Battery Wiring and Charging

[PisgahCamper]

My son received a Livin' Lite CLTC11  Mfg Date: 6/13/2014 from his father-in-law.  The battery had overheated and was removed before my son received it so that it only runs on shore power.  We want to restore the 12V battery system for more remote camping.  I would like to receive photos of how the battery was originally mounted and any information available on the wiring.  Also, it appears the inverter is in place and presume it to be operational but I am concerned why the original battery overheated.

Any thoughts out there on the stock inverter and it's operation?

[Mitch]

They've used a couple inverters over the years, do you know which manufacturer/model is in it?

[DavidM]

First of all, I think you are confusing "inverter" with "converter". An inverter is a device that produces AC from a DC battery source. A converter is a device that takes AC and converts it to DC for running DC appliances from shorepower and charging batteries. Very few campers have inverters, so I suspect you are talking about a converter.

Secondly it is bad practice to operate DC appliances from a converter without a battery hooked up. A battery acts like a flywheel and smooths out DC pulses created by turning appliances on and off.

Since your camper had a battery at one time, it probably has the wiring for it underneath the front behind the tongue. The two wires go from the front back to the converter input terminals where they can power DC appliances with no shore power hooked up. Take a look at this pic of a CL 11FK's front end with the battery in place- https://www.rvtrader.com/listing/2015-Livin--Lite-CAMPLITE-11FK-5004044947

This is where your battery should go just in back of the LPG tank. If the battery box is gone they are available on Amazon and should bolt to the tongue and its cross bracing. So get a battery box and a group 24 deep cycle battery and hook it up to the wiring in the front of the camper. Put a 30 amp fuse in a fuse holder like this one in the red positive lead near the battery- https://www.amazon.com/Line-Blade-Holder-10AWG-strands/dp/B06XS833Q5/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1536078169&sr=8-3&keywords=blade+fuse+holder+10awg

But also why did the old battery overheat. Did it boil out all of its water. If so why.

David

[PisgahCamper]

David & Mitch, thank you for your response.

David, you are correct that I should be talking of a converter as opposed to inverter.  Many of your comments are helpful regarding the flywheel effect of the battery.  Another good reason to restore the battery installation. 

The specifics for the battery location are different for my model.  It is a Truck Bed Camper CLTC11 similar to the photo at:  https://assets-cdn-interactrv.netdna-ssl.com/campersinn/unit_photo/imgh_800x600-wm_campersinn_com-m0331201718511484/unit_photo_201508190919351502936753.JPG

The converter is a Progressive Dynamics, Inc. Power Converter System PD4045KA

I have the wiring diagram from the converter.  What I am really interested in is the actual battery location and the leads that connect to the converter.  It appears that the Battery Negative is to be White and the Battery Positive is to be Black.  That is atypical from what I usually work with in residential settings.

A Red wire with an unusual terminal is resting in the compartment where I understand the battery once was.  Then there is also a White wire connected to the frame of the camper.  Again, unusual so I am looking for information.

Thanks for anything you can provide.  A photo of an actual battery connection in a 2014 Livin' Lite CLTC11 Truck Bed Camper would be most helpful.

[DavidM]

Sorry, I didn't recognize the CLTC11 model number and didn't realize we were talking about a truck camper.

I strongly suspect that the red wire is the positive connection to the battery and the white wire is negative which connects to the battery as well as the frame of the camper. This is bad wiring practice BTW and should go to the converter, not the frame, but LL was never one for good wiring practices. Yes the color coding is wrong, but reread the previous sentence ;-).

You can probably confirm the foregoing by hooking up a meter to the red and white wires and plugging into shore power. The converter should power those wires and you should read 13 or so volts when shore power is connected. If not check the main fuse in the converter panel. Maybe it is blown due to the red wire touching ground.

Hopefully someone will post a pic of the battery compartment for the CLT11. But here is a video of a CLT8.6 showing the slide out battery compartment at about 4:30- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmTz9xGXZ68.  And at 5:00 or so you can see red and white wires inside, which are probably the same as what you have. But I have no clue if it is the same as yours.

If the meter test above works, then I would just hook up a battery to those wires and you should be in business.

David

[ScottCLTC11]

I came across this when I was trying to pick up a CLTC11 I just bought and couldn't figure out where the now dead battery was. The battery is located under the step that is used climb up on to the forward bed just below the little portal window to the truck cab.

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