Gil_J
04-27-2015, 10:02 AM
Have you ever wondered what’s behind the cabinets, covers, access panels, and other places not sitting in plain view? Have you ever wondered were something is at knowing it must exist somewhere, but you don’t know where?
Some won’t care as they are solely dependent on commercial service centers and that’s fine. Others, like myself, are more hands on and want to know what lies in the darkness. For those that are curious, trying to find a device when it’s not working is not the best time to be a detective. Every so often I open access panels to see what lurks behind. If for no other reason than to clean a space likely not opened for years, maybe a decade or more.
13653
Here’s an example of what you can find behind an access panel. Pictured here is an electrical panel (panel cover removed) that resides under the close hamper in my 99 Country Coach. The panel houses all of the 120V and 240V appliance relays that are controlled through low voltage switches. Relays can and do fail, so this is an important discovery. Knowing where these are and what they look like gives me confidence that I can easily bypass a relay if one fails on the road and I need the hot water heaters, the cooktop, or other appliances to work. Until I can replace a defective relay, I can control their use through their dedicated circuit breakers.
I’ve also had a problem with my outside and bedroom speakers cutting on and off. This has been a low priority issue for me that I inherited with the bus. The amplifier dedicated to these speakers resides behind the shelf unit on the passenger side inside the walk-in closet. This really wasn’t the best place for a piece of equipment that generates a lot of heat and needs to be cooled. That amp has now been removed and replaced with a much smaller amplifier. Due to my changes to the TV and AV equipment in the bedroom, the new amp is located with the other A/V equipment in a location with better airflow. I use the outside speakers often now; I guess I should have made this more of a priority.
Next time you have some time and curiosity, pull some access panels and see what you might discover.
Some won’t care as they are solely dependent on commercial service centers and that’s fine. Others, like myself, are more hands on and want to know what lies in the darkness. For those that are curious, trying to find a device when it’s not working is not the best time to be a detective. Every so often I open access panels to see what lurks behind. If for no other reason than to clean a space likely not opened for years, maybe a decade or more.
13653
Here’s an example of what you can find behind an access panel. Pictured here is an electrical panel (panel cover removed) that resides under the close hamper in my 99 Country Coach. The panel houses all of the 120V and 240V appliance relays that are controlled through low voltage switches. Relays can and do fail, so this is an important discovery. Knowing where these are and what they look like gives me confidence that I can easily bypass a relay if one fails on the road and I need the hot water heaters, the cooktop, or other appliances to work. Until I can replace a defective relay, I can control their use through their dedicated circuit breakers.
I’ve also had a problem with my outside and bedroom speakers cutting on and off. This has been a low priority issue for me that I inherited with the bus. The amplifier dedicated to these speakers resides behind the shelf unit on the passenger side inside the walk-in closet. This really wasn’t the best place for a piece of equipment that generates a lot of heat and needs to be cooled. That amp has now been removed and replaced with a much smaller amplifier. Due to my changes to the TV and AV equipment in the bedroom, the new amp is located with the other A/V equipment in a location with better airflow. I use the outside speakers often now; I guess I should have made this more of a priority.
Next time you have some time and curiosity, pull some access panels and see what you might discover.