Battery cables

sounds like a solid design arrangement
should work well

I intend to use all 4/0 but the batteries has to sit in a line in my battery box 1/5" for diagonal +to- 2/7" for -to- and 2/7" for +to+
Frank.

You want that diagonal (orange) interconnect (in the parallel 6 config) to be the same gauge as the lead-off cables. It will carry the full load current. The other 4 interconnects only carry 1/2 the load current.

Yes Slownsy

Wiring really depends on how the batteries are spaced...aka..sitting

Most diagrams create two 12v then parallel them

My drawing creates two large 6v then series them together

I think is more stable, but that's me

ok so if I go by Mr Wizards last drawing I will have 4 short cables connecting 2 positives 2 negatives and again 2 positives and 2 negatives and then 1 cable connecting positive to negative in middle correct with the last to batteries mounted 180 degrees.

RoyB wrote:
I like what MR WIZARD says but my problem is I can never come up with the room to situate my batteries that way... Then my two connecting cables in the middle become long cables...

If I had the shunt I would always put it in the NEGATIVE FRAME cable. I never liked the shunts as that makes one of the Voltmeter leads HOT Voltage which is routed back inside the trailer to where your Voltmeter is located....

Using a Hall Effect transformer to measure DC CURRENT is best to use IMO...

The Fuse of course should always be in the cable that is supplying the source 12VDC. Its purpose is to protect the cables in the event the source gets shorted to frame ground. All those batteries connected can produce a very large amount of current if direct shorted to frame ground (literally hundreds of DC AMPS..) The fuse also has to be the right value to handle all of your normal 12VDC needs without blowing the fuse.

My two sets of 6VDC batteries wired in series wiring would look like this...

Google Image

All like cables inside the wiring must be the same lengths in order to make the DC currents be same between all of the like connections...

Just my thoughts

Roy Ken

not a problem, its just cabling, use a fat cable in the middle, same size as the mains or larger



yes..there is one more wire, but the jumpers between pairs of batteries are shorter, and the longer jumper in the middle is always in the circuit, for 'all batteries all the time'
and might be made shorter, by simply flipping one pair end for end before connecting, so the neg to positive is direct link


sorry for the sloppy image editing

These 2 diagrams are exactly the same.

The first has 2 batteries turned one direction, and the other 2 batteries turned the opposite direction, and on 2 separate lines.

The second has all of the batteries turned the same direction, and all on one line.

The wiring is identical.

The first diagram is a good physical layout for the batteries, the second diagram gives a better feel for the connections.

don't see to pictures

I like what MR WIZARD says but my problem is I can never come up with the room to situate my batteries that way... Then my two connecting cables in the middle become long cables...

If I had the shunt I would always put it in the NEGATIVE FRAME cable. I never liked the shunts as that makes one of the Voltmeter leads HOT Voltage which is routed back inside the trailer to where your Voltmeter is located....

Using a Hall Effect transformer to measure DC CURRENT is best to use IMO...

The Fuse of course should always be in the cable that is supplying the source 12VDC. Its purpose is to protect the cables in the event the source gets shorted to frame ground. All those batteries connected can produce a very large amount of current if direct shorted to frame ground (literally hundreds of DC AMPS..) The fuse also has to be the right value to handle all of your normal 12VDC needs without blowing the fuse.

My two sets of 6VDC batteries wired in series wiring would look like this...

Google Image

All like cables inside the wiring must be the same lengths in order to make the DC currents be same between all of the like connections...

Just my thoughts

Roy Ken