leisure battery ground question

[laurieannie]

i am adding 1 leisure battery to my van and connecting it thru a guest selector switch to the starter battery.  my question is, can i run the positive wire thru the switch to my leisure battery and then run a ground to a seat bolt on the van floor or should i run a ground wire back to the engine compartment?  i have seen it both ways and want to do it the best way.  thanks - laurieannie

 

[wrcsixeight]

Best would be to run a cable from leisure battery (-) post to alternator (-) stud, but how much better is dependent on the quality of the seat bolt ground and the chassis. &nbsp;Even if it is a good ground when first installed, in a year or two is could develop high resistance.<br><br>Getting a large ring terminal onto the alternator (-) stud can require some modification of the alternator and or ring terminal. &nbsp;If the alternator has a separate ground cable going to the engine, then put the ring terminal to that same engine connection. Or the same connection where the engine battery grounds to the engine, or to the engine battery (-) post, but best ( shortest circuit path) is directly to Alternator (-) stud.

 

[laurieannie]

thank you much...that's what i'll do

 

[Zil]

If you only use the house battery for typical easy loads, then the floor bolt might be ok. It is better to make a good ground with heavy cable to the engine block. the alternator mounting bolts can be used, but any bolt on the block. You should check that your engine block has a well connected ground with chassis/body. put a heavy fuse sized to protect the length and gauge of the wire you use as near the battery as practical.

 

[laurieannie]

i am only putting in one leisure battery right now mostly for lites and a fantastic exhaust fan.&nbsp; what size fuses should i use at each battery and as a disaster on the&nbsp;leisure ground?

 

[bee]

I personally would not run a ground back to the alternator/starter battery. &nbsp;Yes that is best but overkill in most cases and costs more in wire. &nbsp;What I would recommend is run the leisure negative to a good chassis ground. &nbsp;That maybe the seat bolt if the sheet metal of the van has a thick ground wire connecting it to the engine. If it doesn't. you might want to ground to the actual vehicle frame (if your vehicle has one). I would also check the quality and possibly clean up the ground from the chassis to the motor which in turn is the alternator ground.<br><br><br>For catastrophe fusing the general rule is 30-40% over your expected load and the battery cable you are using should be rated for higher. &nbsp;The catastrophe fuses go as close to any power sources as possible, so fuse on either end of the positive wire you run. &nbsp;If you want to fuse the ground you can it won't hurt anything, but it would be redundant if you have properly fused the positive wire.

 

[ontheroadagain]

How do you connect the fuse wire to the heavier cable wire? Butt connectors do not work because of the different size wire.<br>You would have <span style="text-decoration: underline;">t</span>his small fuse wire and heavy wire running from the battery.

 

[laurieannie]

i will fuse with the type that bolt right in line...no small wires / holders...probably CNN type or breakers.

 

[highdesertranger]

those inline ones that take a glass fuse a not a good choice.&nbsp; if the wire on the fuse is smaller than your wire you want to install the fuse on then don't use.&nbsp; the inline fuse's come rated for many different loads you just have to find the right size.&nbsp; the best case would be to do what laurieannie says and put a heavy duty one with bolts for lugs inline.&nbsp; highdesertranger

 

[ontheroadagain]

Thanks for the responses. I checked out the breaker types with the bolts and nuts. That looks so much easier. <br>Sorry Laurieanne, didn't mean to highjack your thread

 

[laurieannie]

high desert stranger...i'm not using that type of fuse.&nbsp; i'm talking about the ones that are used, say, on golf carts.&nbsp; google CNN200 and you'll see the type i'm talking about.&nbsp; if i was more saavy here i could add a link, but oh well!

 

[laurieannie]

and actually i'm going to go with a type of breaker fuse because those CNN's are 20 - 30 bucks a pop ( literally ).

 

[laurieannie]

oops, sorry high desert s. ,&nbsp; read the first part of your reply and thought you were talking to me...sorry

 

[bee]

<p>ANL fuses are an option. &nbsp;They are relatively cheap and can be found at stereo equipment stores if you blow one and don't have a replacement on hand.<br><br><a href="http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&amp;field-keywords=anl fuse" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias=aps&amp;field-keywords=anl fuse</a></p>

 

[laurieannie]

Bee...yea, i have some ANLs..they're not as fast acting as the CNNs, but would probably work ok, then i heard about the breakers and they seemed the way to go...On The Road, you can find those breakers on Amazon for a reasonable price..i thought they would be cheaper in the long run if i had to pop them a few times while figuring out my hookup.