OK, I made the hole in the ceiling larger and found the A/C wire. And I have plenty of room for the hole I will need for the A/C unit. My problem now is that the other end of the A/C wire doesn't exit the rear wall by the breaker box like I thought it would, it comes out of the right wall behind the oven (which I plan to replace with a microwave). Not only does the wire go the to the wrong spot (as far as I am concerned), it is a 12/2 without a ground.
Is 12/2 safe to use without a ground?
If so, how do I best route the wire back to the breaker box, or did Airstream wire the A/C in with the oven?
OR Am I better off removing the neccesary inner skin to replace the wire and run it directly to the breaker box?
And does anyone know what the extra wire is by the breaker box? I cannot find anything connected to it.
As a note, my breaker box has a 30 amp main, with two 20 amp breakers to handle all the 110.
Good news. Airstream emailed me back. The wire I found was not for the A/C. They said I should find another wire in the roof, which will be the A/C wire (12/2 WITH ground), which does come out by the breaker box. I guess I just didn't dig deep enough, but who would have thought there would be two wires in the roof? Airstream also said the wire I had already found was for 12 volt use since it was a 12/2 without a ground, but they didn't say what it was to be used for? So, still a bit of a mystery, a wire running from the center of the ceiling to behind the oven has to be there for some reason.
Mine had 12v wires running from the AC unit to behind the refrigerator, where the factory thermostat would have been if the trailer came with their AC unit. I assume this would be what those are for. our wire was burried in the insulation but found it pretty quick, black romex.
You COULD try the "smoke test"... Hook up the 12v wires, and see what comes on (or gloes up in smoke). I just did a quick scan of this thread, if it hasn't been answered before, the a/c unit should not be mounted in a vent hole, but a new hole with the front edge a set amount from the first rib should be made.
I think Home Depot sells them, but there are electrical test tools that help identify breakers for outlets. We have one that runs on a AA battery. Hook one end to the wires, then take the receiver around the trailer and follow the beeping like a metal detector. Help you find the other end of the AC wire and the other end of that 12v wire.
I had to dig a bit, but the other wire was in there, which was a relief to me. Airstream quickly returned my email and told me the first wire I had found was a 12V wire used for an additional thermostat for the A/C.
When I had started this A/C project, I just assumed the whole time that the A/C would go in the center vent. But it would require some major work to the vent opening since the A/C unit I got (a Dometic) requires a 14 1/4 X 14 1/4 hole. I would have had to relocate a ceiling light as well to clear the air box (control panel) inside which is about 23" long. Making a new hole cured all my problems. It got the A/C unit centered between the vent and a ceiling light, and it saved me from dropping the entire ceiling panel to find the A/C wire. A small hole did that trick, which will be gone when I cut the 14 1/4 square. Many thanks to this web site and Airstream. Tom
Well, if anyone is still following this thread, I do have the A/C unit installed now and working fine. When I get a chance, I will post some pics of the A/C install. Now I just need to know the best thing to do for the breaker box. Since the unit came without A/C, the breaker box only has two breakers. Am I right in assumung that I will have to install a larger breaker box to add one or two more breakers? (I also plan to add a microwave oven). Any advice is greatly appreciated. TomE
Well, if anyone is still following this thread, I do have the A/C unit installed now and working fine. When I get a chance, I will post some pics of the A/C install. Now I just need to know the best thing to do for the breaker box. Since the unit came without A/C, the breaker box only has two breakers. Am I right in assumung that I will have to install a larger breaker box to add one or two more breakers? (I also plan to add a microwave oven). Any advice is greatly appreciated. TomE
A larger breaker box is in order.
You should have 3 20 amp breakers and one 30 amp breaker.
The 30 amp is the master. One 20 amp is for the left side of the trailer. Another 20 amp is for the right side of the trailer.
The third 20 amp, is for the AC unit.
By the way, if you didn't already discover it, the AC wire is behind the breaker panel.
The other end of that wire, is about 18 to 20 inches, in the roof, rearward of the curtition, which is the divider between the galley and the bedroom.
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