Battery Disconnect Switch

[Bigdog]

New Eagle 5th wheel. I have a battery disconnect switch in the basement compartment. When I switch it off, most but not all of the power goes off. I can still turn on the lights that are controlled by the touch screen. Is this expected behavior?

[Bigdog]

Update - I found a blue button in the front compartment above the batteries. Push it and a small yellow reset lever pops out. Now all power is off.

This shouldn’t be so difficult.

[RogerR]

Are you sure all power is off. Jayco and others wire CO/LP detectors, some other items like power steps, etc. on certain models directly to battery. This is a "safety" item and means your battery will drain over time. Make sure you have it all shut down before you store your RV or you will come back to dead and possible damaged batteries.

If something is still on you will have to add your own cut off switch.

Several posts to research on this in the past.

[GHen]

Yes, make sure all power is off when you don’t use the rv.
Lead acid Batteries are getting very expensive to replace and you can make them last much longer by taking care of them. Don’t let them get in the orange or red, ever!

[Bigdog]

Originally Posted by RogerR

Are you sure all power is off. Jayco and others wire CO/LP detectors, some other items like power steps, etc. on certain models directly to battery. This is a "safety" item and means your battery will drain over time. Make sure you have it all shut down before you store your RV or you will come back to dead and possible damaged batteries.

If something is still on you will have to add your own cut off switch.

Several posts to research on this in the past.

Thanks for the info. I’ve confirmed that the safety detectors are off with the battery disconnect switch. Everything that goes through the touch pad is off when the button on the battery cables is off.

[Chainfall78]

I have found that the factory disconnect isolates the jacks and slides

[kirkelli]

Behind your battery switch panel there should be a decal pasted that reflects the switch circuit. I have a 321 RSTS, should be similar to yours. Attached is a copy of mine.

[Chainfall78]

I have a 29.5 bhds 21 model.
I have never seen a schematic like that anywhere on my rig.

I will study it and see if it reflects my wiring..

I also installed a total battery disconnect switch

[GHen]

Mine was behind the panel that hold the battery disconnect.

But in my case, there was a recall on the battery disconnect and the wiring schematic does not show the corrected wiring from the recall. A proper recall would have included a new schematic or at least scribble the changes on it.

Either way, the disconnect is worthless in my opinion and will not protect my batteries more than about 10 days. There are too many requirements to leave items powered up.

I now have a solar/inverter wiring board with a FULL battery disconnect for when I need it. Batteries are just too expensive to risk damaging them when they can be disconnected properly and prolong their life.

[MtnGoat]

FWIW I added my 1,2,1+2 switch to a homemade panel in the front compartment next to the batteries.

[GHen]

Originally Posted by MtnGoat

FWIW I added my 1,2,1+2 switch to a homemade panel in the front compartment next to the batteries.

Very nicely done! Is the center panel hinged for access behind it?

[MtnGoat]

Originally Posted by GHen

Very nicely done! Is the center panel hinged for access behind it?

Yes. Battery access and a shelf for extension cords and the like.

[Gdeabl]

I was told that blue button is not the battery disconnect, but a resettable fuse. I pushed the blue button and I still had interior lights. 120 amp manual reset fuse is what this is. It could be used as battery disconnect by some dealers. You need to put one meter lead on ground and other on fuse terminals to see where hot side is. With fuse open.

[F350guy]

Originally Posted by Gdeabl

I was told that blue button is not the battery disconnect, but a resettable fuse. I pushed the blue button and I still had interior lights. 120 amp manual reset fuse is what this is. It could be used as battery disconnect by some dealers. You need to put one meter lead on ground and other on fuse terminals to see where hot side is. With fuse open.

Were you on shore power? I have read here somewhere that your converter will still supply some power even with the battery disconnected. I haven't tried it so haven't verified it.

[Gdeabl]

Originally Posted by F350guy

Were you on shore power? I have read here somewhere that your converter will still supply some power even with the battery disconnected. I haven't tried it so haven't verified it.

No.. Was on Battery power.

[Randyman69357]

Originally Posted by F350guy

Were you on shore power? I have read here somewhere that your converter will still supply some power even with the battery disconnected. I haven't tried it so haven't verified it.

This is true. When I swapped out to lithium, I didn’t want to lose 12 volt power to the Jaycommand tablet. The converter’s instructions said it could operate without a battery present. I tripped both 12 volt circuit breakers by the battery and was able to swap out the battery with no spark of power coming from the converter. Really made the changeover a breeze.

[F350guy]

Maybe the inverter was still working? My Pinnacle had 2 positive and 2 negative cables running from the battery. One set went to the converter and the other to the inverter. The positive cables each had a 120 amp breaker in the battery compartment which should have completely killed the battery power if shut off. When I installed my lithium I used a 4 connection bus bar to feed the two breakers. I added a single +/- cable from the battery to feed the bus bars. I put a 250 amp marine cut off switch on the positive cable between the battery and the bus bar so when I shut it off I know the battery power is nil.

There's also a cut off switch inside the propane bottle compartment that my dealer said would kill everything. It doesn't. When they had it for service for a couple of weeks they shut it off but when I picked it up the batteries were completely dead.

[Nevr2late]

If you have solar, I believe you will still have 12v even if the battery's are disconnected.

[Learjet]

Originally Posted by Chainfall78

I have found that the factory disconnect isolates the jacks and slides

yep that is what the label next to the switch on mine says.

[mavrick0]

Originally Posted by Nevr2late

If you have solar, I believe you will still have 12v even if the battery's are disconnected.

This is 100% correct. That's why I use the circuit breakers in the battery compartment to truly disconnect the battery cables from trailer to avoid any shorts while dealing with the batteries. But the solar will still keep sending power to the lights and stuff.