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Replacing the Faulty RV Battery Cables on our Big Ol' RV Battery Bank





As I said before, some of the RV Battery Cables I built when I did the Battery Bank installation, were shown to be faulty when we did the testing of our RV Solar Power Installation.

The fault was that, being unwilling to shell out $300 give or take for the only cable crimper I could find at the time, I didn't have the proper tool for the job.

The result was high resistance and/or weak connections in the Battery Cables.

In a moment of good fortune after the solar power installation, I stumbled upon a cable crimper that, although not as convenient as the "bolt cutter" configuration, at around $40 for an infrequently used tool, it fit my budget perfectly, and is the perfect tool for us fellers that need to do maintenance or repair on our RV Battery Cables!

In the RV solar power installation we also failed to locate a fuse holder for the 300 amp catastrophic fuse that is a required part of the system. So, I needed to fabricate one of those as well.

While I waited for the weather to co-operate (whiney old men are pretty pathetic sometimes, don't you think?) I put all the new RV Battery Cables together, as well as assembling the new, heavy duty fuse holder.



First, I built the fuse holder.



I found some large, heavy, rubber corks at the hardware store. Drilled part way through on each side. This creates recesses to "glue" the heads of a pair of bolts into with some, polyurethane, construction adhesive. This way the mounting bolts are kept seperate, isolating the fuse/cables from any possible grounding.

Second, I built the new RV Battery cables. The old were made out of 2 ga. cable. The new super duty cables were fashioned out of 4/0! There won't be any resistance now by God!



You can see the good, solid "pinch" of this new RV Battery Cable Crimper. Just mashing the cable lug on an anvil don't get it done! ............. tried that ................OOPS!



Here is the new RV Battery Cable compared to the old. Pretty significant upgrade don't you think?



All the new pieces are ready to replace my previous, faulty effort. Heck, I have to screw up sometimes. It's the only way I can keep my ego under control!

Compare the temporary 300 amp catastrophic fuse mounting to my new, permanent design.



All finshed! A much better job this time if I do say so myself!



Strange how much better the job can be done when you start out with the proper tools and materials!



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