12 V. outlet only shows 11 volts

[imolared]

Hello Again,

I have to say I wish I knew about this forum years ago. The help and suggestions here are GREAT!!!!

21012 3100 RL

The 12V. outlet for the TV in the bedroom only meters 11 volts. The 12V. outlet in the garage shows 13V. Due to the low voltage the TV does not run nor does the 12v usb adapter I use to charge the cell phone.

The wires are white and white with black stripe. The 12V. outlet in the garage has two sets of wires connected, both are white and white with purple stripe.

Any suggestions on what is happening or any suggestion on where the wiring (white with black) goes?

thanks,
-imolared

[BuilderBob]

Unhook the the wires from the outlet and see if the volts come back up! Does the USB adapter use the same outlet as your TV? you may have a problem with the adapter? If that is all good then you probable have a short some wears on the white and black wiresfun part is finding wear it comes from you can use a tone generator or just try to trace it down.

[bethandkevin]

Has to be a source for voltage drop somewhere. You can read 12 volts on a single strand of wire. Something has pulled the voltage down.

[imolared]

Howdy,
Well Everything that fails using the bedroom 12V outlet works using the garage 12V outlet.
The bedroom outlet was fine last year.
Bedroom measures 11V
Garage measures 13V
Yes I agree something has changed causing the voltage drop.
Does anyone have a wiring diagram?
Dopes anyone kn ow where the write goes? I do not have a tone meter.

thanks
imolared

[jimcol]

No such thing as a wiring diagram on these things. Tone generators and amplifiers are cheap and a necessity in trouble shooting these beast. Got mine at Lowe's. Save yourself some time and frustration, purchase one and go about finding the issue.

[Carl n Susan]

I have not verified this on my RV, but I bet the bedroom 12V system is on a different circuit from the basement one. I would start at the fuse panel (find the one that controls the bedroom by reading the chicken scratch label or pulling fuses until the 11.1V is zero). Be sure the fuse is not blown. Pull the panel and ensure the connections are tight - both the hot and ground and then check the voltage on the output side. If normal, go to the connection in the bedroom and disconnect. Is the voltage on the wire the same as at the fuse? If it is, then the bedroom fixture is a problem. If the wire is at 11.1V there likely is something along the way causing the problem. Did any other 12V device quit working when you pulled the fuse? If yes, pull it out and check it.

My first guess is a loose connection somewhere. If it is a frayed wire hidden in a wall or ceiling then fixing it may be a challenge. It might be easier to just run another circuit.

[rohrmann]

We had the same issue a while back, and when turning on a light switch in the bedroom, the 12 volt TV would turn off. Ultimately, I found a poorly made three way splice behind the light switch, which is where the tap for power to the TV was made. I cut out the bad splice, remade it, and have had no problems since. I guess the craftsmen in the Goshen area are not well versed on making quality electrical connections, or are not allowed sufficient time to make these connections.

[BB_TX]

What Carl said. Start at the fuse panel. Note that the red LED will not illuminate for a blown fuse unless there is a load connected to the fuse. The LED is connected in parallel to the fuse and needs a path to ground to illuminate after the fuse blows. That path is normally thru the device connected to it. If the fuses are not clearly labeled, measure the load side voltage of each fuse to see if one of them is measuring the 11 volts. If so pull the fuse and check continuity.

With no other load connected to the point of measurement, the voltmeter provides the only path to ground for the LED. And that is thru a very high resistance and provides a voltage divider via the combined resistance of the LED and meter. Not knowing the resistance values involved, that 11 volts may actually be the voltage from the load side of the LED to the high resistance of the meter if the fuse is blown. In that case, you might see voltage, but no ability to provide current flow. A good fuse should show full voltage.