Thor Forums

[JoeDS]

You can indeed wire 4 12V batteries in parallel.


HOWEVER it would be VERY wise not to mix battery types and I would replace all 4 at once with the same kind. You don't have too but an old battery can bring down a new battery.


Heres why. If you have 4 batteries in parallel and one of the 4 has a weak cell that reduces its voltage slightly the other 3 will attempt to "charge it" when you are not connected to a charging source.


Eventually they will discharge down to a deep discharge state that will actually damage the "good" batteries also. The time it takes varies greatly but it will happen. If one of the batteries has a cell "short" then you are in for some real interesting but not fun results such as a fire or exploding battery.
If you do connect 4 batteries in parallel I would put a high current fuse on the positive leg of each battery just for safety.


One other thought is group size. My Vegas originally came with two group 24 sized batteries. I replaced them with two group 29 batteries which allowed me to greatly increase my Amp-hour rating in the same available space. (Due to insufficient height available I could not fit two 6V "golf Cart" batteries in series which if possible is the best approach)