Battery Connection

[Eorb]

Hello,
Definately a newbie here.  Just purchased a 2003 Coleman Utah, that needs a little TLC.  First question I have is how to hook up the battery.  I have an expedition with 7 wire plug connection, that mates with the trailor wiring.  Turn lights etc work fine.  However, in my purchase I received a battery that has not been hooked up.  What I have, near the the battery location on the trailor is two red wires with lugs attached.  One of them has a little box connected to it (small, 1.5 in long 1.2 in. wide) then both wires disappear into the trailer wiring loom.  No ground wire spotted for the battery.  Any guesses on how I hook it up?  Can it be as easy as just hooking the two red wires to the positive side of the battery and installing a ground wire to the negative?  Thanks, Rob

[rccs]

Welcome to Pop Up Times. There should be a small white plug in the area where the battery goes which is the hookup for the battery. You need a mating plug with the wiring and circuit breaker to hook to the battery and plug to the one on the camper. A Coleman dealer will have one if you didn't get one with the camper. The white wire is the - and the black wire is the + on the wires for the plug.

[Eorb]

Thanks for the info on the plug.  Just took a glance at the pu, looks like the plug has been cut off and the red wires I mentioned have been added instead.  So it seems if I connect the wire that is connected to the black to the positive, and the other (connected to the white) I should be good.  Is it possible that little block I described that is in line with one of the wires is a ckt brkr?  thank

[chasd60]

Whichever wire is for ground will be attached to the frame somewhere in its travels. The safest way to determine positive and negative is to use an ohm meter and check each wire to a bare spot on the frame. The one with continuity (no resistance) is the ground wire. Some converters are tolerant to reverse hookup and some are not.

[wynot]

Welcome to Pop Up Times. There should be a small white plug in the area where the battery goes which is the hookup for the battery. You need a mating plug with the wiring and circuit breaker to hook to the battery and plug to the one on the camper. A Coleman dealer will have one if you didn't get one with the camper. The white wire is the - and the black wire is the + on the wires for the plug.

I'm not doing this post from home and the camper, but are you sure that white is neg?  I could swear that is pos on my camper...

[wavery]

I'm not doing this post from home and the camper, but are you sure that white is neg?  I could swear that is pos on my camper...

White is neg from the factory. It sounds like the previous owner of this PU tampered with the wiring and anything could have been changed.

[wynot]

White is neg from the factory. It sounds like the previous owner of this PU tampered with the wiring and anything could have been changed.

I am the previous owner of the camper, I bought it new...with the battery connected and everything working correctly.
 
Now you all got me wondering...but I am almost positive that white is pos on my camper.

[wavery]

I am the previous owner of the camper, I bought it new...with the battery connected and everything working correctly.
 
Now you all got me wondering...but I am almost positive that white is pos on my camper.

When I said, "It sounds like the previous owner of this PU tampered with the wiring", I was referring to the original poster, "Eorb". Are you saying that you are the original owner of his PU? :confused:  I'm confused.

[AustinBoston]

I'm not doing this post from home and the camper, but are you sure that white is neg?  I could swear that is pos on my camper...

I'm with wavery on this one; white is negative.

Austin

[wavery]

Maybe this will help:
http://www.tekonsha.com/instructions/BC%20Wiring.pdf

However, I agree with chasd60, once you find that the wiring has been tampered with, tread carefully. Especially when you see that someone used the same color wiring for both + and - to the battery.

[tlhdoc]

Thanks for the info on the plug. Just took a glance at the pu, looks like the plug has been cut off and the red wires I mentioned have been added instead. So it seems if I connect the wire that is connected to the black to the positive, and the other (connected to the white) I should be good. Is it possible that little block I described that is in line with one of the wires is a ckt brkr? thank

That is correct.  The little block is a circuit brkr.  The standard Fleetwood/Coleman battery wires are a black wire +, and a white wire - , that have a plastic plug that connects to the plug on the camper.  It is easy to unplug the battery (just unplug the connector), so that the propane detector doesn't drain it when you are not camping.

[tlhdoc]

I'm not doing this post from home and the camper, but are you sure that white is neg? I could swear that is pos on my camper...

Kershner the black wire is the POS and the white is the NEG on the Coleman/Fleetwood trailers.  Check your battery wires.  The black wire has the circuit braker on it, Honest, I just went and looked at mine.  You had me half convinced that I had it backward.:eyecrazy:

[Eorb]

Thanks to all for the quick response, think I have it figured out now.  Will ohm it out first to make sure, but I now feel comfortable with the wires.  Last question, my assumption is that my TV (Expedition) will charge the battery through the trailer connection?  I do have the 7 pin plug.  And while I am on shore power, an inverter (converter?) will charge it?  Thanks.

[tlhdoc]

Thanks to all for the quick response, think I have it figured out now. Will ohm it out first to make sure, but I now feel comfortable with the wires. Last question, my assumption is that my TV (Expedition) will charge the battery through the trailer connection? I do have the 7 pin plug. And while I am on shore power, an inverter (converter?) will charge it? Thanks.

Your TV will charge the battery somewhat, but not very well.  You will need to check and see if your "hotline" is connected.  Some Fords come with a relay in the glove box that needs to be installed, others have the relay already installed so the "hotline" is already hot.  Your camper will also charge the battery, BUT a regular battery charger is much better at charging your batteries.  A 3 stage "smart charger" is the best type of charger to get.  Wal-Mart and Sam's Club both sell them.  You can also get one on line.

[wavery]

tlhdoc is absolutely correct. I would just like to elaborate on the the "Converter".

Many people think that the converter (it is not an inverter) is designed to "Charge" the battery. That is a mis-perception. The converter is designed to take the load off of the camper battery. It takes the "shore power" (110v AC) and outputs about 12v - 12.2v DC. That is not sufficient voltage to charge the battery, merely to run the camper's 12v accessories and prevent discharge of the battery.