77 sportsman Vogue just bought need some pointers

[Sneeblii]

Hey y'all I just traded my van for this sweet 77 dodge sportsman vogue. I can't figure out the electrical system. I have an extra deep cycle,and two terminals in the back of the tv for it to be hooked up to. I am mechanically inclined and have installed isolators and rewired accessories etc. just in the dark on this currently (literally). Is my voltage regulator out because my battery seems to be overcharging and hissing when plugged in which may not be causing it to full charge and not complete the circuit, which is not letting me get enough electricity for the lights? I want to figure out how to use my lights and water pump off of my deep cycle, not my starter, yet still charge them both when driving. Can I do that alone with original 77 vogue motor home set up? Also I do not have a generator.

[Sam_Spade]

dicknellen wrote:
Sam Spade no tow vehicle he is talking about a dodge chassis motor home. Dick

I was using "tow vehicle" in a general sense to indicate WHATEVER contains the engine that makes it go.

And the fact that it is permanently attached to the "trailer", makes little or no difference to the most basic discussion.

[dicknellen]

Sam Spade no tow vehicle he is talking about a dodge chassis motor home. Dick

[Sam_Spade]

Sneeblii wrote:
but can I bad battery be the cause, or something like a voltage regulator?

Yes it could be just the battery.

In any case, you NEED to have a good charged battery in place and properly connected before you can make a reasonable test on anything else.

Please read the tutorial at the link given in a previous post.
This will allow you to ask better questions.....hopefully......and may answer most of your questions before you even ask them.

THERE IS NO VOLTAGE REGULATOR IN USE......except in your tow vehicle.

When a trailer system is plugged into 110 V (commonly called shore power) OR is being powered off of a generator, there should be an onboard charger that is charging the battery (commonly called a converter).

And I repeat the suggestion that you take it to a service shop and pay them to check it out and explain it to you. That should not cost you more than $100.....if nothing really needs to be fixed.

[donn0128]

Take the battery out, fully charge and take it to a battery store and ask then to load test it. My guess it is toast, as in bad.

BYW When posting give as much information as you can in as few words as you can. Be sure to use paragraph breaks. It sure makes reading much easier.

[Sneeblii]

Sam Spade wrote:

Sneeblii wrote:
It only hisses after being hooked up for a good period of time

Sneeblii wrote:
Red to pos black to neg. I tested reads fully charged battery

What exactly did you test that made you believe that it was fully charged ?

And what did the voltage read WHILE it was hissing ??

I mean no offense here but the wording of your posts on this subject so far indicates a lack of a good basic understanding about battery and charger systems.

I suggest that you look for the link, which has been posted a hundred times, to the basic tutorial for 12 V systems use and care. I'm sorry but I forget the name; maybe someone will post it for you again.

Failing that, you should take it to an RV repair shop and ask them to do a couple of quick tests and diagnose whether or not there is a problem......and explain to you how the 12 V system works on THAT model.

P.S. Having this same discussion in more than one thread is just confusing to everybody. You should pick ONE and stick with it.

Well I charged the battery, and when It was hookedit read 13.6 and jumped down to 13.4 or so when I turned lights on. The starter battery didn't jump as much but also went down. When it was constantly getting charged by my alternator, at least often, i assumed it was holding charge well. It hissed so I disconnected. I left it untouched and not hooked up for a few days, it reads very low, the battery I am now understanding to be bad., I do lack a good set of vocabulary skills and always have a hard time explaining myself and never been a part of any forum before. The hissing noise sounded very light and just like air being released out of the battery, when researched that, I found that potentially, it could be hydrogen gas leaking out my deep cycle battery. I'm interested in furthering my knowledge on the care of batteries but it's not my main concern, my life is constantly a lesson of new things to learn, but can I bad battery be the cause, or something like a voltage regulator?

[gbopp]

The 12 Volt Side of Life 🙂

[Sam_Spade]

Sneeblii wrote:
It only hisses after being hooked up for a good period of time

Sneeblii wrote:
Red to pos black to neg. I tested reads fully charged battery

What exactly did you test that made you believe that it was fully charged ?

And what did the voltage read WHILE it was hissing ??

I mean no offense here but the wording of your posts on this subject so far indicates a lack of a good basic understanding about battery and charger systems.

I suggest that you look for the link, which has been posted a hundred times, to the basic tutorial for 12 V systems use and care. I'm sorry but I forget the name; maybe someone will post it for you again.

Failing that, you should take it to an RV repair shop and ask them to do a couple of quick tests and diagnose whether or not there is a problem......and explain to you how the 12 V system works on THAT model.

P.S. Having this same discussion in more than one thread is just confusing to everybody. You should pick ONE and stick with it.

[donn0128]

Still sounds like reversed polarity. Follow the leads to positively identify ground.

[Sneeblii]

It only hisses after being hooked up for a good period of time

[Sneeblii]

Red to pos black to neg. I tested reads fully charged battery

[donn0128]

Are you sure your not connecting the battery backwords? There is no hard and fast rules for RV wiring. If the battery is making noise it sounds like either a dead short or mis wired.