Battery Installation question

You hooked it up correctly so you should not have anything blown, not sure why some are saying that. White is neg and if you look close it probably does not go into the box but is screwed to the frame. Black is pos and goes the the spliter connected to the trailer. The spark just mean you already have load on the system and have a draw on the battery right away. No different than plugging it in and getting a spark because the trailer has load on it.

Found this through the magic of google:



It's a 2013 Jayco. Notice the *trailer wiring* white is connected to the ground; black is connected to the red (positive). But the automotive-type cables that connect the batteries together are red (positive) and black (negative). Very confusing.

turbojimmy wrote:

dee74 wrote:
This. Also just because it sparked does not mean you had it wired incorrectly, that can happen occasionally as you the cable makes contact with the battery.

I thought so too, until I reread the original post:

Am I right in that the white wire is a positive lead because it goes to the junction box?

That's wrong.

You may be right. The OP really needs to trace the path of both wires before hooking up the battery.

turbojimmy wrote:

dee74 wrote:
This. Also just because it sparked does not mean you had it wired incorrectly, that can happen occasionally as you the cable makes contact with the battery.

I thought so too, until I reread the original post:

Am I right in that the white wire is a positive lead because it goes to the junction box?

That's wrong.

Exactly. The white wire goes to a junction box. The black wire goes to a splitter bracket to the frame. That isn't right and caused the whole problem.

A little trick I learned was to take a plastic bread tie and put it on the end of each cable when you undo the cable just put a + or a - on the bread tie and you wont have to remember so much when you put the battery back in spring.

dee74 wrote:
This. Also just because it sparked does not mean you had it wired incorrectly, that can happen occasionally as you the cable makes contact with the battery.

I thought so too, until I reread the original post:

Am I right in that the white wire is a positive lead because it goes to the junction box?

That's wrong.

RoyB wrote:
If you have WHITE and BLACK wiring then the WHITE WIRE is NEGATIVE -12VDC and must go to NEGATIVE (FRAME GROUND) Battery Terminal. The BLACK is POSITIVE +12VDC and must go the POSITIVE BATTERY TERMINAL.

In the AUTOMOTIVE WORLD it is different where RED IS POSITIVE and BLACK is frame ground. Makes for big confusion between the two worlds or RV and AUTOMOTIVE where BATTERIES are being used.

You most likely have blown some fuses... There is a FUSE or CIRCUIT BREAKER real close to the battery and also TWO HIGH CURRENT RATING FUSES located in the 12VDC Distribution Panel labeled REVERSE POLARITY...

Be sure to find the markings on the BATTERY CASE that says NEG or the SYMBOL - and make sure this is the WHITE WIRE CONNECTION. I would also hand trace the WHITE CABLE and make sure this goes to the trailer FRAME GROUND near the battery. Someone may have rewired it before you.

Roy Ken

This. Also just because it sparked does not mean you had it wired incorrectly, that can happen occasionally as you the cable makes contact with the battery.

12v in RVs follows a similar color strategy as home wiring - black is hot (positive), white is neutral (or ground). A quick spark may not have blown anything. Hook it back up (correctly) and see what you've got.

I did the same thing this past weekend on my GF's motorcycle. It wouldn't start so I installed the battery out of my bike. Little did I know the terminals were backwards versus her battery. Got a big arc when I touched the positive terminal so I knew something was wrong. No fuses blew and once I got it hooked up properly it was fine.

If you have WHITE and BLACK wiring then the WHITE WIRE is NEGATIVE -12VDC and must go to NEGATIVE (FRAME GROUND) Battery Terminal. The BLACK is POSITIVE +12VDC and must go the POSITIVE BATTERY TERMINAL.

In the AUTOMOTIVE WORLD it is different where RED IS POSITIVE and BLACK is frame ground. Makes for big confusion between the two worlds or RV and AUTOMOTIVE where BATTERIES are being used.

You most likely have blown some fuses... There is a FUSE or CIRCUIT BREAKER real close to the battery and also TWO HIGH CURRENT RATING FUSES located in the 12VDC Distribution Panel labeled REVERSE POLARITY...

Be sure to find the markings on the BATTERY CASE that says NEG or the SYMBOL - and make sure this is the WHITE WIRE CONNECTION. I would also hand trace the WHITE CABLE and make sure this goes to the trailer FRAME GROUND near the battery. Someone may have rewired it before you.

Roy Ken