Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club

House batteries were recently stolen. Without having installed batteries in order to copy the setup I've no idea how to install them. I told RV to Sam's Club and they were clueless. Can anyone walk me through a set up.
My RV is a 2001 Born Free with Rear Bath. There are 3 cables coming into the battery carrier, 1 black on the left side and 2 red entering from the same port on the right front. I was planning to replace with the same batteries used before: 2 Duracell 12V Marine & RV
Is it possible a jumper wire connecting the black posts of the 2 batteries was also stolen?
Many thanks for any assistance.
Jeannette, a new member from Louisiana

You will need two jumper wires. One connects the negative terminals and the other connects the positive terminals. The black cable goes to one of the negative terminals and the two red cables to one of the positive terminals. You could also opt for two 6 volt golf cart batteries. The image below shows connections for both. Most likely you will install your batteries with the positive terminals on the right.

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Tom
2005 24' RB
Towing 1978 VW Bug convertible
New Hope, MN

Jeannette,

Sorry for your battery loss.

The two 12 vdc Interstate batteries must be wired in parallel. This will require one cable strap between the battery’s + terminals and a second cable strap between the battery’s - terminals. Evidently the person that stole you batteries must have also taken those two cable straps. The the black cable coming from the left side of your battery compartment should be connected to one of the two battery’s - terminals and and the two red cables from the right side should be connected to one of the two battery’s + terminals.

The two 12 vdc batteries need to be wired in parallel per the diagram in Tom's helpful post above.

Your coach probably came equipped with a pair of Interstate model SRM-27 batteries. You could replace them with the same batteries. However, if you wanted some increased battery capacity, your battery carrier will probably be able to fit the larger Interstate SRM-29 batteries. There should be a wood spacer in your carrier that you can remove to fit the larger battery if you so choose. Since you are also missing the two parallel battery cable straps you might want to go to a RV repair shop or maybe Camping World to have your batteries replaced and wired up.

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Bill Hemme - Spencer, Iowa
E-mail: whemme@earthlink.net
2002 Born Free (Ford E-450 V10) 26' RSB
2016 VW Golf GTI - toad

Thank you so much, Tom and Bill. Those messages were perfect. Now I can relax and have a good time on the roads.
I appreciate your time immensely!
Jeannette

After replacing my batteries it seems I forgot where to put the black wire coming from the right side of the battery compartment. I have the wire coming from the left side of the compartment going to the negative on the front battery. I'm assuming the black wire coming from the right side goes to the negative on the back battery, but I wanted to check. Thank you for any help.

I am assuming that you have two 12 volt batteries. If there are only two wires, one goes to negative and the other goes to positive. First make sure that the one that is already connected to the negative of the front battery is bolted to the chassis frame. It is best to connect the other cable to the positive terminal of the back battery. This is what's called a balanced connection. If the cable won't reach it is okay to connect to the positive of the front battery.

If you have two six volt batteries, the cable must be connected to the positive of the back battery.

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Tom
2005 24' RB
Towing 1978 VW Bug convertible
New Hope, MN

I have a 98 24ft. e350 Born Free President with two new batteries hooked in parallel. There is a black wire coming out of the back left side of the compartment and another black wire coming out of the back right side. Then there are two fabric lined wires coming out of the front right side of the compartment. Everything is hooked up correctly and everything works correctly, but when I changed batteries I left the back black right wire unattached. The black wire coming from the left is connected to the front battery's negative - terminal and I think the right back black goes to the negative on the back battery? If that's correct let me know or send me a Web Site that can help. Thank you. Traveling to Banff and Jasper this summer so I've got to do a little extra preparatory work. Attempting to accentuate the positive here!


Just got the solution Tom. Thanks.

My first post did not contain enough information so I posted again.

My second post lists enough information that Tom was able to help me with the proper wire connection for the right rear black wire that never got connected. When I tried to connect it on the right rear positive terminal of the back battery I got nothing but sparks. When the battery tray is pulled out all the way, that positive terminal is the only terminal that the wire will reach without stretching it I think. It is possible that the long rear wire coming from the left side of the compartment should go to the positive on the front battery and the shorter black wire coming from the right rear of the compartment should go to the rear negative. SO, I just called Camping World and they are booked up for the year. SO, if Tom or anyone can get me a wiring diagram ( I found nothing in the posted manual) or help me with this solution I would be delighted. The only other option is to trace the two back wires inside to determine which is positive and which is negative. I'm hoping I don't start getting called PITA for this inquiry.

Rick1949,

Are your wires color coded? Generally, black wires are negative and red wires are positive.

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Dean Preston
Past President, Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club
2013 24-foot Rear Bath, MOR/ryde Suspension, Twin Inclining Beds and Cab Over Bed
2014 Chevrolet Equinox AWD Flexfuel
Ready Brute Elite Tow Bar, Blue Ox Base Plate

My battery cables are all black. I wrap red electrical tape around the ends of wires that connect to positive.

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Tom
2005 24' RB
Towing 1978 VW Bug convertible
New Hope, MN

The two wires coming out of the back side of the house battery compartment are both black. The one on the left is long enough to connect to the front negative, but it may go to the front positive I suspect. The smaller one on the right is long enough to reach the rear battery. I guess I'll have to look to the inside connections to determine which is positive and which is negative and then I'll wrap red tape around the positive. Thanks for the tech support. I'm sure you'll be thrilled to know when I have found the positive!

My '05 has three cables. One cable comes in at the left rear of the compartment. This is the negative cable and one end is bolted to the frame of my coach and the other end connects to the battery negative terminal. The other two cables come from the right side of my compartment and both of these attach to the battery positive terminal. It doesn't matter which battery you connect your cables to if the batteries are interconnected correctly. You should have two short cables that connect the two batteries together. What you can do to figure this out, is remove one battery and hook the cables up to just one battery. This is assuming that you have 12 volt batteries. Once you have everything working, install the second battery. Connect one of the short cables to the negative terminal of battery 1 and the other end to the negative of battery 2. Connect the other short cable to the positive of battery 1 and the other end to the positive of battery 2.

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Tom
2005 24' RB
Towing 1978 VW Bug convertible
New Hope, MN