Battery Basics ??

Paul,

You need the generator running or shore power to power the circuit to the engine block heater. Best to my knowledge that it does not run off the inverters.

Gary - we like that detail.

Mike

Yeah, I'm connected to shore power... wouldn't do well to have battery chargers connected to the inverters!

Well, as I'm continuing along my trek to disconnect and charge each battery in turn, as I removed the nuts from the battery posts of battery #3, the ends of the cables attached to one of the posts just crumbled into nothing.

So, it looks like I get to play electrician tomorrow. I need to replace a short, say 8" or so, battery cable that acts as a jumper, and replace the ends to a couple of wires from the wiring harness that now have no connector on them to attach to the battery post.

If I have to keep doing this level of maintenance, I'm gonna need to press Janice into duty with the stainless polish...I'm getting behind in the polishing schedule and Lew has been chastising me about the water spots and finger prints...

I didn't steal your post chicken boy, he MAY NOT have a 110V block heater!;)

Well, it looks like I'm getting closer to being finished. All 4 batteries are charged up and I'm in the middle of replacing some of the questionable cables.

Any suggestions as to handle these destroyed connectors? They attach to a negative terminal and are part of a wiring harness.

What's the best way to handle this repair?

A battery distributor can make new cables for you, or you can make your own. The ends are available at welding supply stores or battery specialists and the tool to crimp the ends is a simple punch and die type fixture that you insert the cable end in and hammer it to make the crimp.

The black insulation over the end terminal is just heat shrink tubing.

I'll need to replace the ends/connectors. They actually have 2 wires each, which aren't clear in the photo, and the wire disappears into a wiring harness cable wrap.

Hopefully, once the old ends are cut off, I'll have enough wire to reach the terminal.

Is it better to twist the 2 wires together before crimping on the end, or place them parallel to each other (the way they are now) and crimp the center?

I hope a smart electrical guy would answer this, but if it was me I would twist them. I am not sure you need the big battery type terminals since you might find suitable sized ring terminals.

What I now realize is that if those are connected to your bus batteries I'll bet you the Happy Meal Joe owes me for the nitrogen thing that is the phantom load draining your bus batteries. Chase them down and figure out why someone connected them to the batteries instead of the terminal posts in the bus rear junction box.

I was wondering the same thing about those wires, Jon. I get suspicious when there's anything but battery cables attached directly to the batteries.

If you think the ends of those wires look bad, you should have seen the battery cable that I replaced! The copper-colored cable in the photo is a new replacement, which was made up at a local battery place. I also replaced a couple of others that looked tired while I had everything apart.

I agree Jon, I don't like to see anything connected to the chassis batteries. The chassis batts are to important to have anything to them. If its a connection to the house batts that the converter did I would put a disconnect right at the batts.

Paul, can you find where those cables go?