Ideal Front House Battery Ground

[DaveNJ]

Hi,

I am setting up the following on a 3 battery ragusa tray on passenger front side.

(1) 12 volt Engine Battery grounded directly to the engine block.
(2) 6 volt golf cart batteries for house batteries.

Where is the ideal location to ground the the (2) 6 volt house batteries?
There will be no other batteries in the coach.

Thank you.
--
Dave Curtiss
Mahwah NJ
1977 ex-Palm Beach now "Jersey Ltd. Edition"
Cad 500, Quad Bags

 

[Ken B]

There is a frame to body jumper located in front of and up high above the right front wheel. It should have a braided jumper already installed there
under one bolt. Loosen the bolt on the body side and add your house battery ground cable there. I would also add three stainless star washers and
anti-oxidation grease and consider using new stainless flange bolts. That braided strap you are looking for is across a rubber body mount where the
body is attached to the steel frame of the coach.
--
Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana

 

[Jim Hupy]

Also, Don't forget the ground strap from the transmission case, around the
rear passenger side mount. It frequently gets removed, and not replaced
during transmission repairs, or when the engine is removed out the bottom.
Rubber mounts do not work well as ground paths.
Jim Hupy
Salem, Oregon

On Tue, Jun 30, 2020, 1:33 PM Ken Burton via Gmclist <

> There is a frame to body jumper located in front of and up high above the
> right front wheel. It should have a braided jumper already installed there
> under one bolt. Loosen the bolt on the body side and add your house
> battery ground cable there. I would also add three stainless star washers
> and
> anti-oxidation grease and consider using new stainless flange bolts.
> That braided strap you are looking for is across a rubber body mount where
> the
> body is attached to the steel frame of the coach.
> --
> Ken Burton - N9KB
> 76 Palm Beach
> Hebron, Indiana
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>

 

[6cuda61]

Interesting.....mine goes to the frame extention beside/front of the right side of the radiator.

> There is a frame to body jumper located in front of and up high above the right front wheel. It should have a braided jumper already installed
> there under one bolt. Loosen the bolt on the body side and add your house battery ground cable there. I would also add three stainless star
> washers and anti-oxidation grease and consider using new stainless flange bolts. That braided strap you are looking for is across a rubber body
> mount where the body is attached to the steel frame of the coach.

--
Rich Mondor,

Brockville, ON

77 Hughes 2600

 

[charles boyd]

Yes there are 2.

> Interesting.....mine goes to the frame extention beside/front of the right side of the radiator.
>

> > There is a frame to body jumper located in front of and up high above the right front wheel. It should have a braided jumper already
> > installed there under one bolt. Loosen the bolt on the body side and add your house battery ground cable there. I would also add three stainless
> > star washers and anti-oxidation grease and consider using new stainless flange bolts. That braided strap you are looking for is across a rubber
> > body mount where the body is attached to the steel frame of the coach.

--
C. Boyd
76 Crestmont
East Tennessee

 

[Ken H.]

David,

I've had your exact battery configuration for at least 15 years in my
X-Birchaven. It's fine except for a couple problems:

1. Checking/Filling the batteries is very difficult, especially the 12
VDC, positioned as it is laterally 'way back under the
firewall/floorboard. I finally installed a remote battery fill system on
all 3. They're in much better condition now, with little effort from me.
Here's ONE source -- Applied GMC probably has it too:
https://www.amazon.com/Flow-Rite-MP2000-Qwik-Fill-Battery-Kit/dp/B001FCAXZO
Note that you'll need 2 hose kits and one hand pump for complete coverage
-- it IS worth the money.

2. R&R of all of the batteries is difficult -- for me, with radiator side
panels, nearly impossible. The engine battery is especially difficult
being trapped by the house batteries. The easiest way to R&R it is through
the wheel well. I've got the interior 1/2 of my liners permanently
removed, otherwise that will need to be removed for this technique. To
make it feasible for me to R&R that battery, I made a ramp to go between
the Ragusa battery tray and the upper suspension A-arm. Merely a board
with the Ragusa end at an appropriate angle and a piece of aluminum angle
added there to hook over the side of the tray. The battery is pretty
manageable once it's gotten onto that ramp and slid down near the A-arm.

