Disconnecting Cleaning Bat Cables & Terminals

hershey wrote:
When I replaced my batteries I wrapped red electricians tape around every single wire going to each positive cable. Even the tiny 12 ga wires.
Then took a digital picture that clearly showed every connection.
Remove the ground (negative) cables first and then the positive cables and wires.
Reconnection was very simple, just reverse the process....positive first connection and then the negative.

I like it .... excellent ideas. I'll use them as my plan of attack!!

hershey wrote:
Fireup, I really don't want to sound critical of your battery setup....from what I can see, it looks to me like a factory wiring setup. I'm just curios as to what is the norm? Is it much like what you have or more like what I have (sorry no pictures, not really that important). I have one cable to each post of the batteries and a couple 12 or 10 ga wires to a couple of them. I have a 2000 watt inverter which is much like most other MH's. I just can't understand what all the other cables are? More like is that the norm or not? Again, I'm not picking at your setup or anyone elses similar setups.

Hershey,
You're not picking on anything here. Just making a statement. As for the "norm" who the heck knows. I never have/did trace all the parasitic wires, both the positive and negative, out to see where they all went. I just moved them away from the battery posts for a cleaner setup. I have seen a few battery compartments that looked way worse than mine did before I changed things around. Below is a couple of pics of my house batteries before and after. The before show, (3) 12V Interstate SRM 429 Marine/Deep cycle batteries, and the after picture shows (4) Costco 6V Golf Cart Deep Cycles and, a cleaner wiring than with the 12V units.
Scott

Fireup, I really don't want to sound critical of your battery setup....from what I can see, it looks to me like a factory wiring setup. I'm just curios as to what is the norm? Is it much like what you have or more like what I have (sorry no pictures, not really that important). I have one cable to each post of the batteries and a couple 12 or 10 ga wires to a couple of them. I have a 2000 watt inverter which is much like most other MH's. I just can't understand what all the other cables are? More like is that the norm or not? Again, I'm not picking at your setup or anyone elses similar setups.

hershey wrote:

FIRE UP wrote:
2ndhom,
Well Sir, I did just what you're thinking of a couple of years back. But, when I got done cleaning both house and chassis battery trays and repainting them, when it came time to re-installing the cables and "parasitic" wires that were attached to both the negatives and positives of both the house and chassis batteries, I removed ALL of those parasitic wires and placed them on independent lugs and or, grounds.

"snip"

I have to wonder if that mass of wiring in your photos is reflective of the majority of MH's? I have a DP and there is no comparison between my battery bank any yours. Not a slam, I'm just surprised at the maze of wires.

Hershey,
Well Sir, we are the third owners of this coach. I'm dead sure the second owners never did anything like you see in the pictures. He had a hard time tying his own shoes, much less any battery wiring. And, I never met the original purchasers so, I don't know if they did any of it either. I suspect that they didn't. I'm under the assumption that Itasca did this but, I have no real basis for proof. None of it looked really "shaudy", it all seemed to be uniform.

I've been told by some other Winne and Itasca owners that theirs was the same when they acquired them. So, I don't know Sir.
Scott

FIRE UP wrote:
2ndhom,
Well Sir, I did just what you're thinking of a couple of years back. But, when I got done cleaning both house and chassis battery trays and repainting them, when it came time to re-installing the cables and "parasitic" wires that were attached to both the negatives and positives of both the house and chassis batteries, I removed ALL of those parasitic wires and placed them on independent lugs and or, grounds.

"snip"

I have to wonder if that mass of wiring in your photos is reflective of the majority of MH's? I have a DP and there is no comparison between my battery bank any yours. Not a slam, I'm just surprised at the maze of wires.

When I replaced my batteries I wrapped red electricians tape around every single wire going to each positive cable. Even the tiny 12 ga wires.
Then took a digital picture that clearly showed every connection.
Remove the ground (negative) cables first and then the positive cables and wires.
Reconnection was very simple, just reverse the process....positive first connection and then the negative.

When you disconnect battery cables, ALWAYS disconnect the negative terminals first. This helps to minimize the chance of a spark, you will get if your wrench makes contact with any ground or other negative battery cable.
When reconnecting the cables, ALWAYS connect the negative cables last.

yes to all the above. baking soda, lots. water won't hurt anything here. Any rust or bare metal in the tray clean it off and paint it with something.

For sure make a diagram on paper of the connections and orientation of the batteries.

You can check the individual cells on your 6 volts with a meter, put the black on the ground terminal, and just stick the red in the cell, just in the electrolyte, you will get readings, 2 4 and 6 volts as you go down the line, more or less. If a cell is dead it will be obvious.

2ndhom wrote:
I'm seeing a white powder at the bottom of the battery tray as well as some around the cable/terminals.
I've taken pictures of the ( 4 ) 6 volts and ( 2 ) 12 volts so I know where to return the cables/wires to their origunal location. I'm sure I should turn off the main switches. I see a couple of smaller wires connected to the terminals .... could those be from the roof solar? If so I should probably tape them. What additional procedure should I go thru or things to look for. Oh, I have also noticed the 6 volt bats don't stay charged as long as they used to ..... may need replacing?

I think I would not only take pictures, but also make up a drawing....sometimes it's a little difficult to see a picture accurately.

Yes, you need to turn the disconnect switches to the off position.

The couple of smaller wires could be just about anything. I would check them with a voltmeter once they are removed from the battery terminal to see if they have voltage on them....if they do, wrap them, if not, don't worry about them.

You didn't mention how old your 6v batteries are. If they are six or more years old, I think i would look into replacing them.

Once you have the batteries out, wet the batteries and tray with water, and then sprinkle baking soda on them. Let is stew for a minute or two and then spray off. Might need to do it another time to get all the corrosion off. Dry everything and then use a battery terminal cleaner (little wire do-dad) to make the terminals and cables nice and shiny. If the paint on the tray has deteriorated any, I would get some of that rubberized paint (spray can from auto parts store) and give it a good couple of coats.

Reinstall the batteries and cables according to the picture and drawing. Measure voltage at a point closest to the batter cut off switch to insure everything is connected correctly before turning on the switches.

Hope this helps

Ron

2ndhom,
Well Sir, I did just what you're thinking of a couple of years back. But, when I got done cleaning both house and chassis battery trays and repainting them, when it came time to re-installing the cables and "parasitic" wires that were attached to both the negatives and positives of both the house and chassis batteries, I removed ALL of those parasitic wires and placed them on independent lugs and or, grounds.

That way, if and when I have to service any of those batteries, I won't have to deal with a zillion extra wires while cleaning/servicing them. You can get an insulated positive battery lug that's mountable to the side frame of the battery area at most auto parts stores. As for the grounds, I simply drilled the battery framing towards the rear of both house and chassis batteries and installed all those small, pain in the a... wires to those points.

Now, it's much easier to check water levels, clean the battery tops, check specific gravity, and any other maintenance that might be needed on a regular basis. As for some of yours, could they be Solar? Well, without some additional info, that's hard to say from this end.

Below is a couple of pics of the before and after. The re-mount of the grounds are kind of hard to see but, it you look at the right side of the batteries, you'll see them attached to the battery frame area. Good luck.
Scott