Electrical Cable Fraying

[TechWriter]

Discovered this frayed electrical wire while installing new house batteries . . .



It looks like 21 years of rubbing against the edge of the rough cut fiberglass entry hole has taken its toll on my negative house electric cable. The cable's outer protective sleeve is long gone.

The same thing is happening to the positive cable, but not as bad as the negative. However, if the positive cable shorted to the chassis frame, it could have completely taken out my 12V system.

Easy to fix and those of you with older RVs might want to check out the shape of your battery cables.

[TXiceman]

Replace the cable and put bushings or gromets in the holes.

Ken

[HarryStone]

Anytime an electrical cable goes thru a hole with sharp edges, the cable should be protected, by either a shield, or a grommet, as stated above.

[chuckftboy]

It was a good thing that the builder decided to put the positive and negative wires through separate holes.

[Mudfrog]

Looks like the positive has the plastic split loom wire protector over it so it's probably in good shape. As far as the negative wire goes, I'd wrap it in good electrical tape and call it good. I'd definitely install rubber grommets in all the holes the cables run through to keep future chafing down.

[twinboat]

Critters are or were chewing them.

[153stars]

Agree it does look like chewing unless you twisted them around from where they had rubbed. A piece of split rubber hose over cable and zip ties will protect from sharp edges and vibration wear, works for hyd. lines and other hoses as well.
No reason to replace cables use some good elect tape like 3M. #33 it's not cheap but works so good it can be pain to remove, even when you tried to make quick temporary cover up bare wire .

[Winemaker2]

If you are redoing cables I would look to upgrade a bit from the OEM
Here is a link on tips for quality batty cables. Even if you don't DIY it will provide good insights on what to look for when purchasing.
Questionable points I noticed are... low quality terminal lugs... short crimp area, open end for corrosion to enter, no / poor insulation, shrink wrap. Your choice but I would go further than that one cable.
https://marinehowto.com/making-your-own-battery-cables/

[wolfe10]

Just gusset any cable going near anything that can abrade it.


I keep a selection of old hoses of different diameters on hand (or go by any auto repair shop and "dumpster dive".


Slit lengthwise a hose of the proper ID to fit over the cable (or other hose that is in danger of being abraded). Slip it in place and zip tie it.


Free and bomb-proof.

[Argosy]

Lots of good suggestions about using hose or split loom on the cable, you can also use it around the inside of the opening the cables pass through.

One other thing I would do is loosen the nuts for the interconnect between the + and - terminals of the two batteries, pull it towards you and tighten the nuts. It looks like it's laying against the - terminal of the battery.

If you decide to replace cables that one could be a couple of inches shorter, you wouldn't have to worry about it fouling anything then.

[wolfe10]

And, with wet cell batteries, reorient the interconnect cable toward the outside of the coach so it doesn't obstruct access to the cells to check water level.

[ArtJoyce]

Tape ir up and slide a section of hose on that wire.

I would also look at the cable Negative connecting the two batteries together. The photo looks like it is resting on the Positive post. That could be a burning event when the insulation wear off.

I would reroute the cable or slid a section of hose on that cable to double insulate it.

[YC1]

Scotch 88 tape is outstanding. Scotch 33 is the next best thing and I never use anything less than that quality. $3-4 a roll and you won't need more than one roll but once you use it I doubt you will ever by cheap stuff again.

Good suggestion on wrapping it with some hose. A rub from the fiberglass would likely be different and show wear on it as well.

Glad you caught it.