simple electrical question

[AUPANNER]

I am a reasonably intelligent person- I will NOT drink Lysol.
We own a very simple 2017 Keystone Hideout. Just bought and installed an electric jack - works great. Keystone installed an an AM/FM radio and there is no switch to cut power so it is either on all the time suck precious juice from the battery - I installed a heavy duty on/off switch (with a key) I have the batteries hooked in parallel-- Cannot for the life of me figure out a simple wiring diagram that when i turn the key off the power to the jack AND to the RV is cut - I have tried several scenarios - either the RV is cut or the jack is cut but cannot get both jack and RV to go on and off when the switch is thrown.

[sourdough]

There are multiple connection points behind the battery that power various items along with the factory disconnect switch. If you installed one yourself where did you place that disconnect in the circuit? Follow the positive lead from the battery and I suspect you will come to a little connect block that has one or the other powered in front.

Edit: on my last trailer the jack hot lead had a fuse of it's own and then connected to an external block (one of 2 or 3). Just trace the wires and see where that disconnect is in relation to all the other equipment.

[Canonman]

Our Cougar has two distribution blocks to power the 12vdc accessories. Easiest thing I'd suggest, find the main positive lead coming from the batteries and wire your switch between it and the distribution block it is attached to. Everything beyond the switch will be "switched". If the installer wired your jack directly to the battery, then you'll need to move that wiring to the distribution block in order for it to be switched as well. Sorry no schematic.

[AUPANNER]

Sourdough,
Thanks for the quick response- "I be the dude" that installed the jack, it works just fine. Red+ and black -wire. I installed the heavy duty on/off switch to the top of one of the battery box covers. I know of the "block" you speak of intimately as I had to rewire the entire power cable that by beloved let dangle on the highway for over 150 mile after she went camping with the girls. Try rewiring that 7 stand cable - OUCH!
I will try what you said. Also I tried a few minutes ago to take the main positive wire to one side of the heavy duty switch. figuring if that was the "main positive" my heavy duty switch would cut the RV off but it did not. I am missing one key connection to complete this circuit but cannot figure it out - perhaps after a few more beers. Next post I will include pictures of what I am doing.

[JRTJH]

Originally Posted by AUPANNER

Sourdough,
Thanks for the quick response- "I be the dude" that installed the jack, it works just fine. Red+ and black -wire. I installed the heavy duty on/off switch to the top of one of the battery box covers. I know of the "block" you speak of intimately as I had to rewire the entire power cable that by beloved let dangle on the highway for over 150 mile after she went camping with the girls. Try rewiring that 7 stand cable - OUCH!
I will try what you said. Also I tried a few minutes ago to take the main positive wire to one side of the heavy duty switch. figuring if that was the "main positive" my heavy duty switch would cut the RV off but it did not. I am missing one key connection to complete this circuit but cannot figure it out - perhaps after a few more beers. Next post I will include pictures of what I am doing.

Just a hunch, this may not be applicable....

If you're connected to shore power, there are two sources of DC power. The battery AND the converter. If you're plugged in, you'll have "DC power in the trailer" whether the battery is connected, disconnected, whether there's a battery cutoff switch and with no regard to whether that switch is off or on.

So, is your trailer plugged into shore power ???

[aabreton]

Hi. I was wondering if it's possible to change just the battery charger in the power converter? I would like to replace it with a smart charger

[Logan X]

Originally Posted by aabreton

Hi. I was wondering if it's possible to change just the battery charger in the power converter? I would like to replace it with a smart charger

Do you know what converter you have now? My 2016, entry level, trailer came with a 3 stage charger. I think most newer trailers have decent chargers already. The only time I can think of to change it out would be if you were running lithium batteries because their charge profile is different than flooded cells.

Just my opinion, my guess is you are probably ok with your stock charger unless the trailer is very old or you have a very modified battery bank.

To answer your question directly-no, the charger/converter is one unit.

Edit- If you meant can you replace the charger/converter unit out of the power distribution center the answer is yes. But typically the charger and converter is one entity.

[Customer1]

Originally Posted by aabreton

Hi. I was wondering if it's possible to change just the battery charger in the power converter? I would like to replace it with a smart charger

Welcome to the forum.

You can probably replace the charging portion. Take a look around at http://www.bestconverter.com/
Feel free to give them a call on the phone, they are very helpful.

For future reference you should start a new thread for your questions. Also better answers can be given if you give lots of details. I hope you stick around and become part of the community.

[Logan X]

Originally Posted by Customer1

Welcome to the forum.

You can probably replace the charging portion. Take a look around at http://www.bestconverter.com/
Feel free to give them a call on the phone, they are very helpful.

For future reference you should start a new thread for your questions. Also better answers can be given if you give lots of details. I hope you stick around and become part of the community.

Just for my edification, are you saying the charging part of a converter can be replaced with a different charger or a different “stand alone” charger can be added to the overall system?

[Customer1]

Originally Posted by Logan X

Just for my edification, are you saying the charging part of a converter can be replaced with a different charger or a different “stand alone” charger can be added to the overall system?

Yes to both depending on what you have.

[Logan X]

Originally Posted by Customer1

Yes to both depending on what you have.

I understand you could add a separate charger if you wanted to but I was unaware your could change out the charger within the converter. I looked at the website you linked to. It looked like a lot of good stuff. A little bit of information overload though. I couldn’t decipher what you were referring to. Could you give an example?