Negative/Ground wire
Our first trailer had both the positive and negative 12 volt wires running from the battery to the combination distribution/converter panel. The negative wire was also grounded to the frame. On the ...
Forum Discussion
lenr wrote:
On the next two trailers, there was no negative wire. Negative was grounded to the frame at the converter and at the batteries with a fairly small self-tapping hex head screw. My concern is long term corrosion at the frame grounding point. 1) Am I being overly concerned?
No !
lenr wrote:
2) Is there anything wrong with adding a negative wire, but leaving the frame connections?
Yes, you will create a "ground loop", which could potentially depleat the battery.
Without getting too technical, connect a multimeter to the battery post and then touch connection of the converter (or other grounds) with the other probe. You could be reading over 100 mV ! Not good.
Go one way or the other. Copper wire to all negative load connections OR connect to the chassis. If you are using the chassis for ground, inspect those connections at least once a year. At the first sign of corrosion, remove the screw, clean the chassis to bare metal, re-install with a stainless screw and put a good "gob" of dielectric grease on top.
