Quote:
Originally Posted by robertwy
I thought my battery would trickle charge while driving from the tow truck with the battery off. I recently had it in for some warranty work and the service rep told me the battery disconnect had to be "on".
Let me define battery disconnect "on"/"off" as I use it:
"On" to me means the battery is making connection
"Off" to me means it is turned off and 12V isn't available except for items that are direct wired such as the propane detector.
So my question is; should it be "On" or "Off" to charge the battery as I drive?
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I would like to respond to the two questions you posted in this and a subsequent post. First to the above question...The battery "switch" does not have to be in the "on" position to charge your battery when connected to your tow vehicle. If you check pin #4 on your RV plug (at the RV) to ground you will find there is 12V dc there, that tells you there is a direct connection to your battery/ies regardless of the position of the "switch". Try this for yourself.
To your second question regarding charging the battery/ies while connected to shore power, the responses are correct, "switch" must be in the on position to charge. The battery "switch" serves one purpose and that is to isolate the battery from the converter, in doing so no power from the battery goes to the many 12v fuses at the converter, it also prevents the charging of the battery.
There are a couple of items that are not affected by the battery "switch" one being the propane detector so even with the "switch" in the off position there is some drain on the battery. Typically your slides and level up if so equipped will work regardless of the position of the switch.
As to operation of 12v systems when connected to shore power but with the battery "switch" off, you will be able to operate all 12v lights, your fridge (uses 12v for control panel so that it can be operated on propane when not connected to shore power), your furnace and water pump, in other words all 12v fused circuits at your converter because the converter is supplying the 12v rather than the battery. You should not operate your slides or level up without having the battery connected.
It is not difficult to confirm what works and what does not work with respect to the battery "switch" and it might be wise to confirm this with your own unit.
I am in the camp with those who see no reason to use the battery "switch", however I have used it to determine what is and what is not affected by it's position, otherwise it is always on.