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Old 06-09-2016, 08:16 AM   #1
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Newbie here looking for directions on battery connection >>

A few days ago, I purchased a 2002 Starcraft Star Shuttle tent trailer minus the battery. The wife (whose husband had just passed away) didn't know where the leads go and frankly, neither do I. I can hook up a car battery but when it comes to this, I'm lost. As you can see in the photo, the red wire and white wire are taped together. The red wire has a small fuse box with a 20 amp fuse in it. The white has nothing. Now enter this third wire. It starts faded red, turns to yellow with an empty fuse box and ultimately to black.

Now I would "guess", the red is positive and the white is negative? What's up with the third wire with the empty fuse box? What does it do if anything? What size fuse should be in there? Was this an add on at some point?

In short, how do I hook this thing up? lol

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Old 06-09-2016, 08:54 AM   #2
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White negative, red positive, fuse is probably out because the previous owner pulled it to help with battery drain.....or because there was a problem. Good luck!


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Old 06-09-2016, 09:09 AM   #3
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This guy mucked up the wiring something fierce In RV's Black is Positive and white is negative. Trace those wires back to the factory wiring and go from there..
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Old 06-09-2016, 09:23 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Seann45 View Post
This guy mucked up the wiring something fierce In RV's Black is Positive and white is negative. Trace those wires back to the factory wiring and go from there..
With all do respect, your statement implies I know what I'm doing. Even if the wiring had been "altered" from its original configuration doesn't imply it's "mucked up". It was probably done for a specific reason.
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Old 06-09-2016, 09:52 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave Marskell View Post
With all do respect, your statement implies I know what I'm doing. Even if the wiring had been "altered" from its original configuration doesn't imply it's "mucked up". It was probably done for a specific reason.
I'm in the same boat when it comes to electrical so curious how this turns out.

Having said that, unless you are planning to boondock where there are no services, you don't need he battery. I have a similar situation on my Pup but because we generally camp in campgrounds with electrical hookups, I've not worried about the battery.
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Old 06-09-2016, 09:57 AM   #6
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If you don't know how to trace a wire back and determine where it goes then you will have to pay someone to do it.

The color info you have for rv's wiring is correct.
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Old 06-09-2016, 12:55 PM   #7
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Newbie here looking for directions on battery connection >>

Guessing is never a good thing when it comes to electricity for breakaway switches.

That said, if I were to guess, I'd say the wire that goes through the empty fuse holder and three crimp connectors is probably your breakaway brake switch and goes on the positive terminal of the battery.
For the other two, red is positive white his ground. You can probably verify this by tracing the white wire. It's probably bolted to the frame somewhere pretty close to the front. The Redwire will most likely disappear into the camper somewhere.
But if I were you, I pay someone to clean up this wiring. Too many connectors too old, probably corroded and not passing enough juice.


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Old 06-09-2016, 01:10 PM   #8
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You can almost see where the white wire is connected to the frame. If that is the case, it is the NEG side of the battery.

The others go on the positive side. If you feel adventurous, try it.
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Old 06-09-2016, 01:47 PM   #9
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If you trace the red wire in the "front" of your photo, it looks to be hooked into a fuse piece then connected again to a black wire. This coincides with the correct info Seann45 gave about black being positive. In the A/C home wiring world, black is usually the "hot" wire.


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Old 06-09-2016, 03:18 PM   #10
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+5(?) on the white ground, and black (to red) positive. TT are wire coded like house current, as opposed to automotive. Also, you should not see a fuse inline with a ground (usually, ever!).
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Old 06-09-2016, 03:18 PM   #11
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Also, the "positive" wire will have a larger diameter connector than the "negative" wire. The positive post on the battery is larger diameter than the negative post.

I also agree with BuddyRay that "it looks like the wire that goes through the empty fuse holder and three crimp connectors is probably your breakaway brake switch and goes on the positive terminal of the battery. For the other two, red is positive white his ground."

If it were me, I'd hook it up to a fully charged battery making sure the larger connectors with the red wires are attached to positive terminal on the battery and the white wire with the smaller connector is attached to the negative terminal and see what works first. Then decide if you need to trouble shoot further or re-do wiring. It could be that everything works just fine.
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Old 06-09-2016, 03:44 PM   #12
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That is a bit of a mess. A couple of additional suggestions:


It looks like the fuse holder with the 20A is on the wire to the breakaway switch. Anyone ever seen a fuse on a breakaway? Seems to me that this is wrong! If your trailer breaks away, you want full power to the brakes stopping the trailer. If they draw too much current for some reason, and the fuse blows, no e-brakes at all.
The wire for the main disconnect fuse (missing) seems awfully small gauge. For a pup trailer, I would expect that this would be a 20A fuse most likely, but that is a pretty small gauge wire for 20A. Wondering if the wire would melt before the fuse blew... I'd be wanting to upgrade that.
I'm also wondering where the battery box mounts on here. If it is in front of the LPG tank, it doesn't look like those wires will reach?
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