series parallel to neg ground....

[teleman]

My B61 is pos ground 12/24 start and everything works fine the way it is but I want to change over to neg ground to uce my gps,cb and phone charger...Larry..freightrain..has helped me try to understand this but im still wondering about how to go about it...I want to keep the 12/24 series parallel switch as it is,switch the one wire alt to neg ground,switch the voltmeter wires and then switch the battery cables around..the series parallel switch instructions say it can be used pos or neg ground and looks like just the cables need switched at the batteries...I have one group 31 12 volt on each side,,,has anyone tried this...or am I overlooking something...thanks Jim

[gearhead204]

my old midland cb said in the instructions to reverse the leads for + ground. so with that in mind i think you could put a cigerett charger isolated from the rest of the truck ( mounted on wood or plastic or such) and reverse the leads to the charger and you should have - ground at the charger..........just a thought.

[41chevy]

Here is the way do do only a cigarette lighter power port in a Positive Ground vehicle for a Negative ground devise. This is in an Autin Healy but same basic positive ground system as the B Model. Paul

http://www.mossmotoring.com/negative-ground-lighter-socket-in-a-positive-ground-car/

[theakerstwo]

As for as switching battery cable you can if you want leave cables on the batterys like they are and then run the batterys down all the way.Then charge them up backwards and the battery will not care.

[grayhair]

I'd say do it as described above. That is, purchase a new cigarette lighter socket. Mount the socket so it is completely electrically isolated from any of the truck metal or dashboard metal using plastic bracket or plastic washers, or whatever, but be sure it is isolated. Then,.

a) Purchase an inline fuseholder. (about $3.00)

b - Connect one of the fuseholder's wires to your trucks hot (negative battery) power somewhere convenient..

c) Connect the fuseholder's other wire to the ground tab of the lighter socket.

d) Use a piece of wire to connect the center post terminal of the lighter socket to your truck's ground (battery positive) somewhere convenient.

e) Don't skip the fuseholder. Install, say, a 15 amp fuse. Don't want any melting wires or fire from a short somewhere.

[teleman]

Thanks....I know I can insulate and use a power source plug if I need too( reminds me of when I was a kid and my dad drove a b model for Yankee Lines ...he had his radio mounted in a woob box and vice grips with garden hose on the ends for the antena mount) but one of the trailers that I can use has LED lights. I was hoping someone had switched the battery cables around and left the seriesparallel and starter alone...thanks Jim

[Freightrain]

Unhook the alt so it doesn't work. Then swap battery leads and start it. If everything works fine, get the alt switched and bolt it back on. No harm, no foul.

[Maddog13407]

i guess im missin something but every series parallel switch I have seen is nothing but problems, even a rebuilt one. why not just add a 12 volt starter, two battery cables and two batteries and your done, wire it positive or negative, doesn't matter, switch wires on amp meter and your good to go.

[teleman]

Thanks...thats what i plan to do if this does not work out...When I got the truck running I bought a new switch down at the john deere dealer...its worked perfectly since then... so I figured why change when it looks like swapping the battery cables around will simply take it from pos ground to neg ground...Ive got the truck down at Roys now putting brakes on it and fixing the pinion seal...oh and I went to akron/medina and picked up another fifth wheel.....so like Larry says Im taking the alt wire off,swap the cables at the batteris and tell you what happens....thanks Jim

[41chevy]

Still have to swap the Amp gauge wires so it will read correct. Paul

[phildirt]

Have a fire extinguisher ready.

There is more to it than just switching the batteries.

[teleman]

OK....since I already got rid of the reg/gen and went to a one wire alt I just unhooked the pos groung alt and switched the cables at the battery and switched the wires on the volt meter and everything worked like it did before but im now neg ground....Like Larry said,,,I was overthinking this...So now Im dropping off the alt to have it changed to neg ground...the paper work with the new series parallel switch said it would work pos or neg depending how the battries were hooked up so were good to go....thanks everyone... Jim