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Old 04-22-2018, 11:11 AM   #1
Easton091
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Battery disconnect question

We have a 2018 Cougar 29BHS. We have had it for roughly 1 month and already the battery is dead. 2 questions, the battery disconnect, should the red key be in the off or on position to kill battery power? I have noticed at either position, I still have power to the slide out and also to the power tongue jack. I thought everything would be off?? Second, seeing my battery is dead, can i use a battery jump pack that would start a car to get power to my tongue jack or can I just back my truck up close enough that i can plug in trailer into the truck trailer connection?
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Old 04-22-2018, 11:36 AM   #2
Canonman
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On our Cougar, the off position turns the power to the coach off. On is ON
Best advice is to simply charge the battery with a standard automotive battery charger. Or, you can plug your trailer in to your house power and use the onboard converter to charge the battery. Make sure the battery disconnect is in the on position if you use the converter.
Everything wired behind the disconnect switch will be off when the switch is off. There are some things wired ahead for the disconnect and seems to be coach/floorplan related. Pretty much everything is off on our Cougar.
Yes, you can use the truck connection to the trailer to power things for the short term. You might want to keep the engine running so as not to drain the truck battery.
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Old 04-22-2018, 11:39 AM   #3
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On our rig, and possibly many others, there are two auto reset breakers near the batteries, and one of them will feed the jack and also the slides, and the other feeds the converter/electric panel. The battery disconnect switch kills power only to the panel, so if you have no connection to the batteries, through the open disconnect switch, the batteries will not be charged. Some of the switches are labelled so it is confusing to know it the switch is open or closed. If the switch key can be pulled out, the switch is open, and if the key will not come out in the other position, the switch should be closed, making the connection from the panel to the batteries. No idea if the power pack will do the job, but it may be worth a shot.
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Old 04-22-2018, 12:36 PM   #4
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Mine also reads off when the batteries are disconnected and on when ready to use the coach.
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Old 04-22-2018, 12:54 PM   #5
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Installed one of these so when it is off, it is off, and the battery won't be dead.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Old 04-22-2018, 01:03 PM   #6
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Our trailer disconnect turns off the battery in the off position - what stuff it does turn off. My slides still operate but don't know about the jack. If the cutoff isn't the issue you might check the battery. I know it's supposed to be "new" but when I started having issues with mine I found that the original battery that came with the trailer new was some off brand and looked 100 years old with almost no water. The new battery I had them install upon purchase (2nd battery) was a Camco. The old battery, in it's apparent dilapidated state completely drained the new one and killed it by the time I discovered it. I replaced both.
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Old 04-22-2018, 02:02 PM   #7
Easton091
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I know its cold here, but after a month and its completely dead? Kinda sucks. I really dont want to unhook the battery cables every time i store it for a month
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Old 04-22-2018, 02:57 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Easton091 View Post
I know its cold here, but after a month and its completely dead? Kinda sucks. I really dont want to unhook the battery cables every time i store it for a month


I have installed a real battery cut off on both the boat and Montana. Went to the boat yesterday which has sat inside dry dock since September and it fired right up. 5ers have sat for 2 1/2 months and still have a full charge. I leave the disconnect switch in the convenience center on and just use the real cut off switch. Anything else is a pia or losing battle.
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Old 04-22-2018, 03:18 PM   #9
sourdough
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Originally Posted by Easton091 View Post
I know its cold here, but after a month and its completely dead? Kinda sucks. I really dont want to unhook the battery cables every time i store it for a month
I don't know how your batteries are located on your trailer but many are just in a box on the front. About a 5 minute job to disconnect them. Mine has the enclosed cowl and it IS a pain. Have to remove the cowl, then the LP tanks and wrestle the batteries from back there "in the hole" to get them out. Hopefully yours will be in an easier place to remove them.

You can also leave them in and connect to shore power to charge the batteries which is what I do. Leave it on for a couple of weeks. Turn it off for a few weeks and repeat. I've left it on continuously for the winter but checked the batteries about every 3-4 months to add a little water.

