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ouch
I hurt. I'm sure saying I hurt all over is an exaggeration, but I'm not sure I can think of a part that doesn't hurt at the moment. I spent most of the day working on wiring in and under the van. The contortions involved in automotive wiring generally induce fatigue and pain. The fact I could see my breath the entire time made it worse.
The new battery is a nice deep cycle sealed job that fits in the space with room to spare. I got a kit that isolates the two batteries when the key is off, but allows the system to charge both when the vehicle is running. The first part of the installation went smoothly, but slowly. I was cold and was taking my time to get things right. I got the new pieces mounted, pretty and neat, and started connecting things together.
Then I realized I had two wires that weren't supposed to be there. Stray wires are not good. I figured the only way to find out what two generic red wires were was to trace them back. Okay, they leave the battery compartment through a hole and go down. Down not good. This is the part where I have to crawl under the van in the sand, ice, and puddles. I discovered it is much easier to get out from under a vehicle when you're on ice. It turns out that the wires were from the currently disconnected air conditioning. Why they were in the second battery compartment, I have no idea.
At one point I noticed there were snow flakes falling on my head. Not to worry, I was standing outside leaning into the open door so the precipitation wasn't out of place. I was happy it wasn't warm enough to rain. By the time I finished for the night the windows were covering with snow.
The new battery is installed and it's separate from the starting battery. Currently it powers the sink pump and the fridge. Tomorrow, I have to do some rearranging behind the fuse panel so it will also power the interior lights, the radio, and the accessory outlets. The air condition wires are taped off and curled up next to their empty fuse holders. No chance of a fire from those now.
I'm happy to have gotten as much done as I did, but my body is not at all happy with me.
The new battery is a nice deep cycle sealed job that fits in the space with room to spare. I got a kit that isolates the two batteries when the key is off, but allows the system to charge both when the vehicle is running. The first part of the installation went smoothly, but slowly. I was cold and was taking my time to get things right. I got the new pieces mounted, pretty and neat, and started connecting things together.
Then I realized I had two wires that weren't supposed to be there. Stray wires are not good. I figured the only way to find out what two generic red wires were was to trace them back. Okay, they leave the battery compartment through a hole and go down. Down not good. This is the part where I have to crawl under the van in the sand, ice, and puddles. I discovered it is much easier to get out from under a vehicle when you're on ice. It turns out that the wires were from the currently disconnected air conditioning. Why they were in the second battery compartment, I have no idea.
At one point I noticed there were snow flakes falling on my head. Not to worry, I was standing outside leaning into the open door so the precipitation wasn't out of place. I was happy it wasn't warm enough to rain. By the time I finished for the night the windows were covering with snow.
The new battery is installed and it's separate from the starting battery. Currently it powers the sink pump and the fridge. Tomorrow, I have to do some rearranging behind the fuse panel so it will also power the interior lights, the radio, and the accessory outlets. The air condition wires are taped off and curled up next to their empty fuse holders. No chance of a fire from those now.
I'm happy to have gotten as much done as I did, but my body is not at all happy with me.