Looking for a pre 1997 Chinook concourse Owner

[Blue~Go]

Glad you got it sussed. Gave me something to noodle over while I was eating pizza

[Scott]

Great thread! Thanks guys for the awesome information. I don’t have anything significant to contribute, but I wanted to mention a few things.

My 1994 Premier doesn’t have a transfer switch. Instead, the generator is wired to a 30 amp outlet that is mounted to the floor of the shore power compartment that you access from outside. So you plug in the power chord just like normal for shore power, and if you want generator power, you plug the power chord into the generator outlet. Foolproof and nearly failproof, I suppose. I don’t know if this is part of the stripped down nature of the Premier or what. I also don’t have a LVD or inverter.

The 8g +12VDC house lead is quite close to the driver’s side exhaust manifold, and the loom is completely melted along a 2 foot span, just like Alan’s. Neat. Folks might want to crawl under there and check.

If you have them, the driver’s side plastic step cover comes off with just a few screws and provides an easy place to run wires into the cab. This worked perfectly for the rear camera cable, and will work perfectly to re-rout (i.e. drastically shorten) my power lead to the house battery in the engine bay. I’m guessing this is what Alan did? As a bonus, in this space there are a few open plugs that have all sorts of useful leads like heavy gauge +12VDC, position II switched power, grounds, rear speaker wires, and other pleasant surprises. It’s all Ford stuff so I suppose it’s just part of the cutaway chassis packages. Anyway, it’s much easier access compared to behind the dash, and will come in handy for wiring entertainment stuffs since my Premier didn’t come with a VCR or 14” TV or phone . And finally, there are two wires (one brown, one white) that Chinook spliced into to send power from the chassis battery to the coach. I thought these were for the detectors, but I’m pretty sure they’re not since the detectors turn off when not plugged into shore and/or when the house battery is disconnected. I forgot to check if these two wires are hot in position II to power the detectors while on the road. I haven’t been able to find the other end of the wires in the coach yet, but I haven’t really tried, either.

Also, my house disconnect is under the driver’s seat. It’s a direct switch (no relay) with a big red key. The wire and contacts are outside, while the key protrudes through the floor. It’s cumbersome and poorly located, so I’ll be replacing it with a relay and adding a normal toggle to the dash. And there’s no alarm notifying me that the house battery is disconnected when plugged in, which would be kind of nice for the absent minded.

I just wanted to document some subtle differences.

Scott

[kyidletime]

Hi Scot, thanks for your post and your comments. I guess that since you read the thread you would be aware of some of the upgrades that I've made to my 95 Concourse, like the Blue Sea 722 and the Progressive Dynamics Converter/Charger. I'm now in the process of relocating my house battery, so that I can get the proper battery installed. That under the hood location just didn't work.

Thanks again, Alan

[Scott]

Hi Alan,

Yup, I read about your upgrades. Cool stuff! I hope that I can work on this stuff when I reach your age. Good for you! That’s awesome.

Where are you going to put your new battery?

I’m in a similar situation as you, but my plan is to eventually add solar panels, two or three house batteries, new charger, proper switches, and solid wiring &fusing for all. I’ll probably be fitting everything in one fell swoop for the sake of time. I just don’t want to spend the cash on upgrades until I get a few other projects done; the list is long! So until then, it’s the single sad little house battery under the hood.

[kyidletime]

Hi Blue,

I think that I figured out what the mystery controls are. I'll bet that they have something to do with the ignition system for the water heater. I'm still attaching some pictures, but because of where its located it makes sense. I'm using this thread so that I can attach the pictures.

Alan

[kyidletime]

Hi again Scot, sometimes it's tough working on the rig, but I'll keep after it for as long as I can.
As far as where I'm going to move the battery, I'm putting it in the outside compartment on the drivers side, just to the rear of the water heater compartment. Under the sofa would be nice too, but I don't believe that I have enough vertical height

Alan

[Blue~Go]

Aha! On mine a similar box was affixed to the top of the water heater (Suburban 6-gallon propane) which is in that same location under the forward end of the couch. I'll see if I have a photo just for comparison.

Okay, here is one of my original Suburban water heater. The silver "box" to the left in the photo is part of the water heater. The white plastic box on the lower right is also part of the water heater, but not "permanently" attached except by the wires and the Velcro strap (which strap also holds the water heater to footman loops fastened to the floor).

[kyidletime]

Good morning Blue,

Please take a look at the drawing that I have attached. This is kind of what I had in mind. The main reason for the external connections is so I can slide the battery in and out of its cubby hole. Tell me what you think, and also what amp fuse I should put in the 2 gauge wire.

Alan