Battery connection correct? with pictures.

[Eckman]

Dewinterized about a week ago and put the battery back in. Put it on shore power overnight. Went out today and power jack didn't work. Multimeter showed 11.6V. Started thinking I may have reversed the cables. It is a 2014 Jay flight swift 264BH. I have been looking at the battery and cables for a couple hours now and I don't think I got it wrong. Can someone just look at these pics and reassure me as we are talking off in the AM for a few days of dry camping.

That white cable on the negative terminal goes behind the battery to the frame but then proceeds to that box in the other pic.
The main black cable on the positive terminal goes to the red covered thing on the right side of the red thing in this pic. The battery on shore power shows 13.6V. Any thoughts on if it's hooked up properly ? I appreciate it. Thank you.

[Tinnys Rig]

I would suggest opening that box which is just a junction box and make sure that the terminations are not loose or corroded.

[Tinnys Rig]

Also check that red thing as it may be a mini breaker or fuse but just looks like a splice point. It may also be loose or corroded.

[scrawf7]

I believe white cable is positive and black is negative

[Eckman]

Originally Posted by scrawf7

I believe white cable is positive and black is negative

But would the positive cable go directly to a screw on the frame? That's what has me confused.

[Eckman]

I will check for loose and our corroded connections. Thanks for that advice.

[Tinnys Rig]

You are absolutely correct about the white wire being positve in most cases but if it is it shouldn't go to the frame.

[mcfarmall]

Use your ohmmeter to find which wire is grounded. Disconnect both from the battery first. Set your meter to some low value like 200 ohms. Connect one lead from the meter to one of the wires and the other to a good ground on the trailer frame. Which ever wire reads closest to ZERO ohms (not infinity) is the grounded wire of the 12v system.

On my '06 23B the negative wire is WHITE and on the positive terminal I have a green wire with a 30A in-line fuse that feeds a bundle of BLACK wires all hooked together with a giant wire nut. Your first photo shows a BLACK wire on the positive with a green wire and an orange wire crimped on the same ring terminal. I believe you're hooked up correctly.

Just keep in mind that the color of the insulation is not the primary concern nor is it a surefire way to determine where it is supposed to be connected.

One last thing. Keep the top of the battery clean at all times. Dirt is a conductor and will discharge the battery over time even if the battery is completely disconnected from the system. Want proof? Find a dirty battery. Set your multimeter to read DC voltage in the 25 volt range. Touch one lead to either battery terminal and the other lead to the dirty top of the battery and you'll read voltage guaranteed. It may only be a few volts but it's enough to drain the battery.

[RoyBraddy]

In the RV BATTERY world the BLACK WIRE is HOT (+12VDC) and the WHITE CABLE is frame ground (-12VDC).

In the Automotive BATTERY world the RED CABLE is HOT(+12VDC) and the BLACK CABLE is frame ground (-12VDC).

Sometimes the two worlds get mixed together.

I always look at the battery case for the word 'NEG' or the symbol '-' and make sure this is the cable that is going to the frame ground.

Also I have found alot of RV wiring that is all WHITE cables that have different color stripes running with it. In this case a SOLID WHITE will be frame ground and all the white cables with different color strips will be HOT (+12VDC).

I guess the RV WORLD tries to follow standard house wiring colors for the 120VAC wiring but when you add the BATTERY WORLD to the situation other BATTERY wiring schemes gets mixed together. When you go buy a replacement JENSEN AM/FM radio it will come with RED and BLACK DC cable wiring. This usually results in the RED wire on top of BLACK wire in the RV wiring somewhere haha... Makes the 'old electricians' turn over in their grave I reckon...

Roy Ken

[nylyon]

Originally Posted by roybraddy

in the rv battery world the black wire is hot (+12vdc) and the white cable is frame ground (-12vdc).

In the automotive battery world the red cable is hot(+12vdc) and the black cable is frame ground (-12vdc).

Sometimes the two worlds get mixed together.

I always look at the battery case for the word 'neg' or the symbol '-' and make sure this is the cable that is going to the frame ground.

Also i have found alot of rv wiring that is all white cables that have different color stripes running with it. In this case a solid white will be frame ground and all the white cables with different color strips will be hot (+12vdc).

I guess the rv world tries to follow standard house wiring colors for the 120vac wiring but when you add the battery world to the situation other battery wiring schemes gets mixed together. When you go buy a replacement jensen am/fm radio it will come with red and black dc cable wiring. This usually results in the red wire on top of black wire in the rv wiring somewhere haha... Makes the 'old electricians' turn over in their grave i reckon...

Roy ken

absolutely!

[wwsmith111]

RVs are wired just like a house not a car. In an RV the black wire is hot just like your house with the white wire being a neutral (negative) or ground.

[cekkk]

Just serviced my battery and found that the white, negative, post and wire were clean while the red wire, yes, red, on the positive post and the post had some corrosion. My point is, if you've got any corrosion on just one wire and one post don't hang your hat on that being the correct hookup, but it's something to add into the decision.

[Seann45]

Black is positive in RV's ... what I suggest for this so you remember is to wrap the end of the black cable with RED tape..

[ranchosinvacas]

Interesting comments as to Jayco wire color coding!!
I had removed my range hood/exhaust fan unit from the 145RB for some maintenance work.
I was surprised to find that the hot wire for the fan and lamp switches was green in color and the ground wires were white.
This was not a problem, but it was not the color coding that I would have expected to find.

[Eckman]

Thanks for all the replies. We just got back after a couple nights dry camping and I can confirm that my pics are of correct battery connections. Everything worked and it never went below 3/4 full. Thanks again to everyone.

[Seann45]

Originally Posted by ranchosinvacas

Interesting comments as to Jayco wire color coding!!
I had removed my range hood/exhaust fan unit from the 145RB for some maintenance work.
I was surprised to find that the hot wire for the fan and lamp switches was green in color and the ground wires were white.
This was not a problem, but it was not the color coding that I would have expected to find.

For some reason RV manufactures went with housing code for wiring the 12V side rather than the automotive.. so Black is + white is-

[JVWest]

We have a red cable marked positive and black marked negative.

[us71na]

I only have one suggestion. Once you figure out the correct connections, label all the wires so that you will know what they do in the future.

[Route 66 Traveler]

Originally Posted by us71na

I only have one suggestion. Once you figure out the correct connections, label all the wires so that you will know what they do in the future.

..and, take photos of everything BEFORE you take it apart. I have a maintenance album in my Photos just for that purpose. I just replaced the Ball Seal in my toilet yesterday and every process along the way was photographed...