Interesting (battery disconnect switch)

[mtkbuckeye]

That’s what I thought.
Thanks

[Jc4ut]

Not true if disconnect switch turned off no power in or out.

My solar panel charged my batteries with the switch off. Loved it as my rv was stored outside 40 miles from Washington DC for the winter and the solar kept them topped off. Heck even the
Sales manager said it won’t charge and he was wrong as well as many on the internet. It came wired like that from Forest River I did nothing.

Jimbo

[mtkbuckeye]

Interesting. I guess the only way I will know is if I disconnect and see…I just haven’t tried that.
Mine was dealer installed so hard to say how they wired it. I don’t have a lot of confidence they would have done as Forest River has done for yours, hence my question.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Chuck_S

If the battery is disconnected it's disconnected. No current our or In.

-- Chuck

Originally Posted by Jc4ut

Not true if disconnect switch turned off no power in or out.

My solar panel charged my batteries with the switch off. Loved it as my rv was stored outside 40 miles from Washington DC for the winter and the solar kept them topped off. Heck even the
Sales manager said it won’t charge and he was wrong as well as many on the internet. It came wired like that from Forest River I did nothing.

Jimbo

In defense of Chuck's answer the question was if the battery was disconnected (either by the switch or removing the cable(s) from the battery, could the battery still be charged by PLUGGING IN THE R/V while in storage and that answer is still no as the CONVERTER would have no way for it to send its 12v output to the battery with the battery disconnected.

If the R/V has solar, then that's a different story and was not mentioned that I saw. Even with solar, if it's inside storage and/or covered, the battery would not not get a charge anyway from solar. Besides... if you removed the cables from the battery, (as was mentioned as a possibility) solar would not be connected either. So again, nothing in or out.

My point... there are many different systems in many different R/Vs. Not all R/Vs are built the same.

ON EDIT:... one final thought... there's really no need to keep an R/V plugged in or connected to solar over the winter storage. A properly charged and disconnected battery will stay charged for months losing only a few % per month. No need to plug it in, keep the solar connected or remove it to tuck it in every night.

Charge it up, disconnect and leave it be.

[Chuck_S]

For the quibblers : If the battery is disconnected it's disconnected from the trailer's electrical system. Solar battery charger is separate -- you can't run anything off it. Mine is wired directly to the trailer battery and since it is a separate system does not go thru the battery main switch.

-- Chuck

[mtkbuckeye]

Mine is connected to my battery as well. What I was trying to express is if I turn the dial to disconnect would my batteries still charge. My battery disconnect is located on the trailer frame right next to the battery. I do not have solar. I like to keep mine plugged in because I’m in Texas and I run dehumidifiers in my trailer and empty the tanks every couple of weeks.

Thanks for all the responses.

[Sonic Blue]

My battery disconnect switch is completely dead. It is the same brown rocker circled in the photo by Bubbles in October. This is a 2012 280 DS. Volt meter shows 12.8 V on the batteries which recently charged at home. I checked the circuit breakers by the fuse panel and all are good. Of course nothing works, no indicator light on the switch and no “thunk.”

Is this a call for replacement of the switch itself or something more? Yes, all connections are tight.

[bubbles]

Open the cover to the BCC (battery control center box) and the two 5amp fuses on the far left supply the power to the battery disconnect switch solenoid through the disconnect switch. One of those fuses is most likely blown. If not blown, you have other issues. This is predicated upon your BCC being identical to my 2012 GT. That same fuse also illuminates the switch light.

[Bob K4TAX]

Yep, that's why it is called a Battery Disconnect switch. However, depending on how things are wired, there may be some items wired direct to the battery and thus not controlled by the Battery Disconnect switch. One just needs to figure out how the system is configured. There are many different ways.

In our TT, I installed a Battery Disconnect switch. There is nothing connected directly to the battery. Thus when it is OFF, everything is off. No parasitic loads nor the ability to charge the battery. However, when connected to shore power the converter does supply 12 volts DC to the trailer systems, just as there was a battery.

Bob

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by Sonic Blue

My battery disconnect switch is completely dead. It is the same brown rocker circled in the photo by Bubbles in October. This is a 2012 280 DS. Volt meter shows 12.8 V on the batteries which recently charged at home. I checked the circuit breakers by the fuse panel and all are good. Of course nothing works, no indicator light on the switch and no “thunk.”

Is this a call for replacement of the switch itself or something more? Yes, all connections are tight.

See post #28

[Sonic Blue]

Under the cover “107A” all of the fuses are good visually and on the meter. Just returned from storage. Batteries are 12.7V. Wondering if the battery disconnect isolator or solenoid is bad but I wouldn’t know how to test.

BTW: sincere thanks to all who have made suggestions on this topic. I was scheduled to leave for Quartzite Friday after Thanksgiving, but the earliest appointment at Motorhome Specialist’s is December 14.

As my Dad would say, “Oh boy.”

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by Sonic Blue

Under the cover “107A” all of the fuses are good visually and on the meter. Just returned from storage. Batteries are 12.7V. Wondering if the battery disconnect isolator or solenoid is bad but I wouldn’t know how to test.

BTW: sincere thanks to all who have made suggestions on this topic. I was scheduled to leave for Quartzite Friday after Thanksgiving, but the earliest appointment at Motorhome Specialist’s is December 14.

As my Dad would say, “Oh boy.”

The relay is a latching relay and it may have crapped out in the batteries connected configuration. That would be a good thing. The engine alternator will charge the coach batteries regardless they are connected or not. With shore/genny power the batteries would have to be connected to charge. You can check to see if the batteries are connected by measuring battery voltage while on shore/genny power. If you are reading 12.7Vdc check while on shore/genny power for an increased voltage reading. The SDC107 BCC may be bad. The battery "isolator (interconnect) relay" is not part of the disconnect/connect circuit. You also should pull the switch panel and verify all the wires are connected.
Don't know if you have this or not.

[bubbles]

Originally Posted by Sonic Blue

Under the cover “107A” all of the fuses are good visually and on the meter. Just returned from storage. Batteries are 12.7V. Wondering if the battery disconnect isolator or solenoid is bad but I wouldn’t know how to test.

Here's a marked-up SDC107 copy showing the switch interconnect terminal functions. It may help.

[Sonic Blue]

Sincere thanks again! Problem solved. Upon removing the 4 screws holding the wall plate against the wall, I gently pulled the plate and switches a couple inches out and down. My left index finger grazed the back of a wire and everything came to life.

All the female push-on connectors were firm as were the wires. Tested a couple of times and it is working swell.

Come on over to Quartzite in January I owe a couple of hot toddies to those who have responded and encouraged.

[Sonic Blue]