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Old 04-22-2012, 02:22 PM   #1
Camp I am
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Battery disconnect switch. Oh how you deceive me.

I guess I was under the assumption that the battery cut-off switch disconnected the power on the entire rig? I can still operate my slides and power awning with it in the off postion? I Havnt checked to see if the fridge gets cut off or not, but the furnace along with the water pump, waterheater, interior lights, and other items on the command center appear to be cut off from the battery. What would be the purpose of not having it disconnect the 12v power for the entire camper?
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Old 04-22-2012, 03:30 PM   #2
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Is your battery disconnect from the factory? In your case, they probably shouldn’t call it a battery cutoff. I installed mine and if I ever need power, I run up front and flip the switch.
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Old 04-22-2012, 03:39 PM   #3
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Tell us how the switch is installed. You should have no power if installed correctly.
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Old 04-22-2012, 04:59 PM   #4
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Yes its from the factory that way. I'll have to look how its wired when it's light outside, it's after dark now. I'm sure I can rewire it easily enough if I decide I want total cut-off but any guesses why it wouldnt be that way already from the factory?
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Old 04-22-2012, 05:18 PM   #5
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Exactly where is your cutoff switch located?? On the Montanas it's in the convenience center, yet the slide pump is wired directly to the battery (through a resettable breaker) in the battery compartment thus not affected by the cutoff switch, not sure about the awing.
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Old 04-26-2012, 07:05 AM   #6
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Exactly where is your cutoff switch located?? On the Montanas it's in the convenience center, yet the slide pump is wired directly to the battery (through a resettable breaker) in the battery compartment thus not affected by the cutoff switch, not sure about the awing.
Got a chance to look at it closer and it's set up simular to yours. It's located in the "conveniance center" and when i go into the compartment with the battery I can see they put a multi-tap terminal in there and split the power lead 3 ways, one to the battery disconnect, one to the slide pump, and one looks like it goes somewhere else but it was getting late so I didnt chase it any further. I wonder why they wouldnt make it fully disconnect everything. Easy enough for me to change but why?
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Old 04-26-2012, 03:43 PM   #7
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My Cougar is wired the same way... My guess is that with "remote control" of those items, the easiest way was to route the power for those items away from the 12v output of the converter and conserve wire by routing to the remote panel. In a way it makes some sense; the "object" of the disconnect for most is to remove those battery drains that could ruin a battery during storage conditions. By only killing the power to the converter it affectively removes those ghost drains on the battery, i.e., LP detector, forgotten lights left on inside or in storage bays, etc. Leaving power to those devices controlled by the remote control panel in the forward bay wouldn't drain the battery during storage since they only "consume" when activated and without the remote, only the landing jacks could be activated.

Not that I in anyway agree, but, I see their thinking; personally, if I throw the switch, I'd like it to kill everything...a disconnect should disconnect not restrict operation.
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Old 04-26-2012, 04:40 PM   #8
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The items you describe must be reliable to close up camp and get moving. The only reason they do not come from the dc distribution center is for reliability, they are on their own circuit breakers right off the batteries. Every RV I have seen has these items on their own circuits. Having said that I see no reason not to run them thru the disconnect.
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Old 04-26-2012, 04:49 PM   #9
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I am right in the middle of installing a Blue Sea battery switch so that I can add a second battery to my system. I pondered some of these issues when deciding how to wire the switch. Much as I understand the reasoning behind leaving the slide power system hot when the battery is switched off, I prefer to have the entire 12 volt system off when the battery switch is set to OFF. That way, if there is a problem, shutting off the batteries will kill the whole system and not just part of it.

