Late 80's Early 90's HiLo

[Angel-HILO]

Hello everyone,
Anyone out there have a late 80's-early 90's Hilo that may have this mystery wire plugged into the outlet that is located under the front couch by the converter? It goes downward thru the floor where the fresh water tank is below. It appears to go into the FW tank but I can't really be sure that it does. Did these model year Hilo come with some sort of heater on the fresh water as an option?? Maybe for winterizing?? Here are some pictures of that plug.

 

[JackandJanet]

Wasn't there another thread on this same "mystery wire" about a week ago? My fading brain cells may be hallucinating, but I seem to recall something of this nature then. But, I cannot recall what the wire was for - probably because my trailer doesn't have this and I sort of discarded it to save storage space in my brain.

Do a search, Angel. Or, maybe some kind soul with a better memory than mine will be along to help.

- Jack

 

[Angel-HILO]

Jack, yes that was me with that previous "mystery plug" post. It's been bugging the heck out of me to know what it is powering or what it's for!! I unplugged it and didn't see anything stop working, I plugged it back in just in case. I wrote to J&R a couple of weeks ago...no reply, too busy they are to reply I guess. I'm hoping a hilo forum member has something like mine does and can shed some light of this "Mystery Plug"

 

[JackandJanet]

Oh, OK - glad my memory has not totally failed. That cord is obviously not something that would have been installed at the factory. The previous owner would have done it. With that in mind, I don't think it has anything to do with keeping the tank from freezing. It's an ordinary lamp cord wire.

It's on an AC circuit, so it would only be alive if you were plugged into shore power. It's also a low Amperage cord, so it doesn't deliver a HUGE amount of power to anything.

I doubt you'll see anything NOT working with it unplugged, since it should not be powering anything that came with the trailer. It might be better to plug into shore power and see if anything special comes on with it plugged in.

- Jack

 

[johnsonbrits]

Angel, I have a 1988 22ft Funchaser and only have the converter plugged into that receptacle under the front couch. However, my propane Suburban water heater has started leaking a little so I need to replace and was thinking of replacing it with one that includes an electric element. Hence, I was wondering if yours had also been replaced and perhaps the extra plug powers the heating element in the water heater? I believe there is a switch on front of the water heater to turn on/off the element when not in use.

Peter

 

[Usagi5678]

Mystery plug/wire

We used to own a 1990 25FT. Classic. DH thinks the plug/wire you see is for the Fresh Water. It is a heating pad to be used in the cold early spring and late fall.Fresh Water Tank.

 

[Angel-HILO]

Hello everyone and thanks for chiming in to this mystery plug question.

Johnsonbrits, yes that was my first thought that it was for the hot water heater; but the original water heater (which by the way I just replaced 2 weeks ago) was Not a propane/electric model, just Propane. I did replace the water heater with a new Propane and Electric model, this new one is wired separately; I wired the optional AC cord/plug to the new HW heater's heating element, which is working OK. But the most convenient place for me to plug the new HW heater is on that outlet where that mysterious cord is. I may unplug it and see what happens. Thanks.

 

[Angel-HILO]

Late 80's Early 90's Hilo

Jack, thanks for replying, everything seems to work ok when I unplug that cord while on shore power at home. I suspect that it was a modification/add-on done by the previous owner. Forum member Usagi5678 suggested that it may be for a heating pad for the fresh water tank to possibly keep it from freezing.

 

[Angel-HILO]

Thank you Usagi5678 for your reply and suggestion,
Yes, I am leaning towards the idea that it was an add-on by the previous owner. They probably installed a heating pad to keep the fresh water tank from freezing. I am so curious as to what it is powering that some time in the near future I think I will drop the fresh water tank and see if that is in fact a Heating Pad. I think for now I will unplug it and keep an out to see if anything stops working. Thanks.

 

[Usagi5678]

Hot water heating pad.

No need to drop the tank. Just crawl under and you will see the insulation blanket on the exterior of the tank.