Battery disconnect corroded brand new rv

[Chrisjan84]

I just took delivery of my camper last week. The battery disconnect switch was corroded. It's a new cruise 19dbxl!!
The design flaw is all the water that drips off the front of the RV goes right into the key and into the contacts. Look at the pileup of ice on it in the picture.
I had to drill out the rivets to get into the battery disconnect and sure enough it was corroded. I called the RV dealer. They should have known this was an issue. The brand new camper that did not work on battery power at all. Hmmm... I found an Amazon product that calls out the flaw. I demanded the dealer mail me a new one. But if it's the same flawed model, I might get the other from Amazon.

Anyone else have this issue?
My last camper I mounted the shutoff inside the RV for this reason.

Also there are 4 things coming off the battery shutoff switch. I don't know what 2 of them are What are they?

Pole 1 of battery cutoff
1. Wire to battery big red

Pole 2 of battery cutoff
2. Wire to fuse box.
3. wire going to a weird little box?? Maybe a fuse? Then somewhere else
4 another smaller black wire going to a different little fuse box?? Then who knows where

i doubt these are going to the tounge jack since there is a fuse for that in the electrical panel.

[itat]

I’m not a fan of the stock battery disconnect and having exposed terminals like that is just wrong. I’ve always used a Blue Sea 6006 ON-OFF switch.

https://www.bluesea.com/products/600...th__Knob_-_Red

[lazyjj]

If your unit is brand new, I not only question the disconnect but why so much rust under the frame already? I know that northern states have a lot of deicing of roads during the winter but if your rig was sitting on a dealer lot until you purchased I would question the rust and it should be taken care of soon or you will have issues down the road.

[Chrisjan84]

Originally Posted by lazyjj

If your unit is brand new, I not only question the disconnect but why so much rust under the frame already? I know that northern states have a lot of deicing of roads during the winter but if your rig was sitting on a dealer lot until you purchased I would question the rust and it should be taken care of soon or you will have issues down the road.

I totally agree!! It's disappointing! I am going to clean up the rust and re paint. It was a 2022 clearance model. I assume it sat on the lot for a year. All seems like surface rust.

[moose074]

Originally Posted by lazyjj

If your unit is brand new, I not only question the disconnect but why so much rust under the frame already? I know that northern states have a lot of deicing of roads during the winter but if your rig was sitting on a dealer lot until you purchased I would question the rust and it should be taken care of soon or you will have issues down the road.

I bought a 2021 ElkRidge last year the rust was horrible, dealership “ fixed”. It when I went to pick it up I searched underneath it looked ok not great but I found one spot that wasn’t gotten. The service tech grabbed a can of enamel and sprayed. That’s when I knew my concerns wouldn’t be understood. 18 months later dealership made good gave me great trade in value to get me off their back

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by lazyjj

If your unit is brand new, I not only question the disconnect but why so much rust under the frame already? I know that northern states have a lot of deicing of roads during the winter but if your rig was sitting on a dealer lot until you purchased I would question the rust and it should be taken care of soon or you will have issues down the road.

You know, the frames sit out in the open for weeks/months before the manufacturers take them inside to build the trailers on them.

That said, it's hard to get concerned about a little surface rust on heavy gauge steel. Did you ever notice that no one seems to care about the rust on 3/8" chains?

[Chrisjan84]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

You know, the frames sit out in the open for weeks/months before the manufacturers take them inside to build the trailers on them.

That said, it's hard to get concerned about a little surface rust on heavy gauge steel. Did you ever notice that no one seems to care about the rust on 3/8" chains?

True, I am going to take a wire brush on my cordless drill and some rust stop paint. Also there are fairly big scratches on the bottom of the frames, I assume where they stack them up. I am not overly concerned with a little surface rust

[Aussieguy]

Is the red cable suppose to be connected to the top or bottom post ?
can't clearly see any cable connected to the top

can see a lug under the TOP nut, but where is the cable and where does it go?
very hard to see any top cable ..... even in photoshop zoomed in

----------------------------------------------------------------
not a fan of so many lugs /cables on one post
they certainly need a good cleaning before you put the nut back on

I would replace that inline breaker before it causes any grief .
it may be serviceable but it only costs a couple of dollars
--------------------------------------------------------------------

use some sort of electrical grease/spray to protect all the wiring connections
after it is all cleaned and TIGHTENED back down

OR

plastic junction box after the disconnect
with a bus bar and put that breaker inside too


.

