Born Free Leap'n Lions RV Club Info & Discussion Forum

Has anyone ran a new wire into the motorhome from the battery box? I want to install a Victron BMV-712 battery monitor and the shunt needs to be mounted in the battery box, and a UTP cable ran into the motorhome for the monitor. I have been under the motorhome looking and the only thing I found two sets of wires just in front of rear wheel well that go to the fuse-box area. I don't think there is room for an additional wire, so I am considering drilling an additional hole, running the wire and then sealing the hole. Before I get the drill out if anyone knows of a better solution I am open to suggestions.
My motorhome is a 2004 24RB.

Hugh,

You may not have to run a new wire from your coach batteries + terminal to inside your coach. Read my prior post in the Coach Modification section on this forum titled COACH BATTERY VOLTAGE & CURRENT METER MONITOR PANEL. I installed my own custom designed voltmeter and ammeter panel and installed the required ammeter shunt inside the coach's converter/charger panel. Click on the button at the bottom left corner of this post titled BF Coach Battery MeterPanel.pdf to open a pdf file showing where I installed a shunt connected directly in series to the existing hot wire coming from my coach batteries. Scroll to the bottom to view a photo of where I mount my shunt. No need to run a separate wire from the batteries to do it this way.

Hi Bill,
Thank you for the suggestion, but the shunt for the Victron Battery Monitor has to be installed on the negative cable, and in order for the monitor to be able to track the battery load the shunt needs to be in the battery box, as the 12vdc to my inverter is directly from the battery, so I need the fuse box plus the inverter negative wires. Plus there is a negative wire to the frame. I am not sure how many 12v accessories are grounded to the frame.

Hugh wrote:Hi Bill,
Thank you for the suggestion, but the shunt for the Victron Battery Monitor has to be installed on the negative cable, and in order for the monitor to be able to track the battery load the shunt needs to be in the battery box, as the 12vdc to my inverter is directly from the battery, so I need the fuse box plus the inverter negative wires. Plus there is a negative wire to the frame. I am not sure how many 12v accessories are grounded to the frame.

I have not explored the wiring of the BFs yet but have installed a battery shunt based monitor on another setup.

Just a suggestion. You could wire from the battery ground to the shunt then have a wire from the shunt to a ground on the chassis. Then from that grounding point to the distribution panel. As far as bringing the wiring from the shunt to the Battery monitor I would look at the other wires coming from the battery bank and follow the same procedure BF used to have wires penetrate the coach body.

I drilled a hole thru the floor to run wires to my Inverter.
Go to Amazon and search "thru the hull fittings". Thats what I used.

Steve, Thank you for the suggestion. I used a through hull purchased from Fisheries Supply in Seattle.

You are welcome. Thats exactly what I did.