HTH,

Ken H.

On Tue, Jun 30, 2020 at 1:57 PM David Curtiss via Gmclist <

> Hi,
>
> I am setting up the following on a 3 battery ragusa tray on passenger
> front side.
>
> (1) 12 volt Engine Battery grounded directly to the engine block.
> (2) 6 volt golf cart batteries for house batteries.
>
> Where is the ideal location to ground the the (2) 6 volt house batteries?
> There will be no other batteries in the coach.
>
> Thank you.
> --
> Dave Curtiss
> Mahwah NJ
> 1977 ex-Palm Beach now "Jersey Ltd. Edition"
> Cad 500, Quad Bags
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>

 

[DaveNJ]

Thank you to all for the assistance and suggested recommendations.

I checked and the GMC does not have the ground straps. They may have been removed or came off years ago.
Will make sure that the house battery is grounded properly to the aluminum body.

Had the chance to read a tech article from Ken Burton last night on grounding the GMC that was posted.
Great information contained in the article.

Also like the battery fill idea and install idea with the ragusa tray.

--
Dave Curtiss
Mahwah NJ
1977 ex-Palm Beach now "Jersey Ltd. Edition"
Cad 500, Quad Bags

 

[Ken B]

Those ground crossover straps are only used (on properly wire coach) for a few functions. If you think of the coach house section and the engine
alternator powered section as two separate systems, then you can figure where grounds should be attached for anything you by determining what powers
it. For the house system the master ground is the aluminum body and for the engine alternator powered stuff the master ground is the engine block.
Not the steel frame and not the battery.

Those crossover strap only move current for Battery boost, Engine alternator charging house batteries, and for the OEM cruise control.

So an early warning of a crossover strap problem is cruise control problems, or failure (or slow charging) of the house battery(s) using the engine
driven alternator while driving down the road.
--
Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana

 

[johnny]

Advance didn't have and groud braid so I p[icked ip a couple of #4 ground cables. I can't find any on my coach. I haven't had the noted problems but
I figure I'll ground the engine to the frame and the frame to the body and not worry further about it.

--johnny
--
Foolish Carriage, 76 26' Eleganza(?) with beaucoup mods and add - ons.
Braselton, Ga.
I forgive them all, save those who hurt the dogs. They must answer to me in hell

 

[6cuda61]

Was there a difference between the transmode conversions grounding verses the GMC factory coaches? I'm curious now as my Hughes is wires on the
battery grounds per the factory schematics...so one battery grounds to the engine and the other to the frame extension beside the rad....i dont
remember seeing any other braided grounds [i didnt look purposely either yet]

And no i dont have the Hughes schematics either, which is super frustrating.
--
Rich Mondor,

Brockville, ON

77 Hughes 2600

 

[Ken B]

Just ground the battery to the body like everything else in the house is suppose to be. I make a shorter electrical path with fewer connections an a
fee 1/10 of a volt does make a difference when trying to run just off of the battery(s). Who knows who wired it that way over 40 years since the
coach was built or even when it was built.
--
Ken Burton - N9KB
76 Palm Beach
Hebron, Indiana

 

[Jim Hupy]

Every coach is different. All bets are off after 40 years. Too many hands
have been in that pie. Just crawl under and check yours. Then you know what
you have for sure.
Jim Hupy

On Wed, Jul 1, 2020, 2:20 PM 6cuda6--- via Gmclist
wrote:

> Was there a difference between the transmode conversions grounding verses
> the GMC factory coaches? I'm curious now as my Hughes is wires on the
> battery grounds per the factory schematics...so one battery grounds to the
> engine and the other to the frame extension beside the rad....i dont
> remember seeing any other braided grounds [i didnt look purposely either
> yet]
>
> And no i dont have the Hughes schematics either, which is super
> frustrating.
> --
> Rich Mondor,
>
> Brockville, ON
>
> 77 Hughes 2600
>
> _______________________________________________
> GMCnet mailing list
> Unsubscribe or Change List Options:
> http://list.gmcnet.org/mailman/listinfo/gmclist_list.gmcnet.org
>