Hi. Lot's of learning going on! We have a 2003 Fleetwood Tioga and we killed the batteries during storage. Didn't disconnect them and that damned LP detector wiped the batteries out: chassis and house, so we think... So we got a new chassis battery first. Replaced that ez pz. Went to replace the house batteries and that is when the proverbial poo hit the fan. We had 2 Napa deep cycle batteries at 75amps each. I hit autozone and got 2 Duralast 65amps batteries. Swapped em out. So far so good. Kept the wiring the same. Now, when we turn the rig on, there is a shril continuous tone coming from the converter (the plug with all the wires and fuses?) area of the battery compartment. Lights don't turn on. Generator won't kick up. Are converters amp specific? IE, should I swap out the 65amp batteries with 75amp batteries and keep all the things like for like? Any helps appreciated!imgur pictures

The converters are not battery size specific, at least not in terms of everything working or not working. (If you were to change to a much larger battery bank, a larger converter would be sensible so it doesn't take forever to recharge.) Most likely something is not wired correctly, or a connection isn't sound, or possibly the battery disconnect switch is set to storage mode, or something of that ilk. If things were connected improperly, there is the chance that you may have damaged something in so doing.

Thank you very much for your reply! Good to know that the slightly less amperage set of batteries is not a culprit. Wiring. I duplicated the original exactly to the original as far as I can tell. In the pictures I shared there on Imgur, on the right battery, the negative terminal has a small white and small black wire co-mingling with the big power cable. Do those need to stack in a specific way? I'm also fairly certain that at no time I did a neg/pos tap tap. But, who knows? Maybe I did booger something up unknowingly...thanks again!

STOP, you are wired incorrectly disconnect all the negative wires now. You have the 12 volt batteries wired in series making 24 volts. Per your pictures you removed two 6 volt batteries correctly wired in series and replaced with two 12 volt batteries. The 12 volt batteries need to be wired in parallel. let me find a picture.Here, you need to be wired like the batteries in the LEFT picture. Your old wiring is in the right picture. Hopefully you did not blow any fuses. But you'll find out after you correct the battery wiring.

Disconnected! Thank you very much! Waiting for picture :) Hopefully I didn't cook something...

Refresh for the picture. Just as an aside, Automotive or RV batteries are about 2.1 volts per cell. So in your original picture there are only three cell caps per battery making 6 volts per battery. When wired like in the picture on the right they are in series and the voltage adds up to 12. In your after picture there are two large caps which are indicative of three cells under each cap for a 12 volt battery. So when you wired them is series you created 24 volts. Once you re-wire them like the left side picture you will only have 12 volts in the system. Unfortunately I don't know if this would cause any damage. But my guess is there will possibly be a few blown fuses. Oh, also you can still connect the two small wires to the negative side of the batteries after you re-wire them. They are still negative wires so they still go to the negative terminal (either negative terminal).

New House Batteries, Converter Beeping? | Good Sam Community

2oldman
Explorer II
Jan 12, 2020
Read this: 12v side of life.

And get thyself a voltmeter. You got lucky, this time.
IAMICHABOD
Explorer II
Jan 12, 2020
I don't know which model Tioga you have,that would be useful,but if it is like my 26Q,the Converter is under the rear dinette seat.

Remove the bottom cushion and under it there will be a plywood piece, unscrew the screws that hold it down.

After that is out of the way you will find the Converter.
Of course I have changed mine but yours should be in the same place.

It is pretty easy to change out,pretty much plug and play. Make sure that you are not plugged into shore power,disconnect the batteries.

The ac cord is plugged into the rear of the power panel,remove that and then the red and black wires and the ground wire unscrew the unit from the floor. Remove it then install the new one making sure that the red and black wires are in the proper slots and the ground wire on the side of the unit is secure make sure they are screwed tightly.

I found that taking a few pictures helped on the install.
Munk888
Explorer
Jan 12, 2020
Thank you! I do have that same little fuse box in the bird box. Lol. Thanks for the diagram! I can now make sure all the right fuses are in the right slots. Converter...I would imagine it is the original. We bought the 2003 Tioga this year used. Is the converter below the bird box? Or maybe under the flooring somewhere? All good! You are all awesome.
IAMICHABOD
Explorer II
Jan 12, 2020
Munk888 wrote:
I should probably find fuse diagrams to the RV and make sure the right amps are in the right spots...

There should be one in the battery box like this

Click For Full-Size Image.

And one inside your door to the fuse panel in dining area.

Click For Full-Size Image.

And another suggestion,if you still have that old WFCO converter that came with it I would trash it and get a new Converter That WFCO is a piece of junk and will kill your batteries.
Munk888
Explorer
Jan 12, 2020
Opnspaces et all, thank you sincerely for your help! My family is greatly happy we get to go camping! @iamichbod I do have the same setup! My bird was chirping when I had it all wired up to 24v. Since it is good and parallel now, the whole coach seems good! Only lost 2 led cabin lights. Fridge, water pump, all seem good now. Fuses behind bird and in dining room are good, none blown. I should probably find fuse diagrams to the RV and make sure the right amps are in the right spots...
IAMICHABOD
Explorer II
Jan 12, 2020
A bit late to this but a word of advice, go over to your Costco and get a pair of CG2 batteries then wire them as in the first photo and as the others have said.

Another thing,I have a Fleetwood Tioga,and I have to ask does your battery box look like this?

If so that box you mentioned where the fuses are and a shrill tone is not your converter.It may be a BIRD

A lot of the Tiogas of this vintage have them. It will look like this.

You didn't say which Model of Tioga you have but if it is like mine a 26Q or similar I may be of help on other things,just ask.
ksg5000
Explorer
Jan 12, 2020
Next time you store the rig make sure the batteries are fully charged and then disconnect them from the rig (both house and chassis) - should help insure you don't have dead batteries when your start up the rig in the spring.
opnspaces
Navigator II
Jan 12, 2020
Yes, as BFL13 says you can criss-cross the wires if it's easier to have a battery turned in the opposite direction. As long as all the positive (+) terminals are hooked together and all the negative (-) terminals are hooked together you'll have 12 volts.
BFL13
Explorer II
Jan 12, 2020
Munk888 wrote:
Hi there! One more Q: at the auto stores they only have 4GA cable. Is that going to be ok to use with that parallel set up? I realize bigger is better...but it is all they got:) thanks!

Yes. Note that you can criss-cross the cables with the batteries lying in opposite directions if that makes it easier to connect your RV wires with pos to one battery and neg to the other, as is proper.

Sometimes one or the other set of wires won't reach if both batteries are lying the same way.
Munk888
Explorer
Jan 12, 2020
Hi there! One more Q: at the auto stores they only have 4GA cable. Is that going to be ok to use with that parallel set up? I realize bigger is better...but it is all they got:) thanks!