New House Batteries, 2018 Northpoint 377RLBH

[vsayler]

I have purchased two new house batteries as my originals (2 years old) seem to be running low.

My question is what is the proper procedure to replace them.

My plan is to disconnect the 50 amp power cord and turn off the battery circuit breaker that appears to be (effectively) a battery cut off switch

Looking for any suggestions.

Thanks

Van Sayler
2018 Jayco Northpoint 377 RLBH

[Joan617]

Tell us more about the old batteries and what you are replacing them with.

2ea 12v batteries in parallel or 2 ea 6v in series?

If the same configuration then take pics and replicate. Follow the same for red and black.

[jasonmiddlebrooks]

I have not done it on mine yet but I would think all you would need to do is turn the battery disconnect switch off which is located in the compartment with the two propane tanks. I would probably disconnect from shore power too but in theory the battery disconnect should kill the feed coming from the converter/charger.

[Joan617]

Jason is right about the disconnect switch in the tank compartment. It will however normally leave live some minor circuits such as smoke/CO2 alarms with negligible power draw so you should still mind your P’s ang Q’s with cables and polarity.

Intellectually it not hard to figure out The cabling but for expedience I take a picture first of the arrangement for a simple monkey-see-monkey-do replacement.

Another tip is to leave some 1/2 “ wrenches (typically sizes for terminal nuts) in the battery compartment. I wrap the handles with tape so when reaching in at awkward angles I do not accidentally short the tool across the terminals and arc weld myself. I keep the wrenches in a cloth bag in the compartment so that they do not clang around on the highway and again don’t fall across the terminals.
-angus

[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by Joan617

Another tip is to leave some 1/2 “ wrenches (typically sizes for terminal nuts) in the battery compartment. I wrap the handles with tape so when reaching in at awkward angles I do not accidentally short the tool across the terminals and arc weld myself. I keep the wrenches in a cloth bag in the compartment so that they do not clang around on the highway and again don’t fall across the terminals.
-angus

Good ideas!!!
If you disconnect the negative terminal cable, you do not have to worry about shorting anything out, it is the positive battery terminal that can become an arc welder. Unless of course you have a LONG wrench that will reach across to the positive terminal from the negative terminal.

Rewiring the existing battery cutoff switch is a good idea if at all possible.

Don

My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[AKRUEBBE]

Originally Posted by vsayler

I have purchased two new house batteries as my originals (2 years old) seem to be running low.

My question is what is the proper procedure to replace them.

My plan is to disconnect the 50 amp power cord and turn off the battery circuit breaker that appears to be (effectively) a battery cut off switch

Looking for any suggestions.

Thanks

Van Sayler
2018 Jayco Northpoint 377 RLBH

If you remove that shelf just above the batteries it will make things a whole lot easier!! I think it's held in place with six screws, two on each side and two on the back. If I were keeping my North Point, I would remove that shelf permanently.

[vsayler]

This is a picture of my original batteries. I am not sure why they are dual purpose as opposed to only deep cycle. A call to Jayco informed me that they would consider my question and respond in 24-48 hours..... Not very stunning customer service.
The second picture shows how my wiring is set up and I plan to hook up the new batteries the same way
The 3rd picture is one of my 2 new batteries. Since I don't ever dry camp, I didn't worry about getting very good batteries.
Its interesting that the batteries don't say their voltage (at least that I have found). The guy at the store said the new ones were a good replacement for my old ones.

thanks for all of the good feedback.

Van Sayler
2018 Northpoint 377RLBH

[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by vsayler

…..The second picture shows how my wiring is set up and I plan to hook up the new batteries the same way

Here is the best way to hook up 2 batteries in parallel. Ignore the battery disconnect switch if you are not installing one.

Don
My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[vsayler]

And I did remove that shelf.
thanks
Van

[vsayler]

New batteries installed, went pretty quickly.
thanks for the feedback.