Rialta Coach Batteries 101

Basic RV coach battery installation, connections and maintenance.

[@larpylarpster]

It would be great to know what group size battery you have. For some reason Winnebago decided to recommend a group size 27, but they made the left side compartment much smaller than the right size making certain group 27 batteries a pia to install.

[@davetugwood1770]

Some good points and tips. I noted that you instructed that the negative be fastened to body before the positive which is not the safe way to do it. With negative connected a short from positive to ground of vehicle is now possible such as using a wrench to tighten the positive terminal. When negative is fastened last it will not matter if you touch the wrench to ground of vehicle. This is true no matter what equipment you are working on that requires a battery. Negative disconnected first ,, connected last.

[@gundylake3062]

Dave, You are very correct. On a vehicle "ALWAYS REMOVE THE NEGATIVE WIRE BEFORE THE POSITIVE WIRE AND INSTALL IT AFTER THE POSITIVE WIRE" no exceptions. I really like Alex's videos he uses a "Joe Friday" approach and the information is very good with the exception of this little bit of info. It has been 10 months since Dave has pointed this out and I am a little disappointed that Alex has not posted a correction as it can cause serious injury if the positive terminal is shorted to any metal attached to the frame as the negative post of the battery is wired directly to the frame. I have seen the consequences of this mistake and it resulted in serious injuries the the mechanics face and hands. I think Alex might have been thinking about electronic devices where you keep the equipment grounded to reduce the possibility of destroying components due to static electricity discharge. I still like your posts, keep them coming.

[@rialtaownersgroupofamerica4139]

I'm sure you have read that somewhere, but remember in the RV it is a floating ground. If you don't use insulated tools, you can STILL create a short putting the positive terminal on by contacting any part of the body that the ground would have been connected to anyway. This is the same for boats as well as RV's. If you are contacting the positive without a ground connected YOU become the shortest path to ground!

[@alexdelencastre9652]

@@rialtaownersgroupofamerica4139 Dave, Gundy and Alex: so, which is it? Fasten the negative first or last?

[@alexdelencastre9652]

For what it's worth, I decided to look at the Rialta Service manual, which states "Remove the negative battery cable FIRST to reduce chances of arcing". And "Connect the negative cable LAST to reduce chances of arcing."

[@TroyD-vo1bz]

Don't know if there is any updated KZbin videos for lithium iron phosphate batteries, which are more than norm in 2024. I think this would make a lot more sense as they supply a much greater amp hour rating for the weight. If you were to do this you would need a dc to dc converter as the chemistry of lithium iron phosphate batteries requires a greater charge than your alternator puts out, but well worth the extra cost involved. AGM batteries are pretty dated by 2024 standards. And the system in the rialta It is nothing more than a solenoid valve that connects the batteries together once the voltage gets above 13.5 volts. If your coach batteries are severely depleted this can put a pretty big strain on your alternator, particularly at lower rpms. There are many battery isolators and smart chargers that are far better suited. In general, this video is really dated and should be updated to reflect more current technologies.

[@jeromehebert3184]

his voice sounds familiar i've heard him before either on video, tv, radio something. Just can't place him.

[@baotran5311]

Hi I just tried installing the batteries and I accidentally put both batteries with their terminals . facing the same way . I then fitted the wires according to length. A big spark came about as I put the last wire in. Now nothing works in the back cabin. Did I just blow the fuses? If so, which one? And are they easy to come by?

[@rixannewehren]

Does shore power include float charging for the coach batteries?

[@susanbreeland8620]

I cannot find the switch to turn the power to turn it off on the steering column and turn on generator!!

[@MARK-fo2iv]

Great video! Does the battery charge at idle? Also, how long does it take to fully charge the battery from empty?

[@jonbalsa]

Hello, can you tell me which of those cable is connected to the alternator? Thanks.

[@alexylamonarca]

Hello Do you know which of the relay on the fuse panel is the ignition relay. This sends the signal to the isolation solenoide in order to recharge the coach batteries when the car is running. Thks

[@KirbyCowboy]

Thanks for the great video..

[@peggymcdonnell1379]

Thank you for all the great videos you do ..

[@lavignemanon1340]

Thank you Alex

[@mitchtivi]

What size of battery did you install? groupe 24, groupe 27 or groupe 31? Thanks in advance.

[@DevilTravels]

They look like group 24. 80 amp hours. Better would be using 2 Trojan 6 volt batteries in series.

[@wilpotts7441]

Thank you for the video. You may consider putting the negative cable on before the positive as it reduces the chances of a spark when hooking up the terminals. Also you putting some dielectric grease on the posts before putting on the cables will reduce corrosion.

[@kalsumagui]

Install and secure positive connections and insulators first. Ground / negative terminals can safely contact anything on a negative-ground chassis but positive must not. This way, you avoid creating a short-circuit spark when handling the positive fasteners with tools.

[@PseudonymAliase]

for some reason i don't have power going to the main breaker box. is there a battery switch on these rialtas? manual or automatic? thanks!

[@DevilTravels]

In the video the is a solonoid connected to the positive cable. That is probably the disconnect.

[@jimwashington2445]

NIce video. Question; would it be good to install the battery disconnects on both coach batteries? And during the off season, disconnect them until a few weeks before springing back to action.