RV Battery Was Hooked Up Backwards, Now My Converter Will Not Charge Battery

by Guy
(Alberta Canada)

I have a 1985 GMC " C " class motorhome 24 ft. This year we went out on a trip and when we came home I forgot to turn off the furnace switch and it drained the battery right down.So I replaced the battery, but when I put it back in it was hooked up backwards.So I hooked it up the right way and rechecked everything again. Now the converter does not seem to be working, all the fuses are good and the wiring does not show any signs of burning. When I say it does not seem to be working I mean that when I start the unit there is no lights coming on saying that it is charged or charging.

Thanks

ANSWER: Greetings Guy thanks for submitting your question on our Ask An RV Question Page.

The first thing you need to know is that when the battery was hooked up backwards, you could have damaged the battery. If the RV was plugged into 120 volt electricity or if the generator on your RV was started with the battery hooked up incorrectly, you could have also damaged your Converter/Charger.

One point I need to clarify with you is that you state "when I start the unit there is no lights coming on saying that it is charged or charging". The converter will only charge the batteries when the RV is plugged into 120 volt electricity or when the RV's generator is running. When your RV's engine is running the RV's alternator should be charging the battery.

The first thing I would like you to do is read and follow the troubleshooting tips I outlined in the answer I gave to the question below and then come back here.

Our RV Interior Lights Only Work When We Are Plugged In Or Generator Is Running

If you have not identified or resolved the problems as outlined in the above question, then you are going to have to take your motorhome in and have a qualified RV Technician take a look at it.

Here is a tip on how to prevent the battery from being hooked up backwards again. Get yourself some red colored electrical tape and wrap it around the positive cable wire near the battery, that way you will always know which cable is the positive one.

I hope that this information has been helpful to you.

Do you have any suggestions or comments on this topic? You can add them to this page by clicking on the "Click Here To Post Comments" link located near the bottom of this page.

Happy RVing

RVing Al

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