Electrical Problems? Always check your ground connections!

I have had a rule for a long time. When troubleshooting electrical connections, always check your grounds, end to end!!

I have been having trouble with my expensive, large auxiliary battery getting to where it was not holding a charge. Voltage would show fine when it was charging via either the vehicle alternator or by the inverter/charger. I had noticed that the status screen on the inverter would show voltage dropping as the vehicle has being driven, even though it should stay higher.

I decided to pull the battery to bench test it and see if it had gone bad. I found a burnt connection and loosened bolt on the shunt on the negative side of the battery where the heavy ground cable connected. The shunt is for a meter that registers current in and out of the battery. I don't use it often, but had noticed anomalous readings last time I did. Removed the shunt and directly connected the ground to the negative terminal. Problem fixed, and no replacing a $800 battery.

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Electrical Problems? Always check your ground connections!