I thought we were just referencing a MH factory installed battery disconnect not one installed/modified by the owner. Oh well.
The responses highlight that typically the factory does not install battery disconnects, only DC circuit on/off switches that are also called battery on/off, but they do not disconnect the battery from all power consumers.
Like others here, I too "mistakenly" thought that disconnects were just that, disconnects. My Dynaquest has 4 disconnects, the one in the battery bay, the one under the drive's seat, and two in the power panel. Cost over $2000 to replace the batteries as they were depleted to ZERO in 2 months.
Well, I added a "real" disconnect to the grounds to the batteries, and guess what? NO FURTHER LOSSES. I leave all the other switches on and use the two ground disconnects exclusively.
Was a costly lesson, but a lesson learned.
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Mike&Donna
2013 Dynaquest 390XL
On the dolly:
2012 Scion iQ (Inclement weather & grocery getter)
You have to take it off and clean in a few times a year, or it stops working. Someone else referenced this shut off as well.
Did you have to remove the existing terminals to add this? The non battery connector looks like a special attachment is required whereas it should look like a battery terminal for plug and play?
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2000 Sportsmobile E350 EB
2006 Renegade/Peterbilt K1854 and T1220
2021 Isata 5 28SS Explorer
Not sure the AHJ (Authority Having Jurisdiction) for the motorhome/RV industry or specific rules, but electrical industry standards (retired 40 yr commercial elec contractor) require all photovoltaics, or wind for that matter, are required by the National Elec Code, to have disconnects at a point prior to their connecting to the electrical system. Besides regulations, its an essential element to be able to safely work on any part of the system. Putting black bags over the panels is a half *** way of doing this, and subject to blowing off, etc. DC can be very dangerous. So, if there isn't a disconnect that is easily accessible and identified, for the panels before the inverter, there sure should be.
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2021 Force 37TS (Detroit DD8)
2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trailhawk
2020 Isata-5 36DS (traded in)
No .. on my 2015 KZ Vision (new 2511s on order has a shut off) I just place that device over the terminal and screw up to shut off, down to turn on. Like I said, has to be cleaned every few months, and it works fine.
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2022 Rockwood Mini Lite 2511s
2020 Ford Expedition XLT - Max Towing
There are two circuits that come off the house battery prior to the disconnect switch:
- Connection to BIM
- Inverter (350 amp fuse)
There are several circuits that come off between the disconnect switch and the remote disconnect solenoid:
- Toilet (auto reset breaker)
- 150 amp generator start
- 15 amp circuit I have not identified yet (#76, labeled House Batt, possibly firefly memory)
There are three circuits wired to the truck battery BIM terminal:
- 20 amp step power
- 100 amp levelers
- 5 amp (labeled battery sense, possibly firefly read of truck battery voltage)
So it seems the disconnect switch does pretty much as advertised in this case, presuming the inverter is turned off properly. (The magnum manual does not indicate that the inverter DC should be disconnected for storage, only that the inverter be disabled.)
There are two circuits that come off the house battery prior to the disconnect switch:
- Connection to BIM
- Inverter (350 amp fuse)
There are several circuits that come off between the disconnect switch and the remote disconnect solenoid:
- Toilet (auto reset breaker)
- 150 amp generator start
- 15 amp circuit I have not identified yet (#76, labeled House Batt, possibly firefly memory)
There are three circuits wired to the truck battery BIM terminal:
- 20 amp step power
- 100 amp levelers
- 5 amp (labeled battery sense, possibly firefly read of truck battery voltage)
So it seems the disconnect switch does pretty much as advertised in this case, presuming the inverter is turned off properly. (The magnum manual does not indicate that the inverter DC should be disconnected for storage, only that the inverter be disabled.)
Am I correct in reading this statement "that come off the house battery prior to the disconnect switch" to mean that the BIM and I/C are not in the disconnected circuits and always connected ?
If so that would conform with what others have written but my experience has been that disabling the inverter does not eliminate the draw by this unit on the battery by the charger. Enough with the BIM to flatten a battery set in 4 or 5 days without solar or AGS. One has to disconnect the coach and both truck batteries to eliminate the residual draw down. And then there are the challenges of using 20 amp shore power as a maintenance charge because of either a fault in the coach or the often poor QC on GFi sockets. Electricians I have tried to persuade to replace the one I had used, tell me that a good percentage will pop at 14 amps. They demand more than the GFi will allow. Still do not know why other than bad GFi sockets but hard to find one that works.
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2000 Sportsmobile E350 EB
2006 Renegade/Peterbilt K1854 and T1220
2021 Isata 5 28SS Explorer
Am I correct in reading this statement "that come off the house battery prior to the disconnect switch" to mean that the BIM and I/C are not in the disconnected circuits and always connected ?
All I speak for is my coach, and that is what i find on mine.
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If so that would conform with what others have written but my experience has been that disabling the inverter does not eliminate the draw by this unit on the battery by the charger.
Magnum does not state that the inverter / charger needs to be turned off for storage, only that the inverter be disabled. But there is no connection between your statements. If the inverter / charger is specified for zero draw when disabled, it doesn't matter where it is connected.
Quote:
Enough with the BIM to flatten a battery set in 4 or 5 days without solar or AGS. One has to disconnect the coach and both truck batteries to eliminate the residual draw down.
The BIM also claims that it draws zero current in either open or closed status. And if it does not see a charge voltage, it should not connect.
I plan to add the battery monitor to my coach and do more investigation to see if I detect any parasitic draw from either. But will prolly be a few weeks before I have any results.
But, if your coach is wired like mine, the only suspects should be the BIM and i/c on the house side, and steps, levelers, BIM, and "battery sense" on the truck side (plus pre-existing truck parasites).
Do you have the Victron charge controller? Trying to find out the model number, as I may update my GoPower. We have some dry boon docking coming up this summer, and want to be optimally positioned.
You should have the LiBIM, different from my regular BIM. I have not looked at those specs.
If we are down to two suspects, should be straight forward enough to isolate each for a while, and see if either one solves the problem.
For the BIM, follow the wires from the battery disconnect up to the BIM. Remove and tape that connection.
For the inverter, prolly "easiest" to remove the fuse.
If one of the two prove to be the problem, it is possible to reconfigure the wiring so a disconnect switch completely isolates the house batteries. You will need a higher rated switch, probably at least 350 amps.
Final thought, by disconnecting everything, I suspect you lose the firefly memory. From another post, sounds like that means losing the custom battery charge profile. But once your problem is isolated, the firefly memory power could be moved to the other side of the battery disconnect. (Or convince FF to move the custom charge profile to NV memory.)
Linear Mode
