Dash 110V

Are the two 110V outlets on my E450 dash hooked to the coach battery or the engine battery on my 2010 2551S?  Also, the 110V outlet in the storage space over the passenger side -- coach battery or engine battery?   And what do people use that for up there?  Thanks so much.

I assume you are refering to the round 12V cigarette lighter outlets, not the standard house 110V outlets.

Speaking for the Ford chassis and is very likely the same for the Sprinter, the dash mounted round 12V outlets are supplied by Ford.  Those 12V outlets work the same as with any normal car.  I think one is powered up with the igition switch on.  I think the other is always powered up.  Both run off the main engine battery.

In my 2007 2350, the 12V outlet in the passeger side overhead compartment is the only 12V outlet in the coach portion of the motor home.  Power to it is supplied by the coach batteries.  It is there to utilize typical 12V accessories.  One example would be a 12V cell phone charger typically used in a car.  It's a place to charge such things in hiding.

I setup that cabinet for charging all kinds of electronics, from cell phones to video cameras, to digital cameras, to navigation, to rechargable flashlights, to laptop computers.  Most utilize 110V power via that power strip shown.  Note the laptop computer stored on the shelf.  I need to make a second shelf above that one for better utilization of space.


BTW:  On my 2007, that 12V outlet has a red reset button.  That button is related to the antenna signal booster.  The 12V outlet and antenna booster share the same electrical box in the wall there.  You can't see it in the picture.  It is to the left of the white duplex 110V outlet shown.

The red button referred to earlier switches the antenna amplifier on and off. When the button is lit red, the amplifier is on. You will likely get better signals with over-the-air broadcasts with the amplifier on. However, when you hook up to cable at an RV park, it's best to switch the amplifier off. The amplifier on will degrade the cable signal in most cases.  It took me a while to figure this out...

I didn't know that.  Thanks for the tip.

Yes, I meant 12V rather than 110V.  Thanks for the clarification.  I will use the 12V above the passenger seat to charge my electronic stuff while dry camping. 

It is so much more energy efficient to use chargers which run off 12V, instead of inverted 110V.  This because battery chargers opperate at or close to 12V to begin with.  Inverting power from the 12V coach batteries, stepping up to 110V, just to step back down close to 12V, consumes a lot more coach battery power than if simply working direct off 12V to begin with.  With small items like cell phone chargers, it's not dramatic.  But some chargers like for laptops, they have an appetite for power.  You can tell buy feeling the heat from the charger.