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Old 04-27-2019, 10:10 PM   #14
Judge
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: 2020 Magnitude SV34
State: Florida
Posts: 4,147
THOR #12751
So after not being able to get any AC circuit schematics from Thor for my 2018 Outlaw 29H, I spent a fair amount of time investigating how Circuit 3A for the Fridge and Inverter powered TV’s is wired. I thought I would share this information in case anyone else might need it in the future. I will also explain a fairly easy way to put the Fridge on the Inverter so you don’t have to use propane on long drives to keep the Fridge cold.

To gain access to the wiring, remove the large drawer above the Power Control Panel.

First, here is how the 3A circuit is wired and works. A wire runs from the 15A breaker marked “Receptacles” in the Power Control Panel out to the Fridge receptacle. Another wire is spliced into the Fridge receptacle and runs back towards the Power Control Panel. The wire from the Fridge receptacle then runs into a metal junction box and is spliced to another wire that runs under the coach to the Inverter AC Input side of the Inverter.

Another wire then runs from the Inverter AC Output side of the inverter under the coach back up towards the Power Control Panel. That wire then goes into a second metal junction box. It is then spliced into another wire that runs to the 3 TV receptacles.

This explains why when on Shore Power and the 15A breaker is tripped, there is no power to the Fridge or TV’s but then when the Inverter is turned on, the TV’s are powered (and the Fridge is not) even though the 15A breaker is off. The TV's are being powered by the Inverter AC pass-through and the Fridge is being powered directly from the Breaker Panel.

Thor did not follow Xantrex’s recommended hardwiring procedure of adding a supplemental 15A breaker on the AC Output circuit of the Inverter. Thor seems to be relying on the Inverter to deal with any shorts, etc. but that is not the recommended best practice from Xantrex for a hardwire installation.

One positive thing to note from Thor. We have all seen the terrible wiring with wire nuts in junction boxes on these rigs. On my rig, Thor used Wago 221 Lever-Nuts instead of regular wire nuts in these junction box. These are super clean, easy and secure compared to wire nuts and make wiring changes a breeze!

Now… onto the reason for all this effort figuring out this 3A circuit…. moving the Fridge to the Inverter so you don’t need to use propane during long drives. This is actually not very difficult and can be fairly clean to do. Here is what I am going to do in my coach:

1) First, I will first pull the wire from the 15A breaker that goes to the Fridge receptacle and move it to the second junction box and splice it into the Inverter AC Output wiring. This will allow the Inverter to provide power to the TV’s plus the Fridge.

2) Next, I will then take the wire running from the Fridge receptacle into the first junction box and I will terminate it with wire nuts and electrical tape. This wire used to supply AC voltage into the Inverter and it will no longer be used to provide the AC Input for the Inverter.

3) Finally, I will run a new wire from the 15A breaker to the first junction box. I will splice this new wire from the 15A breaker to the Inverter AC Input wire and this will now provide the AC voltage directly into the Inverter instead of it routing to the Fridge receptacle first.

The 3A circuit will still work basically the same way. When on Shore Power, the 15A breaker will control power to the Fridge and TV’s via the Inverter pass-through. When there is no Shore Power, I can turn the Inverter on and AC voltage will be provided to the Fridge and to the TV’s. Of course, while driving the TV’s won’t be on so only the Fridge will be using Inverter power and the alternator will be keeping the house batteries charged.

Since I am going to make this change, I may follow Xantrex’s hardwiring recommendation by adding a 15A breaker subpanel to the Inverter AC Output. I would run the AC Output wire to a new 15A standalone breaker and then have the wiring feed to the Fridge and TV receptacles.

Here are a couple rough wiring diagrams I put together for the stock 3A Circuit wiring and then my modified wiring to put the Fridge on the Inverter.
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