Windsport Battery & Wiring Mods

[thutchis]

When we picked up our used 15 Windsport 27K I was disappointed to find only 1 deep cycle house battery installed which I think is insufficient. I had three 79AH AGM batteries I kept from our previous MH. Unfortunately Thor in their wisdom had made it impossible to install all three in the compartment.

So I set about modifying (and improving) the house battery situation in the compartment. So for anyone who wants to make the same modifications, here is my documentation of the project.

First off, before doing anything, disconnect both the house batteries and the chassis battery. There are major currents in those big cables and they can do some real damage if they accidently get grounded. Then take lots of pictures you can refer to later when you forget where everything connected. Labeling cables also helps if you are forgetful like me.

Here is the situation before with two of my AGM batteries installed.


And here is the space for the 3rd battery, but Thor mounted two pieces of equipment in the space, so they need to be moved. Each piece had two ears for bolting down, but Thor only bolted down one ear. Saving 2 cents of a bolt and 15 seconds. Sheesh!


The wiring to this controller was sloppy and just waiting for a problem to occur


So I zip tied the wires together and put inside a plastic loom cover.


Now I moved and mounted the controller up on the compartment right sidewall out of the way using pilot holes and self taping screws.


Same with the chassis/house batteries isolation contactor.


(Continued on Next Post)

[thutchis]

I decided to cut up some floor mats we didn't like and make them into mats under the batteries for vibration isolation and it also seemed like a good thing to do.


Now I can put in the 3rd battery in the space formally occupied by the isolation contactor and controller.


I really didn't like how all these cables ended up bolted to the positive battery terminal.


So I got these 250 amp 4 post power bus bars. They have small screw terminals for smaller loads to be connected. I ordered them from here


They come in both red and black covers, but I got the black ones, so much for being OCD.

Also mounted one for the negative bus.


And now I have three house batteries in parallel and a much neater installation.

[thutchis]

I had previously purchased an AIMS 600 Watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter to power my Treager Portable Grill and also power a TV and DVD player when dry camping.

I wanted to mount it permanently in the battery compartment and wire it directly to the house batteries. So I found room on the left side wall of the compartment to mount it out of the way of the Level Up hydraulics.


It was also easy to wire the power directly to the 12 VDC positive and negative bus bars on the screw terminals.

To power any low wattage 110 VAC devices inside the MH using the existing receptacles I made this double ended jumper cord with male plugs.


Now I plug one end into the inverter and the other into the outside 110 VAC receptacle to "back feed" the inside receptacles. NOTE: When doing this its VERY IMPORTANT to switch off the converter breaker so you don't create a "loop" and try to charge the batteries with their own power. Also DON"T do this when plugged into shore power (no reason to do this anyway). Someday I would like to make a circuit that would disable the converter when backfeeding from the inverter.

[thutchis]

When we were doing the pre delivery inspection with a technician from CW I was appalled by the poor quality of the wiring installation where it was visible in the lower equipment and storage compartments.

Our CW technician was formally a Navy crew lead on FA-18 aircraft maintenance. I remarked to her "would the Navy accept this standard of craftsmanship on its aircraft"?. She said no they wouldn't. I have said before, "thank god Thor doesn't make aircraft.

Anyway, rant off, and now to get down to making Thor's mess better. First off, the rear passenger storage compartment had this sensor mounted to the ceiling which I think is a level sensor for the leveling system. The wires were just dangling down waiting for something to catch on them and rip them and the sensor off. So I zip tied the loose wires together and secured them to the side wall with Cable Tie Saddles


I love these cable tie saddles, you attach them with a small screw in the middle and they are very secure. I use them every where to tie things up with zip ties. Just be careful you don't screw into a tank or use too long a screw and penetrate something critical.

With that taken care of, on to the wet bay where there were wires dangling and laying everywhere. A few zip ties and saddles later, everything is secure on the back wall and out of the way of being damaged by sewer hoses etc.




And I put the wires to the pump inside a plastic loom cover and secured to the floor.


Enough for today. Lots more loose and dangling wires to deal with another day. Thanks Thor

[nite71]

Great info. I don't own the same model MH as you but now I want to go down there and check mine out because I know I've got some of these same issues.

[EA37TS]

The unfortunate part is if you read the national electrical code as it relates to RVs the wiring is in compliance with that code. I found this out when I was replacing my television and saw a 110 outlet box just hanging from the wires. When I researched the code I found the only boxes that are required to be secured are those that are accessible. If they are behind a wall and you do not have access to plug or unplug things the box does not have to be secured. That was also where I found the criteria that determines if an RV is 30 amp or 50 amp. That is based solely on the number of electrical circuits. Luckily states require home builders to comply with more stringent standards.

[thutchis]

It may meet code as it relates to fire/safety, but it's piss poor workmanship. The conductors are only 12VDC but you rip one loose, you have to deal with the loss of some function to your MH.