My Cougar has the remote control system for the slides and the awning. For me, leaving all that hot with the batteries otherwise shut off doesn't accomplish what I expect a battery switch to do.
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Old 04-27-2012, 02:39 AM   #10
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I was told the only reason for the battery disconnect is to disconnect items that would continue to drain your battery if you are in storage. If you want to disconnect everything disconnect the battery by removing the leads. It's just to make storing your camper easier.
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Old 04-27-2012, 07:27 AM   #11
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Texas Camper -
Another reason for having a battery disconnect is to prevent malicious types from playing around with exterior front jack switch or other easily accessible switches on the outside of your unit when you are not around. Some have moved these switches inside a compartment but for those who haven't, the battery disconnect switch is a good way to stop these "accidents" from happening.
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Old 04-27-2012, 08:58 AM   #12
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Texas Camper -
Another reason for having a battery disconnect is to prevent malicious types from playing around with exterior front jack switch or other easily accessible switches on the outside of your unit when you are not around. Some have moved these switches inside a compartment but for those who haven't, the battery disconnect switch is a good way to stop these "accidents" from happening.
True that!
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Old 04-28-2013, 12:32 PM   #13
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Hello I'm completely new to 5th wheels or any trailer for that matter. I have a 2002 Laredo 27RLD. I just went out yesterday to slide in the slides and all of a sudden my slides just stopped working along with my interior lights also which made me think I drained the batteries completely but I had my truck connected to the trailer and thought that would boost my batts. Is there a switch that I'm unaware of that I'm supposed to throw when I'm hooked to the trailer? If so where would it be? I checked the breaker/fuse box all is fine. I also looked in the batt compartment and didn't see any type of switch.
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Old 04-28-2013, 01:09 PM   #14
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Your slide probably has a 30A circuit breaker which is somewhere near the battery but it sounds to me like another issue.

If your interior lights do not go on as well, that would suggest that it might be a battery related problem. You did the right thing by plugging in your truck to the trailer while operating the slide. However, if your battery is discharged or to the point where it won't accept a charge, plugging your truck in for a very short time won't bring it up to full charge. The slide needs a fully-charged battery to operate.

If you are able put a charger on the battery and try again or, if you can swap your battery for a known good one, try that. Check the water level in the battery and use a hydrometer to check out the S.G. of each cell.

If you are close, take the suspect battery to a battery dealer and get them to check it out.
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Old 04-28-2013, 01:27 PM   #15
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I haven't tried to operate my slides or awning with the battery switch off, but I will, because my curiosity is now up. My slides are wired direct to the battery as is my electric tongue jack. but they are also wired through circuit breakers installed close to the battery, so that makes me think that probably because of high operating current potentially burning out the switches, the slides are operated through relays that are switched by the wall switches. These little rocker switches are only good for around 10A, but I don't know what amperage a slide draws when operating. The relays would be 12V relays, so turning off the battery via switch should disable the slides also, same with the awning. My tongue jack is direct wired and protected with a circuit breaker.

The breakaway switch should always be direct wired to the battery.
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Old 04-28-2013, 01:35 PM   #16
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Bob -
I believe the slide has a 30A auto reset breaker ....mine does but yours may be different. Not sure what the actual current draw is but I think it must be more than 10A.
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Old 04-28-2013, 03:13 PM   #17
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Yeah I'm picking up a batt charger tomorrow. I hope that's all it is. This 5er I picked up is immaculate except for little things like the rubber seals around the slides need replaced just from dry rot n such. I have the owners manual and it's pretty much good for nothing. I checked in there to find possibly a wiring diagram for the trailer but nothing. The manual is useless. When I bought the trailer he showed me everything worked even the microwave. Now I can't even get that to work even though I'm hooked up to the trailer hence the reason for me asking about a switch that switches between battery and truck power. Now that I think about it...he had the trailer hooked into power from his house with an extension cord...
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Old 04-28-2013, 04:12 PM   #18
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I installed a battery disconnect right off the main battery. I like everything off when in storage.
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Old 05-01-2013, 11:29 AM   #19
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Well I had a trailer mech come and show me what was wrong. I had tripped a breaker up front near the batteries but the breaker was in a hidden spot where I couldn't see it. Mechanic also told me that my 5th wheel has NO switch for power. It's all through the batteries completely.
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Old 05-03-2013, 08:32 PM   #20
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Appreciate the Cougar puts the switches inside the comparment

Quote:
Originally Posted by Festus2 View Post
Texas Camper -
Another reason for having a battery disconnect is to prevent malicious types from playing around with exterior front jack switch or other easily accessible switches on the outside of your unit when you are not around. Some have moved these switches inside a compartment but for those who haven't, the battery disconnect switch is a good way to stop these "accidents" from happening.
Yeah, I appreciate the Cougar put the switches inside a locking compartment. With my old TT, I went to the storage area one time, and found someone had played with the switch on the front jack, and lowered it all the way to the ground. Didn't look like it hurt anything, but installed a battery cutoff switch after that.
Regarding the battery disconnect on my Cougar, I too was surprised that the landing gear/jacks/awning and slides aren't connected through the built-in battery disconnect switch, but after thinking about it, none of those things would have a parasitic drain like the radio or CO detector, inverter, etc., so it only disconnects those items that would provide the hidden drain to the battery.
At least that's my theory.
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