# Plugged In The Battery Backwards...



## kk5fe (Mar 6, 2005)

Ok, so I still have no idea why everyone in the world has red positive, black negative EXCEPT on RV's!









I knew better too.... but I had the battery out of the box for a while and today I go to put it back in, the brain was on auto pilot and put the black to negative and the white.... well, you know the rest of the story.









Luckily, the manufacturer had that problem all thought out and put a 40 amp blade type fuse in there just to blow in case dummies like me reversed the connectors.









No problem, I say to myself, I'll just run down to the local auto store and get a few...... Well, three auto stores and two RV dealerships (one being a huge Camping World outlet and a Keystone dealer) later, the biggest anyone has is a 30 amp..... whatâ€™s the deal?? I've found on line several places that carry 40 amp fuses, but for a seemingly easy purchase, it has turned into a potential problem. Without that fuse in place, your converter wont charge the battery and without the battery, your air-condition wont run even plugged into shore power because it needs the 12VDC as well as 110V...... In the mean time, I put a 30amp fuse in and so far it is working, but it may blow. I had to order some 40amp fuses.

So, I suppose what I'm saying is, if you ever run across some 40amp fuses, grab them!!! They are not easy to find!

Keith


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## sleecjr (Mar 24, 2006)

kk5fe said:


> Ok, so I still have no idea why everyone in the world has red positive, black negative EXCEPT on RV's!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Try a car stereo store for you fuses.


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## kk5fe (Mar 6, 2005)

> Try a car stereo store for you fuses.


Hmmm....... thats one store I didnt try.....









Thanks!
Keith


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## LarryTheOutback (Jun 15, 2005)

Our local Ace Hardware had the 40's.


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## z-family (Oct 2, 2004)




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## Doxie-Doglover (Apr 19, 2006)

we found 40's at Napa last year....had to go to 2 Napa's though...


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

z-family said:


> This also happened to me last year. I could not find 40's and used 30's. We have never had a problem with them blowing and they are still in there. Am I doing any damage or something else by useing the 30's rather than the 40's?
> 
> Rob


No damage but you may blow the fuse when you least expect it so carry spares.


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## z-family (Oct 2, 2004)

ndy


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Keith,

Thanks for the info.








I'm sorry to hear about your problem, but at least it was an opportunity to teach the rest of us an important lesson. To prevent just such a problem myself, I have taken pictures of each of my batteries and the attendent wiring, and keep them in the folder with all my manuals, etc.









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## N7OQ (Jun 10, 2006)

Good info to know, I will have to check to see if I have any I bought a bunch of fuses for spares. I don't know way the RV industry used black and white don't they know the difference between AC and DC. By habit I look for the wire that goes to the chassis and connect that one to minus first.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

Verstelle said:


> Good info to know, I will have to check to see if I have any I bought a bunch of fuses for spares. I don't know way the RV industry used black and white don't they know the difference between AC and DC. By habit I look for the wire that goes to the chassis and connect that one to minus first.


This is just a guess but I think it hits close to the truth. I think they view it more as a house on wheels and not a car you sleep in. With that in mind the AC power is the main electrical system and they matched the DC to have a common ground color.


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## kk5fe (Mar 6, 2005)

CamperAndy said:


> Good info to know, I will have to check to see if I have any I bought a bunch of fuses for spares. I don't know way the RV industry used black and white don't they know the difference between AC and DC. By habit I look for the wire that goes to the chassis and connect that one to minus first.


This is just a guess but I think it hits close to the truth. I think they view it more as a house on wheels and not a car you sleep in. With that in mind the AC power is the main electrical system and they matched the DC to have a common ground color.
[/quote]

I never thought of it that way, but I bet your right! Thats about the only thing that makes sense with the color of the wiring.









Thanks!
Keith


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Leave it to Andy!
Once again the big guy come through for us. Thanks Andy!









Happy Trails,
Doug


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## California Jim (Dec 11, 2003)

Where is that 40 amp located? I've never blown anything and haven't looked for it yet. Is it an auto style fuse that goes in the converter?


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## Hokie (Jul 10, 2006)

The 40 Amp Fuses (2 of them) are located in the front of the converter near the other fuses. I forget exactly how they are labeled, but is something like "Reverse Polarity Protection Fuses".

I blew mine doing the same stupid miswiring thing. Believe me, you only do that once and it is a lesson for life.

I couldn't find any fuses either, so I used 30 amp as well. I have never had a problem with them. You can't go wrong using fuses that are rated smaller unless they constantly blow out. That has never happen again with these. I don't have a schematic, but I think they are only used when you hook up the battery incorrectly anyway.


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## bweiler (Sep 20, 2005)

been there....done that.. and blew the stereo fuse as well. Had the same issues trying the find the fuses.

There is a 1st and last time for everything... right?

Note that Gilligan installed the placard sticker on the opposite side of my outback from the battery box....of course I read it 2 weeks later when I finally noticed it.


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