You can also do what was mentioned previously; just install a true disconnect at the battery. Then, the factory disconnect is inconsequential and you can just leave it on. Probably the simplest and easiest way to solve your problem.
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Old 04-22-2018, 03:31 PM   #10
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The carbon monoxide detector will drain the battery,I always leave it connected to shore power when not in use,that way I always have a fully charged battery
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Old 04-23-2018, 06:38 AM   #11
Easton091
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Unfortunately, its at a storage lot and cannot plug it in. I am taking it out tonight after work, and bringing it in to my auto shop I work at to charge it up properly. We will see how long it lasts after that. Thanks for all your comments.
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Old 04-23-2018, 06:45 AM   #12
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Unfortunately, its at a storage lot and cannot plug it in. I am taking it out tonight after work, and bringing it in to my auto shop I work at to charge it up properly. We will see how long it lasts after that. Thanks for all your comments.


Most find 3 weeks to a month is about all it takes. Even 2 relatively new batteries do not last long. The bad part is each time they die longevity suffers.
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Old 04-23-2018, 08:23 AM   #13
PARAPTOR
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If you are concerned with power drain in storage I would recommend installing a separate battery disconnect as stated previously. The battery disconnect switch does not totally disconnect the battery, as stated some devices are still powered up. I also do not like the way that switch is labeled, as previously stated if you can pull the red key out the battery is disconnected if key can not be removed battery is connected. One has to keep in mind if battery is disconnected and on shore power then the batteries will not be charged by the converter
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Old 04-24-2018, 02:53 AM   #14
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Thanks did not know it had to be removed! Good to know
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Old 04-24-2018, 05:01 AM   #15
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I hope it doesn't have to be removed. I have never removed mine.
Just think of it as the battery switch, battery is ON or OFF.
You can buy a blade type battery switch at an auto parts store for $10. I just charge my batteries for a few days every month or so.
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Old 04-24-2018, 05:15 AM   #16
Steveo57
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See the attached PDF, this is how our Cougar is wired. I'm assuming they're all very similar.

The tounge jack, slide out, and stabilizing jacks all come right off the battery and don't go through the disconnect.
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Old 04-24-2018, 06:04 AM   #17
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Steveo57,

Unless I missed it on your schematic, none of the phantom drains are shown. The propane monitor, radio backlight, and in some trailers, other devices such as the carbon monoxide monitor are always powered. Your schematic is a good basic drawing, but doesn't include much of what causes the battery drain when in storage, even with the battery cutoff switch in the off position.
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Old 04-24-2018, 06:59 AM   #18
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We always actually disconnect the battery cables at the battery itself. You can buy disconnects that are easy to operate; no wrench needed. When our rig was new, the battery would be dead in a few days even with the disconnect switch off. After it still did it with a new battery, I started disconnecting everything at the battery. Eventually, one of the bi-metal breakers on the wall behind the battery failed and was replaced with a heavier breaker. No more problems with dead battery. I still disconnect whenever storing the rig but the battery will stay up for months now instead of a few hours/days. Also, you may need to clean up the connections at the posts as corrosion there will cause a problem.
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Old 04-24-2018, 07:28 AM   #19
Steveo57
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Quote:
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Steveo57,

Unless I missed it on your schematic, none of the phantom drains are shown. The propane monitor, radio backlight, and in some trailers, other devices such as the carbon monoxide monitor are always powered. Your schematic is a good basic drawing, but doesn't include much of what causes the battery drain when in storage, even with the battery cutoff switch in the off position.
JRTJH

On my trailer the propane leak detector is dead with the battery disconnect switch off. The smoke and CO monitors both run on 9 volt batteries only. I checked all of the things you mentioned when I was tracing this out because I was curious just how it was wired up and trying to figure out just what the battery disconnect actually disconnected!

This is on a 2018 Cougar 22RBS, other trailers may be set up differently.

Steve
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Old 05-09-2018, 06:16 PM   #20
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We have a 21rbswe and love it.. We do have solar on the roof, so never a dead battery. I would have you check and see if the TV RF button is on? On ours is by the TV electric plug in, there is a small round button you push to scan for channels. IF that is on, it will run your battery down. We live in cold country, so we do take our batteries out and put on trickle charger for the winter. When we took our batteries out of black boxes, there was water and ice, INSIDE the boxes... If your batteries are subjected to this they will not perform well the next camping season...

Just some thoughts!
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