[glen]

2 wires, one for each battery Bank.

[DON]

These are the inputs to the 12V bus FROM the alternator. Reading the book for the zillionth time, I see the confirmation that indeed 2 wires run from the alternator to the distribution box.

My bus has both an engine-mounted 50DN and a belt-driven alternator. My chassis is 24/12 volt and my house is 12v.

Do 50DNs have dual output?

[Archived]

Also found this diagram in another book.

[Archived]

Liam, no the 50DN alt’s don’t have dual output. On my Bus both cables landed on the Positive (12 Volt Output Lug on the Engine driven 50DN alternator.

Liam what is your Bus Number? Mine is 60187

[Liam]

Thanks Mike, that is exactly what I needed to know. Perhaps it was just more cost effective to stock one less cable size and run 2.
Let me look tomorrow for my coach number.

[Bernard]

Even my ’88 Country Couch had 2 cables running from the alternator and there was only 1 battery bank (could have been changed before I bought it). There was a 24V and 12V alternator, both belt driven.

[Chuck & Katrina]

Per sticker inside my vanity – I am CC# 60160

I appreciate all of the help from fellow CC owners – and from Jon, who has answered some of my dumber questions offline.

My guess in the end is that CC found it mechanically/physically too difficult to terminate a single 4/0 cable on the breaker buss bar with 2 smaller cables more flexible.

BTW, my CC was originally equipped with manual transfer switches, 2 converters (chargers), 2 inverters, and a Siemens solar system. At some point the system was converted to a pair of Freedom 458 units. In doing this research, I discovered the 2 cables from the distribution box to the neighboring bay (where the converters were mounted) were just lopped-off in that bay and sealed with a single wrap of tape – and still live! Definitely going to fix that fire hazard.

So – peeling back the onion – my CC books say nothing about the solar charging system and no breaker allocated to it. I am guessing this was a dealer add by Lazydays RV when they sold it. Do your CC’s have solar – and if so – how is it wired?

I am doing the engineering to replace my 4 end-of-life Lifeline 8Ds with a single 320AH lithium. Given the really low internal resistance of lithium, I want to make sure I have the worst-case current draw on the alternator and cabling under control. In the process, I am learning fascinating things such as regenerative alternators that can output 17V during braking and fry lithium batteries.

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2000 Featherlite H3-45

2024 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Leesburg, FL

[Bernie]

Not bad, Yours was 27 Busses before mine, Ernest Borgnine’s Bus 60208, was 21 busses after mine. My bus seems to be wired different than yours, my two cables come back from the 50DN and run right to two 200 amp Klixon Breakers. See schematic of how my bus is wired. My Solar comes down from the roof and lands on that 12 VDC Circuit which is on the opposite side of the breaker from the two 50DN cables coming in.