Battery Box wire??

[OakHill]

HI
I have a question_ drained new battery cells full uni volt buzzes has 3 wire's in battery box green was on neg terminal red on pos. and a black no end just loose in the box? Goes on neg or pos? guess neg but no wire diagram to look at. Thanks Jim

[john hd]

any voltage on the black wire with the univolt plugged in?

can't really go by color, you will need to check it with a volt meter.

john

[Moonshot]

Jim,

I'd guess this third cable was from a previous owner's modification. A green ground wire? Maybe the ground went bad at some point and the old black ground wire was replaced with a green one?

I went out to the carport and looked at the connectors on my 79 Argosy and I have a black (neg) and a red (pos) cable.

I have a 1977 Argosy owner's manual. There is a written reference in there to a black cable and a red cable, but no third cable. Also, there is a drawing of the Univolt, fuse panel, breaker box and battery and in this drawing the battery has only one cable for each of the battery posts. In the wiring diagrams at the back of the manual there is only one neg and one pos cable going to the battery posts.

[edit] John is the pro here. Do what he recommends about the voltmeter.[/edit]

Scott

[john hd]

one thing to keep in mind, 70's vintage univolts have a fuse in the negitive wire.

if blown this would prevent battery charging.

perhaps this explains the green wire.

john

[Distantdrummer]

How would one go about knowing which terminal wire goes to neg and positive with a test meter?
If I get it backwards what will happen.
I only need it hooked up on a trip to the storage lot (200 miles) for the breakaway switch I hope.

All the running and stop lights work when hooked to truck. Would they not work without a battery in the trailer at all?
Will check out the univolt next month.

[john hd]

bad things!

as far as what to do finding the wire, the negitive can be located by looking for zero ohms between the chassis of the trailer and the suspect wire. unless the fuse is blown.

the positive wire could be located by energizing the univolt if it is working, and look for 12 to 15 volts on the suspect wire.

your directional lights will work on the trailer without a house battery, your breakaway will not.

so, check the fuses first. then have at it with a volt/ohm meter.

john

[OakHill]

Hi All
Sorry for the wait have not been able to get back at the trailer.
Went the multi meter route 12.7 volts with uni volt plugged in. Black wire is fused ground and green is right to frame no fuse. Any thought's +/- as to fused or not ground? voltage is same. Jim

[59toaster]

A standard battery is 12.6 volts. That univolt isn't working. Should have about 13.5 volts while charging. Did you check the voltage at the Univolt?

[OakHill]

Hi All

With battery hooked up 13.8 volts. 12.7 was just the leads no battery. so it is charging. fused or not for the ground wire +/- ?
Jim

[garry]

Univolt is working OK.
Don't know why you have the green wire since you only need the black (neg) and red (pos) for the univolt.
Anyway to trace where the wire goes ?? I suspect it provides power thru a switched (on/off) add on 12VDC device direct from the battery.
While most people wire an on/off switch through the pos side you don't have to, you can break the pos or neg thru a switch for off/on operation.

Did you verify 0 ohms or low resistance green wire to ground ???

Garry