[Chrisjan84]

The reason the top battery wire was off the switch during the picture. I had temporarily : 1. disconnected the battery at the battery connection 2 removed the wire going to the top lug(from the battery) 3 took the picture, and then 4 connected it to the bottom lug To work temporarily work around the switch for a day to make sure everything else was working. Do you think there would be any value in emailing the owner of the RV dealer describing the issues?

I am wondering if one of the wires goes to the emergency breakaway switch?

[Aussieguy]

call the dealer (manager) ... be nice.
text him a copy of photos OR send him to this thread



if they give you grief OR small items that don't cost much are not worth the hassle of taking RV to and from the dealer.
I would do the work myself ... if cost is minimal and I know it will be done correctly

[Aussieguy]

Originally Posted by Chrisjan84

I am wondering if one of the wires goes to the emergency breakaway switch?

I would think the break away should not be able to be turned off via the disconnect , smoke detector too.

Never had to traced my front wires yet.

[Bob K4TAX]

That underside area, frame, connections, circuit breaker, etc. needs some serious maintenance in order to prevent future issues. I see there are several self-drilling screws that have rust. The circuit breaker terminals appear to have rust as well as its mounting screws.

Being new from the dealer, although a year or more old, this should not be.

Personally, I do not like a battery switch unless the installation has 2 or more batteries and then one needs a battery selector switch. That allows the selection of #1 battery or #2 battery.

Bob

[PhilFromMaine]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

You know, the frames sit out in the open for weeks/months before the manufacturers take them inside to build the trailers on them.

That said, it's hard to get concerned about a little surface rust on heavy gauge steel. Did you ever notice that no one seems to care about the rust on 3/8" chains?

Very true Larry, and I know that is just the way it is, but if it were my company, I would not put my name on the product or sell the product unless I at least had a minimal final inspection before the product went out the door.

Judging from this site's postings, the RV industry as a whole does a very poor job of quality control.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by Aussieguy

I would think the break away should not be able to be turned off via the disconnect , smoke detector too.

Never had to traced my front wires yet.

Umm, you did notice that Chrisjan stated that the top bolt had the battery cable AND TWO OTHER WIRES, right? That's a convenient tie point that's equivalent to the positive battery post. (Only the bottom bolt is switched.)

It's a reasonable supposition that the two wires are the breakaway switch and smoke detector, since Chrisjan did state that the jack was connected at the fuse panel.

[Aussieguy]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

Umm, you did notice that Chrisjan stated that the top bolt had the battery cable AND TWO OTHER WIRES, right? That's a convenient tie point that's equivalent to the positive battery post. (Only the bottom bolt is switched.)

It's a reasonable supposition that the two wires are the breakaway switch and smoke detector, since Chrisjan did state that the jack was connected at the fuse panel.

I have no idea how HIS or mine is wired..
could be, maybe, should be, better be,

but it is reasonable to suppose when everything is put back together the way it should be ..... after testing

that the breakaway and detector should NOT be turned off by the disconnect switch.

[Giboneys]

After you change out your disconnect and clean up the connectors and reattach spray all with battery terminal anti corrosion. You can get it at any auto supply store or the big box stores.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by PhilFromMaine

Very true Larry, and I know that is just the way it is, but if it were my company, I would not put my name on the product or sell the product unless I at least had a minimal final inspection before the product went out the door.

Judging from this site's postings, the RV industry as a whole does a very poor job of quality control.

I agree with everything you've said above.

[Chrisjan84]

I Think I found where the green and white wires go. This is the one that comes off the bottom of the battery switch, its the red wire that goes to the breaker on the right side of the switch. It then goes up into the control panel area, where you can patch in a solar controller and then up to to the roof for solar.

I did about an hour of wire wheel on the drill and then black rust paint.
The Date on the frame is Jan 2022. Seems like a very short time to have so much rust.

Maybe I should send the pictures to lippert?






Still trying to figure out the 2 mystery wires. Also not sure what is all coming off the breaker on the far left side.

[aircommuter]

Maybe some POR 15 or similar would be good.

[Bob K4TAX]

Originally Posted by Larry-NC

Umm, you did notice that Chrisjan stated that the top bolt had the battery cable AND TWO OTHER WIRES, right? That's a convenient tie point that's equivalent to the positive battery post. (Only the bottom bolt is switched.)

It's a reasonable supposition that the two wires are the breakaway switch and smoke detector, since Chrisjan did state that the jack was connected at the fuse panel.

Yes and looking at the picture the bottom bolt on the switch does not have a nut on it. See the small red wire, no nut. See the picture posted by Chrisjan84at the top #1.

Bob