Need help with fantastic vent wiring

[oldwoodguy]

Good evening. I am a new member but have visited often in the past. I am in the process of installing a Fantastic Vent in the front vent location of our 2000 Bambi. As I read on this site, the wiring harness seems to includes a conductor for a fan but it is not live. I have searched extensively for a point were it can be connected to the live circuit but no luck. I thought it would be in the area of the wall switch by the door but can't find it. Anybody familiar with this harness?

[dznf0g]

I am not familiar with your particular unit, but I have found most of my harness ends for non-optioned items in the area of the converter and 12 volt fuse panel. In my case, under the sofa streetside. The only one I NEVER found was the Television end of the RCA cables which run from the stereo.

[rogerdodger]

I think all you need to do is run the hot wire to the nearest light, and ground the other to the metal frame. Usually, there is a light nearby, which is already fused.

[overlander63]

The simplest thing is to tap the power wire for the ceiling light that is about a foot from the vent that is there now.

[rogerdodger]

Ha, Terry, I beat you!

[robert claus]

Like you, I found one wire that should have been a power feed, but it was dead. It's shown on the wiring diagram, and the color matched, but it was not usable. I ended up tapping into the light wiring. The only downside is that the wall switch has to be on for the fan to work.

[oldwoodguy]

Wow. I'm really impressed. Thanks for all the input about wiring our fan. Those of you that suggested tapping into the light are probably right, that that is the easiest way to go. I have some time to fiddle with this project while waiting for the fan to arrive so maybe I will contact Airstream and see if they can tell me why they included those extra wires and where they terminate. Any suggestions how best to approach them?

[dznf0g]

Call and ask for Randy McNeely. He has been good about providing info like wiring. Don't expect a precise answer....sometimes the guys on the line hide things. But I'd bet he can tell you where to look for the blunt cut other end of the wire you found. I would rather use a separate circuit, and save the tapping into the light circuit as a last resort.

[Aage]

Of course, if you have a Service Manual (or access to one), just find the page with the wiring diagram. In there, you will see that almost ALL the factory wiring in an AS is colour-coded. Go back to the fuse panel, and see if you can find where the wire you are looking for starts. You may then have a chance to re-connect it, if that's where it was cut.

Not guaranteed to work, but it's a possibility.

[oldwoodguy]

Thanks for the name. I am going to call AS right now.

[Silver Goose]

You may have to gain access behind the converter to find it. It is possible the other end of this wire is taped in the bundle of wires going to the 12v fuse panel. If you can find it, connect it to an unused fuse holder and install an appropriate fuse. It is possible that the wire is already connected to a fuse holder that doesn't have a fuse yet. That would be too easy. Let us know what you find.

[oldwoodguy]

Some progress in the hunt for fan power.
Placed call to AS and waiting for call back.
Traced yellow wire from fuse panel to a connector in hanging closet that I think joins ceiling and chassis wire looms. The drawing shows it connecting to the light switch by the door with a pigtail 4' long.
I have a yellow and a green that appear to be heading back down toward the wall switch but don't seem to be connected to 12V. I don't know if the green is connected to ground I haven't checked it. Guess I should do that.

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by oldwoodguy

Some progress in the hunt for fan power.
Placed call to AS and waiting for call back.
Traced yellow wire from fuse panel to a connector in hanging closet that I think joins ceiling and chassis wire looms. The drawing shows it connecting to the light switch by the door with a pigtail 4' long.
I have a yellow and a green that appear to be heading back down toward the wall switch but don't seem to be connected to 12V. I don't know if the green is connected to ground I haven't checked it. Guess I should do that.

The green wire may be for the running lights. Try turning them on, and checking for voltage. That would be awkward, having the running lights come on when you run the fan.

[oldwoodguy]

A representative from AS responded to my email request, sorry I didn't get his name. He thinks the yellow and green wires I found near the galley vent opening where put there for a solar collector, but could be used for a fantastic vent. He thought the other end would be found near the battery disconnect switch. I couldn't find it there.
I sent him a request for more help.

[robert claus]

I found matching color wires, unattached to anything, near the power distribution strip in the compartment under the streetside dinette seat. Testing them with an ohm meter, I couldn't get power at the end near the roof vent opening. It's a mystery where those wires lead to.

[oldwoodguy]

More help. I received a second call from Dan at AS. Apparently there is more than one path used to route wires around in the body. He gave me several places to look and the winner was in the partition between the oven and the hanging locker. The controler for the solar panels, when installed is placed next to the systems monitor panel. The yellow and Green 10 gauge wires come up from below into the space behind the panel that covers the back of the monitor panel. In the same bundle are a pink(red) and a black. To install the solar controller they just have to put the wires into the connectors already installed. The other ends of the pink and black come up through the floor in the very front of the drivers side dinette bench. I found they were long enough to attach one to the ground bus and one to the extra fuse in the 12 volt panel. I connected the yellow and pink, the green and black in the hanging locker and I have a circuit ready to run the fantastic vent.
Each wire was labeled SP(solar panel?) on the hanging locker end. None of these conductors show on the schematic drawings in our owners manual.
Again thanks to all of you that pitched in on this one.