Battery Install HELP - '88 Chieftain

[345 desoto]

I have an '88 Winnebago Chieftain, and I need a diagram on how to install my 1 starting battery and 2 house batteries...either hand drawn or printed. I do NOT want to start a fire, or blow up a battery by doing it wrong. Help, PLEASE...

[Morich]

All Rv that I've seen use the same system. The start battery is installed by connecting the neg post to a frame ground, it is usually a post connection/ bus bar quite nearby. The coach batteries are also installed with one of the battery negative connected to this ground but for safest install. do these ground connections LAST.
The problem with getting a drawing is that the online info only goes back as far a 1990, so none available for your unit.
The positive start battery post is connected to some cable which goes to the front and the starter. If there are colored tapes on the cables, there is a chart which shows which is which but on an older RV, they might not always be there and I would kind of look at them to be sure somebody has not moved or changed things on the color codes.
The positive post on the coach battery should be connected to the load center that feeds the coach 12V. You should be running out of cables to choose by then! Once those two batteries are connected, the second coach battery can be connected to the first one with short cables from neg of one to neg of the other and pos of one to pos of the other.
Big thing when working around batteries is that they are not strong enough to actually shock you due to low voltage but they do have lots of amps available and that makes sparks and flash burns really bad, so start with protecting yourself by covering all the metal things before getting the tools out. I find thick layers of cloth to be good for draping the metal edges and such, so that if I slip, the end of the wrench doesn't tap some metal item while it is on the battery posts! A small slip can put a nasty blister on a finger or melt the inside of a ratchet so it no longer works, so don't even try to get by quick and easy!

[BobC]

Even thugh Winnebago doesn't show wiring diagrams older than 1990, they still can help. These things tend to be pretty stable over the years but keep in mind that wire colors can fade and color coding can change.

Wiring Diagrams

[345 desoto]

Morich - I have asked for help with this, in three different RV Forums, and you were the only one to respond/help. I installed all three batteries and never let any of the smoke out of any of the wires...:. THANK you, so much. I hope you get everything you want for Christmas.... NOW...when my Shore Power is plugged in, will my house batteries be charged automatically, and will they charge when the engine is running?

[Morich]

We can do some basic ideas but if you have the exact model number of the chief, it cuts out a lot of guessing. There is a bit of problem with getting info on the older Rv as Winnebago does give us different amounts for different years. Most years they break it out into what they call each model but for 88, this is all I get, so if you can spot which, it will cut the chase and make answers more sure to be right. Never trust any info totally but this can get it closer!!!
There is often a label just under the drivers window, giving lots of the details if paperwork is hard or impossible to get.
In general we would expect to find some form of charger that operates when you are plugged in and it should charge the coach batteries but not the start battery. What would be nice to look over is if there is also an inverter which uses the coach batteries 12VDC to make 110 VAC for some things to operate like the TV and maybe some outlets. Just handy things to know that we could look for if we knew for sure which one to start with!!
Also we would expect to find there is a relay when you start the engine, the relay connects the two battery strings together and lets both charge.
Assuming all is working right, you expect to charge both sets on the way to a campsite, use the coach battery for power is you are not hooked up and then when you drive again, get charged.
This can be where folks get caught as it takes less time to pull power out than put it back if we are using too much. And what surprises folks is when they take a voltage reading, it tells them they are at 12+ volts but it is only true right there at the top post, not all the way down through the battery. So the engine alternator may put out 14 Volts and we run it for 30 minutes, shut it off and the battery may show 12.6 but an hour later we may find it's only at 10 volts.
Just something to be aware of and not get into taking 2 volts off a battery and only putting one back, so that after a few days you get caught flat with the furnace quitting in the middle of a cold night! It never happens on a nice day, just a cold night!!

[creativepart]

One reason it is difficult to respond to your requests for help is that none of us know the answers for a 32 year old unknown entity such as your RV. As I read Morich’s responses I wondered, do any of us even know what power center or solenoids were contained on the RV. Or, what changes it went through all these years ago.

