We leave Saturday for 2 weeks of dry camping with our brand new travel trailer. After researching, I bought two 6 volt golf cart batteries and hooked them up in parallel. Separately, each battery showed 6.2 volts, but as I have them hooked up they still show the same output. All my connections are solid. Needless to say, I must have botched something up! I've got one day to figure this out, so any help offered is much appreciated...

for the love of god reduce the size of the photo,that said you need to wire in series to get 12vClicky

6 volt batteries need to be connected in series to provide 12 volts (12.7v). Connected in parallel just gives you 6.35v and 440 AH.A single cable is connected from the "NEG" post of first battery to the "POS" post of the second battery to form one "12 volt" battery and 220 AH.Get rid of your link to the picture. It is oversized and messing up reading of your post.

Welcome to the forum.From what little I can see, you're connecting the 2 12v terminals together which is incorrect. That's how you wire up two 12v batteries.Your method (parallel) will only give you 6 volts as you noticed. Here's a link to make it clear:SERIES CONNCTION, 2 6 VOLT BATTERIES

I see nothing wrong with picture or post

Much better picture now. No worries, you just need to move the cables as you have a parallel setup and not series. You'd be fine if you were working with 12v batteries. With series connection, 2 6v batteries become 1 12volt battery in essence.Check the 2 links posted above and you'll see what you need to do.

Need electrical help...soon! | Good Sam Community

96Tony
Explorer
Jul 19, 2014
Ron3rd wrote:
Good to see you got it sorted out.

Thanks for this post, Ron, and your other two also. I needed it in simple terms which you (and others!) did well.

With my borrowed Honda i2000, and the stock Interstate marine/RV battery dedicated to my sleep apnea machine, I should be good to go!
Heisenberg
Explorer
Jul 18, 2014
Easy on the Plumber guys! When you need one you will forget all about his/her weaknesses!
wa8yxm
Explorer III
Jul 18, 2014
I am fond of saying there are no six volt batteries in RV's. here is why.

-{6V}+-{6V}+
Equals
-{Battery}+

Wire them as shown (Positive of one to the negetive of the other
and then treat the pair EXACTLY as you would a 12 volt size 4D
ScottG
Nomad
Jul 17, 2014
An easy mistake to make. Congrats on sorting it out.
Ron3rd
Explorer III
Jul 17, 2014
Good to see you got it sorted out.
96Tony
Explorer
Jul 17, 2014
2oldman wrote:
What on earth did you research to hook them up like that?

Obviously, the problem was not in the research - but rather my unsuccessful interpretation of it!
96Tony
Explorer
Jul 17, 2014
SUCCESS...thanks a ton!

Jeez, connecting in series is a lot easier than parallel, I wish I had figured that out beforehand. I guess I remember reading that parallel would give me better longevity, and series would give me greater voltage. I thought I had the option of either.

I'm slowly beginning to understand...

Vintage bike renovation - great.
Plumbing - very good.
Carpentry - good.
Electrical - clueless!
2oldman
Explorer II
Jul 17, 2014
What on earth did you research to hook them up like that?
Ron3rd
Explorer III
Jul 17, 2014
Much better picture now. No worries, you just need to move the cables as you have a parallel setup and not series. You'd be fine if you were working with 12v batteries. With series connection, 2 6v batteries become 1 12volt battery in essence.

Check the 2 links posted above and you'll see what you need to do.
bigB42
Explorer
Jul 17, 2014
I see nothing wrong with picture or post

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