19.5 BHDS Battery Disconnect

[tim665214]

Even though we are not living in our 5er, we have a dedicated 50amp plug we use while parked at home. I have read that having it plugged in all of the time is bad for the battery. However, when I trip the battery disconnect switch, we lose all power inside the RV even though we are plugged in. (Is that normal)

So, if I want to keep plugged in, do I have to check the battery every couple of weeks to make sure it has plenty of water, or is there another way?

[dalebra]

Tim,
You use the word trip. Where is this battery disconnect located that you say you trip? Is this located in your converter or is it a RED handled switch closer to your battery?

[tim665214]

Sorry, bad choice of words.

It is the red handle inside the storage compartment next to the battery. When I turn this, it disconnects all power to inside the RV, even though I am connected to electric.

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by tim665214

Even though we are not living in our 5er, we have a dedicated 50amp plug we use while parked at home. I have read that having it plugged in all of the time is bad for the battery. However, when I trip the battery disconnect switch, we lose all power inside the RV even though we are plugged in. (Is that normal)

So, if I want to keep plugged in, do I have to check the battery every couple of weeks to make sure it has plenty of water, or is there another way?

Do you have a newer 5er? Modern 3-stage battery chargers should not be bad for your battery.

Do you have a problem with water loss for your battery? We leave ours plugged in and have had no problem with water loss for our batteries over several months. Our converter maintains it at ~13.7 to 13.9v.

You need to verify that your disconnect switch completely disconnects your battery before you assume that is the answer. I don't know which units, but some on this site have found their batteries completely discharged over time from 'parasitic draws' (things like the propane/CO detectors) that weren't disconnected by the factory disconnect switch.

[dalebra]

It is NOT normal to disconnect your battery while plugged in to shore power and loose all your lights. Your converter should be supplying the 12 vdc needed for all your 12 Vdc devices and you should have 120 Vac at all your outlets when connected to shore power. As a matter of fact you don't need a battery at all when plugged in to shore power. If you have a newer rig you should get this checked out. There was a service bulletin put out last summer that stated Jayco had some units delivered with the battery switch miswired.

[tim665214]

Yes, I have a new 2017 29.5 BHDS. I am not worried about parasitic draw, because we have a dedicated 50 amp plugin at our house. My main concern was keeping the RV plugged in all of the time when we were not using it. I didn't want to have to worry about checking the battery every week.

[dalebra]

Originally Posted by tim665214

Yes, I have a new 2017 29.5 BHDS. I am not worried about parasitic draw, because we have a dedicated 50 amp plugin at our house. My main concern was keeping the RV plugged in all of the time when we were not using it. I didn't want to have to worry about checking the battery every week.

The newer rigs have a smart charger in the power station that charges the battery when low and a maintainer mode when it's within spec.

I leave mine plugged in all the time at home without any issue and don't disconnect the batteries.

Dale

[tim665214]

Originally Posted by dalebra

The newer rigs have a smart charger in the power station that charges the battery when low and a maintainer mode when it's within spec.

I leave mine plugged in all the time at home without any issue and don't disconnect the batteries.

Dale

Since you leave yours plugged in at all times, how often to you have to check/replace the water in your battery?

[oldmanAZ]

If you have a voltmeter, check your battery voltage with your trailer plugged in. If it is roughly 13.7v, your battery should be fine (it will stay fully charged with no water loss problems) for many weeks and any parasitic draws will not be a problem.

[dalebra]

Originally Posted by tim665214

Since you leave yours plugged in at all times, how often to you have to check/replace the water in your battery?

I checked the water level once last fall and all was good.

My rig has been in storage since last November and I have the batteries in a heated space on a battery tender. Which reminds me I should check them again but I don't expect an issue.

Dale

[Mopar_Earl]

Modern RVs come with much better converter charges than in the past. You can leave the trailer plugged in 365 and not harm the batteries. I top my batteries water off every 6 months. Sealed batteries you can't.

My current battIries are 7 years old and no issues. I keep my trailer plugged in at all times.

Earl

[tim665214]

I talked to Jayco Support directly, and they told me that with the battery disconnect activated, I should still get power to all of my 12v items as long as I was connected to shore power. However, I have now talked to 2 different service departments, and was told my trailer is working as it should be. That when I use the battery disconnect, I will get ZERO power to my 12v items, even though I am plugged in to shore power. Not sure who is correct.

[spepi]

I have my battery out of my 5er for the winter. I am plugged in to a dedicated 30amp and with the battery disconnect off, I have all power.

[tim665214]

Originally Posted by spepi

I have my battery out of my 5er for the winter. I am plugged in to a dedicated 30amp and with the battery disconnect off, I have all power.

When you say battery disconnect "off", do you mean you have it in the position where no power is supplied from the battery?

[Mustang65]

Originally Posted by tim665214

However, when I trip the battery disconnect switch, we lose all power inside the RV even though we are plugged in. (Is that normal)

Can you look at your Battery charge controller and give us the model number of it. You ask if disconnecting the battery while connected to shore-power should the interior lights stay on. The answer on most of the charge controllers is YES, the lights should stay on. But, that is why I asked for your model, since they may have changed how the controllers operate with out a battery on newer models, which I doubt very much.

As mentioned earlier check the voltage at the battery it should show somewhere between 13.2 and 14VDC with the shore power connected. While watching the volt meter have someone disconnect the shore power cable, the battery voltage should start to drop at a slow pace to somewhere around 12.8 to 12.6. If with your shore power cable connected and your battery voltage is only 12 to 12.6VDC there is a problem between the battery and the charge controller. It then may be the automatic circuit breaker (on some new TT's) or the main inline 30 amp fuse by the battery. It could also be the 12Volt fuses in the battery control center. There is a fuse that will blow if the battery was wired backwards (Pos to Nec). Let us know what the battery voltages are.

So I want to keep plugged in, do I have to check the battery every couple of weeks to make sure it has plenty of water, or is there another way?

These are ALL smart chargers, and leaving the TT plugged in to shore power will keep them topped off. But with that said, I would still check them on a monthly basis

.

Don

My Registry

RVing with SOLAR

[spepi]

Originally Posted by tim665214

When you say battery disconnect "off", do you mean you have it in the position where no power is supplied from the battery?

Yes, because my battery is in my basement, I have that off...Id have to look at it, but I do have power with the battery out and plugged in