Univolt upgrade Sandy hurricane survivor

[ysly]

Hi I know nothing about Airstreams , Lost home in the Sandy hurricane and was able to get my hands on my Argosy 1975 26 ft trailer. I am hook up to the electric in the home but that is going to change once the house is demo...Then I have to move up to the trailer Beach Park for a few months until the new home is built.

So, I have this argosy and hooked up to the house power. Everything worked except the lights.I read hundreds of these post and the more confused I got.. So, I am upgrading the Univolt tu331 with a 4 stage converter boondocker 60 amp does that sound right. and a new 9 fuse panel ... and I got a new AMG or AGM100amp battery. Inside the bathroom closet is a breaker box w/ 4 circuits in it. and I believe I must have killed the battery that came with the Trailer.

I am going to go out and take photos of what it looks like and maybe there is someone out there that can make out what I am starting with and how I am going to wire up the converter, so that me 2 mini schnauzers , rescued Shar Pei, and 13 assorted Parrots that have been with me for 30 years are going to handle living in the Argosy for the next 4 months Happy.

Can't wait to find out what all that black water grey water white water is all about!!!

[Melody Ranch]

Call these folks....http://www.bestconverter.com....Ask for Rick. He is someone you can trust. Tell him the circumstances and what you plan. That way you won't go in for overkill and still have what you need for the time you are using it. Keep in mind resale too.

[ysly]

Ok. This is my next mission . Survived the Sandy Hurricane In Long Beach NY, Lost house and Need to put roof over 2 mini schnauzers , 1 rescued Shar pei and 13 assorted parrots that I have for 35 years. . Lucked out and Got myself a 1975 Argosy 26ft...It is hooked up to the house power. however they will soon be knocking it down and I will have to move the trailer up to the Trailer beach park for a few months until new house is built.

Problem, I never have lights. everything else works ,I think... the more I read these threads the more confused I get....Anyway, I am upgrading the Univolt...Think I fried the battery and so...I ordered a 60 amp boondocker 4 stage an9 fuse panel and a new agm or amg deep something 100 amp battery.

I have enclosed pictures of the set up that is in the trailer now....There is a circuit box in the bathroom closet w/ 4 circuitsDoes anyone think they can instruct me how to hook this converter up......Something is telling me this is just not going to be matching up color to color.
there was a 50amp fuse between the battery and the univoli that is not in the photo.do I need that for the new hook up??

Maybe , I should hire someone? But it just doesn't look like it would be so hard to do. it seems really basic. I don't have solar or T.V's . There isn't very many wires.....

oh well , if anyone wants to take on this challenge it would be greatly appreciated
Thanks
Susan

[DKB_SATX]

First thing, if your 120v outlets are working, you can close up that circuit-breaker box and move on, all it does for your 12v system is provide power to the 120v outlet where the converter plugs in.

The wires connected to the glass fuse block inside the Univolt are the ones you need to work with. The 4 wires from pink to blue (the first four left-to-right in your 4th picture) are the wires that run to the various 12v circuits in the trailer. The 3 wires on the right side of the photo are your 12v+ and 12v- to the battery and the chassis ground, I think. They need to connect in a similar fashion to the new fuse block you ordered with the new converter.

Someone who's seen the guts of a Univolt will have to tell you if any of those wires will have to be tossed out with the buzz-box and replaced with new wire, the previous owner of my Argosy had already upgraded to a 3-stage converter and separate fuse block when I bought the trailer.

[TG Twinkie]

In the pic with the fuses. The red wire comes from the positive terminal of the battery. The black wire comes from the negative terminal of the battery, it is the one that has the 50 amp fuse that is not in the picture. The white wire is connected to the skin/frame of the trailer, it is called the common/ ground.
With the replacement multi stage converter. I would assume you will also be replacing (upgrading) the fuse block as well.
I'll get on the desktop and post a typical setup.

[TG Twinkie]

Here is a typical wiring diagram for a converter
upgrade.

http://i1166.photobucket.com/albums/...ilerWiring.jpg

You can ignore the single 20 amp fuse on the upper right. It just happened to be in the circuit of someone I helped out a while ago.

The green asterisk is pointing out the common/ground. In your case it is the white wire on the lower right in your photo.

The pink, purple and yellow wires go to individual circuits in the trailer and should be fused the same on the new fuse block. The blue wire is the "charge" line from the TV.

The dark red line on the drawing (right) is the charge line + from the TV.
The yellow lines on the drawing are the connections to be made on the negative or common/ground side.
The red, black and white wires can be used to wire the new converter, but they should be connected in a similar fashion as that shown on the drawing. You will need the equivalent of the 30 amp fuses shown on the drawing above. Since the converter output is not typically fused from the factory.