diyvanner
Rhode Island
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Joined: 07/04/2007
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Thanks AsheGuy for the great write-up on your TV installation. I got a great deal on a 19” Vizio this weekend and hardwired it into the RV’s 12 Volt wire ring. Thought I’d reference this thread where bargeman gives an alternate way of wiring into 12-Volts. He suggests using a 12-volt autoadapter and power adapter from Radio Shack. I cut off the power adapter and hardwired directly to the 12 volt leads (must add an in-line fuse). Either way, this prevents having to cut off the brick and allows for both a 12-volt and 120-volt option.
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booster
Minnesota
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Joined: 10/14/2007
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I figured I would bring this one back to the top with an update on the Vizio TVs. As I said earlier, the first one we got had the on screen menu popping up all the time on its own (we did go and get a replacement for it). The other one we bought was OK, so that one went into the Roadtrek 190 to try out. I just put it on the mount and ran it on the 120 volts a few weeks ago on a weekend trip. It worked well and pulled in stations fine where we were camped. When we got back, I started the work to get it on 12 volts, get it tied into an updated 5.1 surround receiver, and add a separate 12 volt dvd player for when on batteries. About 1/2 the way through my work, the TV suddenly started losing all the channels whenever the power was turned off. Every time you uplugged it or switched off the 12 volts as I was wiring it, they were gone. I swapped it out with now replaced other one we have and all is working well, but I am not quite done with the conversion yet, as I also wound up with a bad dvd player.
The fact that we have had two for two failures so far is starting to make me believe that maybe the bad reviewers were right. Costco has also reduced the price to $239 and the pile of them is getting small, so they may be bailing on them (too many returns?). I got a replacement this morning for the bad one, but if we lose another, I think we are done with Vizio.
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Capt.Storm
Brockport NY.
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Joined: 04/18/2010
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I have this one and its been great.
Came with a 12 volt cord without the brick.
Nice to have the dvd built in.
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AsheGuy
Raleigh, North Carolina
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Joined: 11/15/2004
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Capt.Storm wrote:I have this one and its been great.
Came with a 12 volt cord without the brick.
Nice to have the dvd built in. Looks like a great RV TV (never heard of the brand though), but you probably have a little more room in your Class C than I do in our class B. The Vizio 19" unit takes up the space available in our LTV. The 22" would be great with the DVD, but the extra 3" would not fit our our particular rig.
David & Margaret - 2005 LTV 210B 3S
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booster
Minnesota
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After quite a few (more than it should have been) setbacks and changes, the new setup with the Vizio is now up and running pretty well.
The original game plan was to run the Vizio on the previously mentioned Amperon 12 volt stabilizer, add a 12 volt DVD player, and replace the crappy surround sound/DVD player (110 volt) that Roadtrek supplied. We wanted to be able to have surround sound from DVD and TV when on shore power, but also wanted to be able to run on 12 volts when on batteries, without the power wasting running of the inverter and the power hungry surround sound amp. The original surround system had a radio, but it was hugely cumbersome to get stations into when you moved to a new location and didn't have the necessary connections for HD or optical audio, so it had to go. We also wanted to be able to run the FM radio off of the Winegard amplified antenna, without using a splitter that would rob signal from both the TV and radio. Pretty big list of wants and wishes, but this is what we wound up with and how we got there.
Upon removing the old TV, digital add on tuner, surround sound amp, and A-B switch, I started checking resistance on the speaker leads to get an indication of what the rated impedance would be, and how they were wired. First thing I ran across, was two dead (open) speakers in the rear of the van. They were wired through a switch that was marked "rear speakers" with "off/surround/vehicle radio" settings. The front/rear thing was weird, so I contacted Roadtrek to get a wiring diagram before going further, as the switch had many wires and same color wires on it. Roadtrek said they don't have, and won't furnish a wiring diagram for the system, so I am totally on my own. After MANY hours of tracking wires and drawing diagrams, I was able to figure out that Roadtrek had reversed the two negative leads for the rear of the van speakers (that were labeled as front from the surround sound). I reversed the wires on the switch and got continuity. As I had thought, the speakers were 6 ohm, with two center speakers wired parallel netting 3 ohms, so my 4 ohm rated new surround system would work (there were no specs available on the original from Roadtrek).
The front/rear thing was still confusing, so I hooked up the speakers one at a time to the old amp to identify the wires myself. Center and sub were as labeled, but the speakers marked "front" were at the rear of the van and the speakers marked "rear" were at the front of the van. Soooo, what we have is the surround system wired for watching from the front seats, not the couch, but nobody tells you that. Plus, the switch that says it shuts of the "rear" speakers is actually shutting off the front speakers of the surround sound, in the rear of the van. I must have had 6 or 7 hours in this part of it, which should have been 10 minutes, but Roadtrek wouldn't give up a wiring diagram so I could fix their mistake and unclear labeling. What do I expect, I guess, they only get $80K plus for these things, and a wiring diagram would have to cost as least $.50.
Once this was all resolved and fixed, I put in the TV, surround sound receiver, stabilizer, and 12 volt DVD player. I used switches for the TV and 12 volt DVD player. Most things worked OK, but I found that the 12 volt DVD player generated a huge humm through the TV. I chased that for several days, even got a different DVD player, and rewired several configurations though and around the stabilizer. What finally fixed it was adding a "ground loop isolator" to the audio cables from the DVD to the component inputs of the TV. The "experts" I had talked to said you couldn't get a 60 cycle hum on DC, but I had it. Must be from the refresh rate of the TV. My old TV did not get the hum when I put it in instead, only the Vizio. There are still some moving bars in the video, but I have a video ground loop isolator on order that, hopefully, will fix that.
