Recall on battery disconnect switch?

FrankH35 · 10-11-2019, 09:44 AM

I have a 2020 Wildwood 19DBXL that I purchased in August and have it out for our third weekend trip. When I went to hitch it up yesterday, the power tongue jack would not work off battery. I had engaged the battery disconnect switch. Once I hooked it up to my truck the power tongue jack worked fine.

I called my dealer (one that has only recently started selling RV's) and he told me to bring it by. He switched out the battery for free and said it must have been a mistake of someone leaving it on at the shop while some minor repairs had been completed a couple weeks earlier. After I left he immediately called me back and said he discovered the problem was that the battery disconnect switches had been recalled and it needed to be replaced. Anyone know anything about this? He said the old battery tested fine when he checked its charge. This didn't make a lot of sense to me. . . am I missing something?

FrankH35 · 10-11-2019, 09:47 AM

To clarify when I arrived to get the camper I had the battery disconnect in the kill position. I did turn battery power back on before I tried to lift the power tongue jack.

**Bama Rambler** · 10-11-2019, 10:54 AM

I haven't heard of that recall, but it's certainly possible that it's true. It really doesn't matter since they're replacing it with a new one.

If the disconnect failed to close when you activated it, the jack could still work off the truck power because it's usually connected after the disconnect.

FrankH35 · 10-11-2019, 11:34 AM

That's how I got it hooked up. My larger concern was what to do about the battery and disconnect going forward. It has a 12 volt compressor fridge that will drain a battery very quickly without engaging the disconnect at the end of a trip. You can't manually turn off the fridge. If the disconnect isn't working it's going to be a pain to unhook the battery and take it in after each trip. I knew I would have to do that over the winter, but figured I'd be fine if I let it set for a couple weeks with just the battery kill switch on.

It's like the battery disconnect switch wouldn't start the battery back up after I moved the switch back if that makes sense. Seems weird to me, but oh well.

TowPro · 10-11-2019, 11:55 AM

I saw a recall where the break away switch was mistakenly wired to the battery shutoff switch. NHTSA Recall 18V550 https://dealers.forestriverinc.com/d...lerCentral.pdf

**Bama Rambler** · 10-11-2019, 11:58 AM

If your hesitation is the amount of time the dealer would have it to replace the disconnect, just buy a new one and replace it yourself. They're less than $20. If you look around you can probably buy one that matches the existing one exactly.

FrankH35 · 10-11-2019, 12:01 PM

I'll look into that. I'm not the most handy guy, but if it's a simple install maybe I'll give it a shot.

**Bama Rambler** · 10-11-2019, 01:56 PM

It should be either 2 or 4 mounting bolts and 2 battery connections. Just make sure you unplug from shore power AND disconnect the battery cables before you begin.

5picker · 10-11-2019, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bama Rambler

It should be either 2 or 4 mounting bolts and 2 battery connections. Just make sure you unplug from shore power AND disconnect the battery cables before you begin.

And... take a picture of the connections (with your phone) so you know where the wires go if you have trouble remembering.

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