How to wire 6 volt batteries to make 12 volts

by Rob Ravenstine
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Table of Contents Show

Things You'll Need:
Things You'll Need:
Can I connect a 6 volt battery to a 12 volt battery?
How do you wire two batteries to make 12 volts?
How do you wire 6 batteries in parallel?

CONNECTING DEEP-CYCLE BATTERIES TO YOUR RV’S HOUSE BATTERY SYSTEM

I need a diagram of how to hookup 4-6 volt deep cycle batteries for a 12 volt system?

Thank You
Rob Ravenstine

ANSWER: Hi Rob, I have included two diagrams. The first one is the one you requested on hooking up 4 six volt batteries to your RV's House Battery system. The second one is for those folks that want to hook up 2 six volt batteries to their RV House Battery system.

Hooking up 4 six volt batteries to House Battery System

You might also want to take a look at the video below to see how easy it is to setup the house batteries properly.

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Hooking up 2 six volt batteries to house battery system

For more information on why you should use 6 volt deep cycle batteries as house batteries in your RV, you should read my answer to: Should I Use Six Volt Deep Cycle Batteries as House Batteries in My RV?.

I hope that this information has been helpful to you.

Do you have any suggestions or comments on this topic? You can add them to this page by clicking on the "Click Here To Post Comments" link located near the bottom of this page.

Happy RVing

RVing Al

Two 6-volt batteries can be wired together to create a 12-volt system for powering electrical devices. This is known as a series connection. This combines the voltage of the two batteries without increasing the capacity of the output, which is measured in amps per hour. The amperage stays the same with series wiring, but the voltage has a multiplying effect. For example, four 6V batteries wired in series will produce 24V.

Things You'll Need:

Wire Strippers
Two 6V Batteries
Three Lengths Of 18-Gauge Wire

Cut three lengths of wire long enough to connect the 12V system consisting of two batteries and an electrical device. Strip 1/2 inch of insulation from both ends on each piece of wire.

Attach the end of one piece of wire to the positive terminal of one 6V battery by unscrewing the post cap, wrapping the wire around the metal terminal, then tightening the post cap over it to secure the connection. The positive post will be marked with a plus (+) sign and is typically colored red.

Connect the other end of the same wire to the negative terminal of the second battery and secure the connection in the same manner.

Connect a second piece of wire to the negative terminal of the first battery and leave the other end free.

Secure the third length of wire to the positive terminal on the second battery and leave the other end free.

Connect the two free ends of the wires to a 12V electrical device. Attach the wire from the positive terminal first, then the negative wire. The device will operate with 12V drawing on the doubled power of the two batteries.

Tip

Be sure the device being connected with this battery system is rated for 12 volts. An electrical motor, for example, will burn out quickly when run at a higher voltage than designed.

An 18-gauge wire is an acceptable size for running either 6V or 12V circuits.

Warnings:

As a standard safety procedure, do not touch the terminals of the batteries at the same time, regardless of the voltage.

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By: William Kinsey Updated April 12, 2017

There are two ways a 6-volt and 12-volt battery can be connected. The first is a series connection. In a series connection, the two battery voltages will add together to provide a combined voltage of 18 volts. The second configuration is a parallel connection. This configuration requires a voltage splitter or isolator to keep the 12-volt battery from overloading the 6-volt battery. In this case, the total voltage will be between 6 volts and 12 volts.

Place both batteries on a table. Cut off six 3-foot pieces of 16-gauge wire. Strip half of an inch of insulation off of the ends of each wire. Connect the positive terminal of the 6-volt battery to the negative terminal of the 12-volt battery using the 16-gauge pieces. This places the two batteries in series.

Use a voltage meter to measure the voltage across the two batteries. Turn on the voltage meter and place the red positive probe on the positive terminal of the 12-volt battery. Place the black negative probe on the negative terminal of the 6-volt battery. The voltage should be at or close to 18 volts.

Disconnect the wires on the batteries.

Connect the positive terminal of the 6-volt battery to the positive terminal of the 12-volt battery. Connect terminal one of resistor #1 to the negative terminal of the 12-volt battery. Connect terminal two of resistor #1 to terminal one of resistor #2. Connect the negative terminal of the 6-volt battery to terminal one of resistor #2.

Check the total voltage for this circuit. Connect the positive probe of the voltage meter to the positive terminal of the 12-volt battery. Connect the negative probe to terminal two of resistor #2. The voltage should be between 6 volts and 12 volts. The two resistors act as voltage dividers to reduce the voltage of the 12-volt battery to a 6-volt level so that the 6-volt battery can be added to the configuration.

Things You'll Need:

6-volt battery
12-volt battery
16-gauge electrical wire
1 battery isolator

References

Writer Bio

William Kinsey lives in Concord, N.C. He started writing articles in March 2009, which have appeared on Autos.com and CarsDirect.com. He currently holds a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. He also has several years experience as an outside plant engineer and planner with AT&T. He also currently owns and operates Sophisticated Curves, an online fashion mall that caters to the needs of plus size women.

Are 2 6

Are Two 6-Volt Batteries Better Than Two 12-Volt Battery? There is no right or wrong answer to this question, it's all about how many amp-hours the batteries have. RVers like 6V batteries because you can get higher amperage batteries.

Can I connect a 6 volt battery to a 12 volt battery?

The short answer is no, you cannot simply parallel your 12-volt battery with the new 6-volt batteries (in series). You can only parallel batteries that are exactly the same brand and chemistry, including age. Otherwise it will result in unbalanced charging as well as shortened battery life.

How do you wire two batteries to make 12 volts?

Two or more 12-volt batteries wired in parallel—positive to positive, negative to negative—is still a 12-volt system. Two or more 12-volt batteries wired in series—the positive terminal of one battery connected to the negative terminal of a second battery—develops 24 volts, but amperage doesn't change.

How do you wire 6 batteries in parallel?

When connecting batteries in parallel, the negative terminal of one battery is connected to the negative terminal of the next and so on through the string of batteries. The same is done with positive terminals, i.e. the positive terminal of one battery to the positive terminal of the next.