In all the rewiring, I discovered that the Amperon stabilizer, and the Winegard amplifier both pulled power when not being used. The Winegard was at about .15 amps even when the switch was off, the Amperon at .12 whenever it saw power. Since both were wired into the permanent 12 volts, they were using battery all the time. I added more switching to be able to kill everything when not in use, but then I started having problems with the TV locking up on turn on. I was turning on the TV (standby) by putting 12 volts to the Amperon, which was wired directly to the TV. Apparently the Amperon has a small startup lag that the TV couldn't handle (again my old one did fine when tested) and it would lock up and have to be turned on and off again. I added another switch so the Amperon could be powered up with the TV off, and then the TV powered afterward. At that point everything worked OK.
Since we usually watch TV from the rear of the bed, which is really the front speakers, and we sit in the far rear of the permanent bed to watch, I moved the van right rear speaker to the cabinet in front of the couch and then switched right and left wiring at the amp to make it correct. Much better listening that way.
I did do a power draw on the system and it pulls only 1.7 amps of 12 volts playing a DVD on the 12 volt player and using the TV speakers. When just on TV with antenna on, it is just about the same. We are very happy with this power use, as it was upwards of 12 amps running the inverter and the surround sound system when on batteries.
Here are most of the components in place in the cabinet:
A-B switches for the signal inputs for cable, antenna, fm, tv
Here are the switches, antenna amp, Amperon isolater:
Back of the TV wiring. Surround amp/DVD comes in on HDMI, 12 volt DVD on component inputs, optical out of the TV takes the TV audio to the surround amp for TV programs through all the speakers. The little wire is the remote control pickup for the 12 volt DVD which we move to the top of the TV when we need it.
The remote sensor in use position:
This is the moved rear (front surround) speaker:
It still pivots fine to watch from the front seats:
Or our normal from the back corner of the bed: (please ignore Ellen)
Stowed with the non-seamstress (me), no sewing (iron on hemming strips), cover in place.
I think we are going to be very happy with this system, as it does all the things we wanted to do. Low power on 12 volts, good sound when on shore power, TV through the surround system, spectacular picture quality, much easier and better sounding FM off of the amplified antenna, HD DVD quality when on shore power. If the durability is there, it should be a great upgrade, but time will tell that.
P.S Costco is closing out the Vizio at $209 here in Minneapolis.
* This post was
edited 05/11/10 08:16pm by booster *
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AsheGuy
Raleigh, North Carolina
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Joined: 11/15/2004
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It's only a sample of one and not an extended test, but we have been out on a trip for over 3 weeks now using the TV every night on cable and antenna and the Visio connected directly to 12V has performed flawlessly so far. And the picture quality is great.
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phlyphyshr
Quiet corner
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Joined: 08/03/2009
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Sorry to dredge this up again, but I'm installing a Vizio 19" on 12v, as well. I contacted Vizio and as expected they will not comment on an installation that does not use their power supply.
I really want to hard wire this in. My assumption is that because they use a regulated power supply they most likely do not have any additional over/under voltage protection in the circuitry. I'm looking at adding a "buck boost" unit as noted on the link below.
http://www.environmentallights.com/products/12419/12_volt_4_amp_overvoltage_protection_for_LEDs?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&utm_campaign=products
This appears to solve both problems, as it will both boost voltage as low as 9v to 12v and limit higher voltage to 12v. Both while maintaining a consistent 4.5amps. These are specifically designed for LED systems.
Am I just being paranoid, or on the right track?
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booster
Minnesota
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Joined: 10/14/2007
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That looks very similar to the one I used (see earlier posts), spec wise, and I think it is a necessity because of the big swings in voltage you see in a vehicle. We just recently spent 9 days on some pretty rough roads and everything survived, so far, so good.
If you use a 12 volt DVD player, you may also need to add ground loop isolation on the audio and video, again see above. The Vizio seems to generate hum that other TVs don't.
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phlyphyshr
Quiet corner
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Decided to go with the Amperor 12v stabilizer.
http://www.amperordirect.com/pc/c-Power/........tage-stabilizer-amperor-P2090-D1000.html
I'll be doing the installation this week.
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phlyphyshr
Quiet corner
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OK, here's the story.
Installed the Vizio xm190xvt tv using a Level Mount ELDM fixed desktop mount. Note that while the supplied mounting plate is "vesa standard", it is so big (almost as big as the tv & as heavy), it covers all the rear inputs. I had to use a jigsaw to remove all but the center 6" square. I also shortened the post (just for aesthetics).
I hard wired the Amperor stabilizer through an LED illuminated switch,so that I could stop all power draw when not in use.
Now for the "other shoe" ,,,,,,,,,the tv works fine,,,with the exception of the proximity touch controls. If I connect the OEM brick, they work fine. Voltages are virtually identical. Looks like my goal to use straight 12v will not work out, and I will have to resort to using an inverter after all. I just ordered a Wagan Elite 180w pure sine inverter that I will hardwire through the same switch that I installed for the stabilizer.
I know,,,,you told me so,,,,,,, 
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