Isaac's Sunrader Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Hi, I'm Isaac and I just picked up an '86 Sunrader. All the electric stuff works when the extention cord is plugged-in, but there was no aux. battery in the rig when I bought it. Can someone please provide me with some advice on how to hook an aux. battery up? There are two red wires and two black wires in the side battery space. I'm assuming that both the red go on the positive post and both the black go on the negative post of the battery. But I want to sure and not mess anything up! lol! This is a really basic question I know, but I would very much appreciate a reply from anyone who has the time and inclination. Also, any recommendations on what kind/brand of deep-cell battery to buy? Thank you very much, Isaac :-D p.s. I will try to figure out how to receive replies via this forum, however my email address is: isaacbarham@yahoo.com Thank you!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futar Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 I'm not familiar with Sunrader wiring but I will say this about coach batteries. Obviously you want a deep cycle battery. Surprisingly,only a few manufacturers make all the brands. One of them makes the batteries for about 18 different labels. You can pay twice the price for different labels that are the same battery. I found Walmart to have the best price and warranty. Most deep cycle batteries for the smaller motor homes are size 27. Size 29 is only a 1/4 inch longer and much greater capacity while costing not much more. I use mine to operate a 1,000 watt inverter and it is close to two years old. I paid about $65 in Wallyworld with exchange. The gel types are nice but very spendy and do not have the capacity of the regular ones. The ultimate is the combo of golf cart batteries but again there is the price and no WalMart guarantee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoprat Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Howdy Isaac. Best way to find out the polarity on your wiring is to use either a self powered test light or an Ohmmeter and go from the end of the wires where it connects to the battery and the other to the vehicle ground. I'm betting on the black being ground, as you figured, but this makes sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanAatTheCape Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Hi, I'm Isaac and I just picked up an '86 Sunrader. All the electric stuff works when the extention cord is plugged-in, but there was no aux. battery in the rig when I bought it. Can someone please provide me with some advice on how to hook an aux. battery up? There are two red wires and two black wires in the side battery space. I'm assuming that both the red go on the positive post and both the black go on the negative post of the battery. But I want to sure and not mess anything up! lol! Maybe some of the Sunradors could go out & take a look at their house battery and give this man their observations. I have an Itasco Spirit & was curious of 2 things : 1) how is the house battery charged- ( I put a voltmeter on it & started the GenSet & the voltage went up but I have yet to do the same test with the engine battery). 2) does the genset charge the engine battery (&if so how are they isolated). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoprat Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 Howdy Dan. The aux. battery on my Sunrader has white as power and black as ground. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picklebill Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Hi Dan - My Sunrader has a red cable for +12V and black for ground. I think Shoprat is right in thinking the black cable is ground. The positive cable should go to a battery isolator located near the auxilliary battery. It should be fairly easy to trace. Instead of an isolator, it may use a solenoid (looks like an old ford starter solenoid), but should be located near the auxilliary battery. As far as the auxilliary battery itself, A Walmart one is fine (I use one and no problems so far). If there is not a great difference in price, an Interstate battery is a good one as well. Good luck. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picklebill Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Hi Dan - My Sunrader has a red cable for +12V and black for ground. I think Shoprat is right in thinking the black cable is ground. The positive cable should go to a battery isolator located near the auxilliary battery. It should be fairly easy to trace. Instead of an isolator, it may use a solenoid (looks like an old ford starter solenoid), but should be located near the auxilliary battery. As far as the auxilliary battery itself, A Walmart one is fine (I use one and no problems so far). If there is not a great difference in price, an Interstate battery is a good one as well. Good luck. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picklebill Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 Hi Dan - Sorry about the double posting, I had some trouble connecting to the server. Anyway, here are a couple of photos of the battery and solenoid in my 18 foot Sunrader ( the 21foot version may have the battery mounted in the coach somewhere) If your battery is mounted under the hood, maybe these photo's will help. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanAatTheCape Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 I'm not familiar with Sunrader wiring but I will say this about coach batteries. I use mine to operate a 1,000 watt inverter and it is close to two years old. I paid about $65 in Wallyworld with exchange. hello, i am wondering how long your deep cycle battery holds a charge when drawing power from an ac appliance - like a blender - about 600 watts. I am also trying to figure out how my house battery gets recharged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John A Posted February 21, 2008 Share Posted February 21, 2008 danaatthecape: Typically, a motor home like the small Toyota has a device that is called a battery isolator, it has three terminals, the center is usually an input from the engine alternator, and the other two are outputs to the two batteries, and there are sequenced so that they charge the truck battery first and then switch to the house battery. Also typically, a motor home has a converter which converts input 120 volt AC to output 12 volt DC. These units usually have something like a selenium rectifier that keeps the house battery charged when the motor home is plugged in to an external electrical outlet,and when the on board generator is running. This converter is usually contained in the fuse panel/circuit breaker housing. I own a 1993 Toyota Dolphin but I have not had it long so I have not checked out the electrical system totally to familiarize myself with that motor home. That is why I prefaced this with "Typically" John A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastoldjimmy Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Bill - good pictures. Where did you get those tags that I see on the wiring. I used to work on ships and we had to have a bulletproof method of labeling the cables. we used metal tags - your system looks very doable. Did you buy them as-is or did you just come up with it? Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
futar Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 There's one manufacturer who makes the batteries for about 18 brands. It is Johnson Controls. IF you buy one from Wallyworld you are getting the same manufacturer of Diehard, Optima, etc for half the price. Wallyworld has the best price and warranty. Most small RV deep cycle batteries are size 27. If you go up to size 29 it is much greater capacity for a small increase in cost and is only 1/4 inch longer in size. Many deep cycle battery RV systems have in line circuit breakers that are little rectangular metal jobs that look like fuses. They are auto resetting. If yours are old or corroding, replace them. They're inexpensive at most auto supply stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picklebill Posted May 9, 2008 Share Posted May 9, 2008 Bill - good pictures. Where did you get those tags that I see on the wiring. I used to work on ships and we had to have a bulletproof method of labeling the cables. we used metal tags - your system looks very doable. Did you buy them as-is or did you just come up with it? Jim Hi fastoldjimmy - I get my wire markers from Mouser Electronics. I use Mouser because they have no minimum purchase requirement. The only problem I have had is that you have to be careful what kind of marker pen you use to write the info on the marker tie - sharpy ultra fine point pens fade after about a year. I have had good luck so far using the Pilot photographic negative ultra fine point marker pen but they are sometimes hard to find. To find the marker ties, go to www.mouser.com/panduit and enter 644-PLF1M-M into their search bar. I find their online catalog hard to use, but when you order from them, they will usually send you a printed catalog. If you do any electrical/electronic work, this company has just about everything. Hope this helps Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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