Things That Make You Go Hmmmmm?

[16ACE27]

Or fun with tracing an HDMI cable.

We bought our MH used (2300 miles). It did not come with a DVD player in the cabinet above the couch, but the HDMI cable was there and the other end was behind the main TV. I bought a Wally World DVD player and put it in the cabinet and it worked as expected with signal to the TV.




Sometime last year I discovered the HDMI cable had gone bad - no signal from the cabinet to the TV. Since I knew the cable was pretty much non-replaceable I decided to buy and install new ends on it to see if I could revive it. But before going through that effort, I decided to test the continuity of the 19 wires and cable shield from one end to the other. So I cut the ends off, stripped back the outer insulation and shield, and started testing the wires. By the time I got to the 4th wire I had discovered one wire directly shorted to the shield and one with only .3 ohms to the shield.

So the cable was bad. But why? Did I run a screw through it with one of my mods? I tested continuity from the shield to every screw in the vicinity that might have punctured a hidden cable from the cabinet through the roof to the TV. Results - no continuity.

I knew the cable behind the TV came out of the wall at the top forward corner of the TV so I assumed it went into the ceiling and across to the cabinet and into the forward false wall of the cabinet where it exited into the accessible space for the DVD. But removing the forward false wall in the cabinet showed the HDMI cable going under the false bottom of the cabinet heading aft. Removing the aft false wall in the cabinet showed the cable following a vent piped down the forward bathroom wall to below the bench area.



Now I am very familiar with this area below the bench as that is where all the electrical wiring and components are for the coach, including my EMS and 1KW inverter. So I knew the only way out of that area would be underneath the MH, so raise it on the jacks and get on my mechanics creeper to trace it out. I expected that maybe some road debris might have damaged it.

So the cable comes out the bottom as most cables do, follows the battery cables to the other side of the coach but turns forward toward the steps. I expected it to go up the passenger wall forward of the steps but no, it continued forward towards the wheel well. Now I'm thinking maybe it goes to a junction behind the radio to allow the radio's DVD player to also play to the TV, but I had never seen an HDMI cable behind the radio.

So the cable went up into the forward engine area. I opened the hood to see how it got back in to behind the radio but to my surprise, I found a coil of about 10 extra feet of HDMI cable and the cable exited the coil up the passenger A-pillar. So now I know it goes up the A-pillar, above/behind the cabinets on the passenger side by the bed, back to the TV.



So instead of using a simple 12 foot HDMI cable from the cabinet up through the ceiling to the TV, Thor engineers decided it would be better to run a 60 to 70 foot cable in this round about manner under the MH. I did not see a definitive area of damage on the cable I could see but I did see one area where the cable was compressed/deformed.

Anyway, guess how the replacement cable will be run?

[JamieGeek]

Wow beats mine: The shelf in our Axis for where the DVD/game/etc. would go is right next to the TV. When my cable went bad I did a similar tracing but found only that the cable went down one side of the cabinet across the bottom and up the other side. So yeah like 3x the length. Replacing it I just drilled a hole and put two cables through (since the TV has two inputs).

That is just nuts under the motorhome LOL!

[powerboatr]

now that is an excursion , my 2008 tuscany had zero HDMNI cables from factory

i ran mine from the AV cabinet, through the front passenger slide trim panels that hide the bal cable and motor. then down the back of the fridge cabinet, to the floor and through existing cable ways to the basement, across basement and out to the tv room slide, up through existing holes for wires and then snaked up behind desk to tv...
it was exhausting


we used a 1/2 OD cable with heavy shielding to hopefully protect it.


i used a 40 foot cable not 70

[chunker21]

When I first discovered the damaged end of the main HDMI cable at the main TV I logged in to thor site to check schematics. Nothing, I checked with Thor CS and was told NO schematics exist at the factory for the routing of HDMI cables. Must be the whim of the person there that day which way and how much cable to use. Perhaps "cable installers" get paid by the foot. I tried tracing mine and it disappears into oblivion. So either hidden in the roof someplace or wrapped up in some bundles underneath. Thor sent an HDMI wireless kit to use rather than replace the factory screwed up cable.

When I was checking for mouse tracks I did fond some HDMI and a connector underneath the aft seat of the booth. I haven't tried to see if it's the mystery cable since I have the wireless set.

[Bob Denman]

On a positive note: think of all the weight you'll remove from the coach by clearing out all of that excess cable,,,