Battery wiring help, please
I bought a new rv battery to replace one that has deteriorated in our Chalet Arrowhead. I made the mistake of not taking a picture of how the battery was wired and now I am not sure which wires go whe...
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Pro tip: NEVER rely on color coding "traditions." Not on electrical wires, not on fuel pump handles, not on NUTHIN'.
You never know when the guy ahead of you screwed it up. TEST, TEST, TEST. When doing anything involving electrical, you need a VOM, volt-ohm-meter, as a minimum. They aren't expensive, I've seen el-cheapo ones for $10-$15 that are perfectly adequate for the home handyman. Do NOT hook the battery up and pray. You have a 50% chance of being right, and chances are if you get it wrong you won't be able to disconnect until after you've put out the fire.
EDIT: how to use that VOM for this job. 1) hook up RV to shore power, being careful to have the two battery cables suspended in mid-air and not touching anything metal. 2) set the VOM to read voltage, and in a range that will cover 15 volts DC. 3) one of the VOM leads will be labeled + and the other labeled -. Take a guess and connect them to the two battery cables. 4) the meter should read something in the 13-15 volt range. If it reads +14 volts, you guessed right, the positive lead is connected to the positive battery cable. If it reads -14 volts, the positive lead is connected to the negative battery cable. Issue solved.
You never know when the guy ahead of you screwed it up. TEST, TEST, TEST. When doing anything involving electrical, you need a VOM, volt-ohm-meter, as a minimum. They aren't expensive, I've seen el-cheapo ones for $10-$15 that are perfectly adequate for the home handyman. Do NOT hook the battery up and pray. You have a 50% chance of being right, and chances are if you get it wrong you won't be able to disconnect until after you've put out the fire.
EDIT: how to use that VOM for this job. 1) hook up RV to shore power, being careful to have the two battery cables suspended in mid-air and not touching anything metal. 2) set the VOM to read voltage, and in a range that will cover 15 volts DC. 3) one of the VOM leads will be labeled + and the other labeled -. Take a guess and connect them to the two battery cables. 4) the meter should read something in the 13-15 volt range. If it reads +14 volts, you guessed right, the positive lead is connected to the positive battery cable. If it reads -14 volts, the positive lead is connected to the negative battery cable. Issue solved.
