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krowsea · 07-17-2005, 11:48 PM

I'm replacing the defunct Univolt in my A/S with an Intelli-Power and I have a grounding question. The Intelli-Power requires a couple of (separate) ground wires be run, but I'm not sure where is the best (read that as closest and easiest) place to attach them. There is an OEM looking ground wire coming from the fuse panel, but it is simply screwed into the wall, apparently at a wall seam. Is there a frame structure behind the seam that is safe to ground to, or is there another location?

Thanks!
John

Jim & Susan · 07-18-2005, 10:02 AM

For what it's worth....I have my '73 completely apart in the backyard. It still has the original Univolt (which I'm going to replace) with the "fuse panal" built in to the Univolt. There is one ground that runs from the Univolt to the wall. In the process of removing the inner wall skins, I could see that this ground wire is screwed into the skin at a point where the skin attaches to a structural rib. I think the point is that you need a ground back thru the DC rectifier (Univolt or Intellipower) so that devices like the running lights that are only wired with a positive lead have a ground point (the aluminum structure of the trailer). Don't know if that helps, just thought you'd want to know.

krowsea · 07-18-2005, 04:10 PM

Thanks for the info, I thought there would be some type of structural support behind the screw. My question though is, can I attach the other ground connections in the same manner, or is there another preferred location?

Thanks!
John

Jim & Susan · 07-19-2005, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krowsea

Thanks for the info, I thought there would be some type of structural support behind the screw. My question though is, can I attach the other ground connections in the same manner, or is there another preferred location?

Thanks!
John

IMHO you should not use the same ground point for both grounds. I supopose the question is "why two grounds?".

Scenario 1. If the second is a "backup" of the first in case the first should fail in some way, then you should use a completly different location for the second. I should think that grounding it in a similar manner would be fine, just seperate the two grounds by some distance.

Scenario 2. If one of these grounds is dedicated to the shell as in the way my Univolt is set up, then there is the possibility that the other ground is there for some completely different purpose (that I am not able to determine).

What you might try doing is posting here the model number/etc of your Intelli-power and posing the question again. Lots of folks on the Forum use them so if this thread stays alive for a few days, somebody will have the answer, because they will have dealt with it before. There's even a member of this forum who has a distributorship for this brand, but I can't rememeber who.

Any Rivet Masters got the answer?