My 30ft Marlin is my familys pride and joy,but recently the TV and DVD player wont turn on. I contacted GW and was told the inverter is probably the source of the problem and the cabinet would have to be removed to access it. Is this a difficult task and what type of inverter should I have on hand before I start this task. Any and all input would be greatly welcomed, my daughters are not happy.
TV and DVD
- Thread starter mljgreat
- Start date
I have a 2005 Marlin and the inverter in the TV cabinet went bad from rain water that leaked from the window above. I read how difficult it was to remove the TV cabinet and I took a different approach. After removing the DVD player trim plate and then using a flat wood trim saw (Dewalt has a nice one I found at Home Depot) to cleanly cut loose the three straps at the bottom of the black square plastic pads that are glued to the top of the DVD player (only took 5 minutes to cut loose). I then used a mirror and a flexible screw driver attachment (found on Amazon for $7) I removed two of the four screws that secure it. I then gently used a very small pry bar and popped off the two remaining small screws. The inverter is just a bit to big to come out through the DVD opening, so I dismantled the inverter while still inside the cabinet (very easy, just removed all of the Phillips head screws and it comes apart). The largest piece on the inverter case is still to large, so I folded it over with a very large pair of water pump pliers and it came out easily. I found a 400 watt inverter on Ebay that is only 2 inches in height (DVD opening is about 2.25 inches in height). West Marine sells the same one for $59. I will update the thread after I install it. It will possibly take some creativity with heavy duty velcro straps, or pads I believe, because securing completely the original way might not be possible (just not enough room). You can also remove the phone Jack for access and to see what your dealing with the straps that hold the DVD in place (one on each end and one in the middle glued to the top). I will be using someone with small hands and thin arms to reach through the same opening to reattach the straps to the DVD. (I took the three square pads off of the straps by lifting the hinged top that removes tension off the strap and then removed old adhesive for a clean start for the new adhesive pads). We actually do not use the TV that much but I like everything to work as designed on anything I own.
Wanted to follow up after completing the job of replacing the bad TV/DVD inverter. Turns out the inverter that I bought from West Marine was not a good fit even though the size was perfect (slid through dvd opening easily). It would trip or fault after a few seconds because it was not a pure sine wave type inverter. I am not an electrical engineer but I believe this is because the TV is actually a 12 V TV even though it’s powered by an inverter that’s creating 110 V it’s then plugged into a step down transformer (not sure if that’s actually what they are called) that turns it back into 12 V. I think Grady White designed it like this so they could provide 110 volts to the DVD player and also run the tv on the same panel breaker. It also shuts both down if you go below 10.5 volts to keep you from killing your batteries. I did purchase an AIMS 300 watt Pure Sine Wave inverter for about $94. It is a bit to big to slide through the dvd opening, so I used a multi tool to carefully cut the opening at the top on the right side (see photos). I cut about 3/16 off a bit longer than the inverter. I attached L brackets from Home Depot with stainless hardware. I put a bit of a bend in the brackets near where they will attach to the face of the cabinet under the top edge of the DVD opening, so that the inverter is pitched up and away from possibly scraping the top the DVD player. I lined up the screw holes and just slightly pre drilled. On this inverter there is only one 3 prong plug, so I used a short triple pigtail to allow plugging in both the tv and dvd. You need to take time to make sure other wires are out if the way and positioned so they don’t interfere with getting the inverter in a good position and to keep them from allowing the DVD player to slid all the way in. I held the DVD player in tightly with some two sided tape. 
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Sorry for the duplicate pictures. Anyway it all works great again and did not need to take apart the tv/dvd cabinet!
