I would throw the switch everytime that I folded down the TM, so there was no parasitic electric draw.....at least from the radio.

I never inserted the fuse lat weekend, because we never played the radio. No one complained to me that something was not working.

Therefore, I have concluded that it is the only thing on that fuse.

However, the radio antenna draws power and it might be on the same fuse, which would actually be a good thing.

I think that power to the radio antenna is killed when the bathroom wall is folded down, but I am not certain of that. For that matter, I wonder what happens to radio power when I fold down the bathroom wall. I'll have to check that as well. Maybe I do not need to pull the fuse to kill parasitic loads during long term storage.

[ThePair]

Originally Posted by mtnguy

I wired up my radio just like that. I would throw the switch everytime that I folded down the TM, so there was no parasitic electric draw.....at least from the radio.

How did you get to the power wire?

I think that power to the radio antenna is killed when the bathroom wall is folded down, but I am not certain of that. For that matter, I wonder what happens to radio power when I fold down the bathroom wall. I'll have to check that as well. Maybe I do not need to pull the fuse to kill parasitic loads during long term storage.

I'm pretty sure the antenna power is off when the wall is down--the light goes out, and I thought that was a power indicator. As to the radio, that would be an easy test, no?

Maybe I'll test it when I'm trying to mount my D&S screen to the rear of the TM this week...

[ThePair]

Follow up: The radio does not lose power when the bathroom wall is folded.

Plus, at least in my TM, the radio, the fridge, and the control panel all seem to be on the same fuse, at least according to the label in the converter. So, pulling the fuse seems like it wouldn't work out as planned

I'll need to look into a switch, then. First, to figure out how to pull the radio out...

Originally Posted by ThePair

Follow up: The radio does not lose power when the bathroom wall is folded.

Plus, at least in my TM, the radio, the fridge, and the control panel all seem to be on the same fuse, at least according to the label in the converter. So, pulling the fuse seems like it wouldn't work out as planned

I'll need to look into a switch, then. First, to figure out how to pull the radio out...

When I pull the fuse on the left side, second from the bottom, it only kills power to the radio.

Try that before you look for a more complicated solution.

[Bill]

Plus, at least in my TM, the radio, the fridge, and the control panel all seem to be on the same fuse, at least according to the label in the converter.

As I noted earlier, that does not agree with the wiring diagram in the Owner's Manual (you should check it). In addition, it would be "wrong" from a wiring point of view. One of the universal rules of wiring, at least house wiring, is that the refrigerator must have its own circuit, which is not shared with any other device. This is because an incidental and non-critical fault in another device - the radio or the panel in this case - could pop the fuse, and cause great damage in terms of spoiled and rotted food in the refrigerator.

I suggest you follow Wayne's suggestion, and pull the fuse in question. It's easy, and will give you a positive answer.

Bill

[ThePair]

I...don't have a wiring diagram... I didn't get the "Blue binder" with my TM, although I have most of the appliance manuals. I just never got the info for the TM itself. Honestly, never felt like I needed it, considering all the information on this forum, but a wiring diagram would certainly have been helpful.

I'll give it a shot.