12 Volt coach power on a 2002 Winnie Journey

Hello all,

I am new to this forum but have been dragging houses down the road for 30 years.  I recently acquired my first DP and am not familiar with some of the systems.  So, looking for some help:

The first thing I wanted to change was to get rid of 3 tired Interstate batts that the prior owners had apparenty let go dry to the point where they will not hold a charge for even 12 hours.  AS I had done with all my other units, I decided to switch to 6 volt GC batts.  I hooked each pair of batteries together in series, careful to make sure I made (1) 12v with each pair.  When I got it,  the WInnie had two 12v  batteries tied together in parrallel with one set of cables going to the house.  The third battery was on a separate set of  +/- cables.  I ASSUMED that these were all headed to the same place, that is, they powered the same items in the coach. 

I hooked up my first new "12v" pair of 6v to the cables that came off the single 12 v.  Went inside to check the situation on the monitors and .........nothing.  Couldn't find any 12 v items that would power on. 

I then took my 2nd "12v" pair of 6volts and used the second set of cables that had previously been connected to the two 12v tied together.  Now everything in the coach, radio, lights, inverter, etc all powered up, batt monitor showed correct voltage.  I then wired the 2 "12v" pairs of 6v in parallel.  EVerything seems to be normal, both pairs of sixes are charging properly but I have this feeling I am doing something I am not supposed to. 

Are there two separate 12v circuirts on this coach?  If so, what are each for?  Have I compromised anything by connecting them in parallel?  ANy help is appreciated, I have searched the web and the forunm but haven't found anything about separate coach circuits.

Many thanks in advance,  Darwin
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I'm not familiar with the Journey, but are you sure that third battery wasn't for the chassis? Or perhaps someone else know the rig.

I owned a 2002 Journey DL for 8 years.  Mine had three (3) 12V house batteries and two chassis batteries.  IIRC, there was an extra set of cables for the house batteries.  I suspect one set goes to the inverter/charger and the other connects to the generator up front.  In any case, it sounds like you have wired up the 6 volt batteries correctly in pairs, then parallel wired the pairs together.  If everything is working well, it seems you are good to go.

FYI, Winnebago has one of the best collections of technical info for their coaches on their website.  You can go to the 'Resources' section, enter year and model for your coach and get wiring diagrams, plumbing diagrams, and a host of other technical info for your rig.

https://winnebagoind.com/product-resources/product-information

Larry,  There are two separate 12 V batts in the lower tray for the chassis.  Maybe I can call Winnebago?

Todalake,

THANK YOU!

Darwin

In case anyone is interested:

Called Winnebago and explained the situation.  Turns out the one set of cables only powers the inverter, hence when that one is connected and not the 2nd set of cables, nothing is feeding the 12 volt house system.  He did tell me that wiring them all together in parallel and connecting both sets of cables was the correct procedure.  I now have some serious battery power for boondocking.  Thanks for the replies.

Darwin

Glad you got the straight scoop.