Same with your new question. I would know the answer on any RV built in the past 10 to 15 years. But RV’s From 1988? I can guess but have no idea of the correct answer. “Hopefully” would be the best answer I could offer. And even that would be followed by a few dozen “buts” and “unless”

Since you have the RV in your hands you have access to vastly more knowledge about the vehicle than we do.

[Morich]

It does mean a fair amount of guessing but I do know the old clunkers I used for years did charge the coach batteries as we drove and they were back like 1976, etc. where fire was still considered a new invention!
My first motorhome was so bad that we could not use the shower because it was loose at the base and we could see it pushing out the driver's side when we turned right! Only took it to California once before selling it! But we sure made some great memories.

[345 desoto]

Model number is WCN22RC, and the Type is MPV. There are 2 "solenoids" behind the batteries, and I replaced the one which wasn't the one for the starting battery, as it started and ran fine. With out using the Shore Power, nothing worked inside the MH...except it started/ran fine. After replacing the other "solenoid", without the Shore Power cord plugged in, everything 12V inside the MH worked... I've plugged the Shore Power cord in, and will leave it there.

[Morich]

Okay, I did a look at the old records for that model but did not get as much info as I had hoped for. About the only real electrical part I saw listed was a "battery disconnect relay".
Is this something you may have found a switch to disconnect the battery? I would guess that it would be a relay to disconnect the coach batteries when you store it but that is pure guess.
Got more info but it is off the 1990 year of the same model and they do keep things the same at times, so we might pick up some info here---if it looks like what you see?
The left picture is looking down on the batteries and looks like it is just toward the RV front from the door. Do you have two batteries set end to end there?
If this is correct, it shows two black number eight gauge wires, one with green tape and one with yellow tape and they go to a converter! If this is right, you do have a converter and it should charge the batteries when plugged in!
Be good if that is true and we can say this drawing is kinda right?

The right hand picture is of the relays it shows, IF it looks right for what you see, we see chassis or start battery come in from the bottom to the really drawn on top and then a second cable go down and left to the starter? Also shows a cable to the generator?
Maybe do some looking at those to see if it makes sense for what you see?
Just hunting and pecking for info when we can!

[Morich]

Did a little more looking for info and found this on the 90 model. Looks like they used the same method for the power cord that is used on my 2015. The dord is either run to shore power or if you want to use the generator, it plugs into the big outlet where the cord is stored. I normally leave mine plugged is there so we can fire the genset and use it to power the microwave without having to go out to plug it in, but then when camped and have electrical hookup, I use the cord for the shore power.
If this matches what you see, it shows the power going to the breaker box and a main breaker of 30 amp, which then feeds the two 15 and two 20 amp breakers. The first 15 amp from left, feeds a bedroom and a dinette receptacle before going to where the converter is plugged in. So you likely have a converter and I might guess it is near the back, maybe under the bed????
But no inverter, so forget that part. I don't miss not having one!
The right hand picture shows the rest of your 110 Ac as it is the part I had to cut off the top of the first picture.

[345 desoto]

The "solenoid" I replaced was indeed the Auxiliary Battery Disconnect Switch...and it cured a myriad of problems. I have since discovered a LARGE folio of manuals in the MH. When the Shore Power is hooked up, it DOES charge the Auxiliary batteries. When I hit the right switches on the dash, the auxiliary batteries will be charged by the alternator with the engine running. Between replacing the Auxiliary switch, and finding the pack of paperwork the previous owner put UNDER THE BED, all my questions/problems are disappearing quickly. I thank you SO much for the info on correctly hooking up the battery cables. That got the ball rolling...

[imnprsd]

Here's a few diagrams that may or may not be right for your RV, but these will help you to better understand and separate your engine battery power from your house battery power source... and how solenoids are switched.

Note: The starter for the engine is a separate system.

Note: I realize you have an older RV, but the the more modern systems are similar. The more modern inverters have a charge inside; vs. your converter, which is just a battery charger that takes 120V shore power and turns it into 14-15V.