Winegard 4G Prep Wires under cover are not powered.

[cfasting]

I have a 2024 Crossroads Cruiser Aire C22MRK. I've had this issue before with the Furrion "Ready" backup camera; the power wires under the cover were not connected and required fishing them out to see and connect.

I have a Winegard 4G Router and wanted to use the the Air360+ features. Checked the dome, connections to the Winegard, and no power.

Broke out my multimeter and the red/white and white pair under the Winegard cover don't have 12V. Turned on every switch in and outside the camper to see if it's connected to any of them; no luck. No blown fuses in the distribution center and slots without fuses don't have a wire connected to the right--placed a fuse there anyways to verify, but still don't have 12V.

I tried to gently pull the wires to see if they are loose like the camera ones were, but the seem snug. Anywhere close by to tap is on a switch.

This is frustrating that a supposed "XYZ Ready" prep doesnt have the wiring present. I understand the thought of loose powered wires just flopping around, but these didn't even have a loop section to prevent that. Anyone else experience this and were you able to tap from elsewhere?

Claus

 

[rjshiflet49]

Pardon the copy/paste, but I love what you can find out from ChatGPT:

A couple of things I’d check before tapping into another circuit:

1. Verify what those red/white and white wires actually are.
   Don’t assume the pair under the Air360+ dome is the intended 12V feed. Winegard installations can have separate wiring for the antenna/router equipment.
2. Check behind/near the entertainment center or router location.
   On many RVs, the Air360+ power feed ultimately originates near the interior Winegard router/control equipment rather than at a nearby wall switch.
3. Look for an unlabeled 12V lead behind the ceiling/roof panel.
   Since you found the Furrion camera wires essentially abandoned under the camera cover, I would not be surprised if Cruiser left the Winegard feed disconnected somewhere between the roof and interior.
4. Don't use an empty fuse position just because it has no fuse.
   You did the right thing experimenting carefully, but an unused fuse position isn't necessarily connected to anything. If there's no wire feeding that circuit, installing a fuse won't energize it.
5. If you ultimately have to tap another circuit, I'd use a known 12V circuit capable of handling the Winegard's load, add the appropriate inline fuse, and ideally make it switched so the router isn't drawing power continuously when the RV is stored.

The particularly interesting clue is this:

The wires under the Winegard have zero volts, but they are snug and don't pull out.

That makes a completely missing roof harness less likely and a disconnected/unpowered feed somewhere downstream more likely.

Then as ChatGPT dug deeper, this was the REVISED comment:

I dug into the Winegard documentation, and I think there’s a very important clue here that changes how I’d troubleshoot the C22MRK.

What Winegard says the wiring should look like​

For the Air 360+ with the Winegard Gateway 4G LTE router, Winegard shows two separate 12-volt power supplies/circuits:

1. Air 360+ TV antenna power

• The antenna's coax runs down to the Winegard TV power supply/wall plate.
• That power supply needs +12 VDC and ground.
• The antenna amplifier gets its power through the coax from that power supply.

2. Gateway 4G/Wi-Fi router power

• A separate +12 VDC feed goes to the Gateway's power switch/power supply.
• Winegard specifies a dedicated 12-VDC circuit with a 3A fuse.
• If the RV manufacturer has already installed the power wire, it is supposed to connect to the Gateway wiring.

Winegard specifically says that if the RV manufacturer didn't install the power wire, the installer should provide one using 18-gauge wire, no longer than 50 feet, on a dedicated 12-VDC circuit with a 3A fuse.

Winegard Air 360+ installation manual

Here's the part that really interests me

Winegard's installation diagram shows:

RV +12V → 3A fuse → switch → Gateway power input

and

RV ground → Gateway ground

The manual also says the Gateway should ideally be installed directly below the Air 360+, with the three Wi-Fi/4G antenna cables reaching the Gateway.

So if your friend's red/white and white wires underneath the Air 360+ have absolutely 0 volts, I would not immediately conclude that the wires under the dome are supposed to have constant 12V.

They may actually be the prewire for the Gateway, and the missing link may be inside the RV, where the manufacturer was supposed to connect that prewire to the 12V system.

And there's another useful clue

Winegard's Gateway installation instructions specifically address an RV where the manufacturer has already run the power cable:

The manufacturer's RV power cable is spliced to the Gateway power cable.
If the manufacturer didn't install the power wire, Winegard says to run a new dedicated 12V circuit.

That makes me think your friend should trace the red/white pair rather than tap a nearby light or switch circuit yet.

What I would check on the C22MRK

I'd work through these in this order:

A. Find the interior Winegard/Gateway location.

Look for the location where the Gateway would mount — often near/under the Air 360+ on the ceiling.

There should be:

• the three Wi-Fi/4G antenna cables from the roof
• the Gateway power wiring
• potentially an unused/prewired power cable

B. Look behind the Winegard wall plate/switch, if equipped.

If there is a Winegard switch/power plate inside, pull it out carefully and check the back.

Winegard shows the manufacturer's 12V feed connecting there.

C. Check the red/white pair at both ends.

If there's continuity from the roof wires to the interior Winegard location but no 12V, that's a strong indication that Cruiser simply never connected the feed to the 12V distribution system.

D. Check the distribution panel for a labeled but unused Winegard/Gateway circuit.

Don't rely solely on an empty fuse position. As you discovered, an empty position may have no wire feeding it at all.

If the factory wiring really is missing​

Then I would not steal power from the nearest switch unless absolutely necessary.

I'd install it the way Winegard specifies:


12V distribution/battery source
↓
3A fuse
↓
18-ga wire
↓
Winegard Gateway switch/power input
↓
Gateway

with the negative/ground connected appropriately.

Winegard specifies 18 AWG, dedicated 12V circuit, maximum 50 feet, 3A fuse for a new Gateway power run.