All The Stuff On The Battery Side Of The Battery Switch

[LegacyFB38]

... The ground wire never sparks when you remove it from the battery ....

What?!

Where did you get this information?

[cookinwitdiesel]

Definitely will spark if the plus side is connected. Finishing a loop is the same regardless of where it is done.

[LegacyFB38]

Definitely will spark if the plus side is connected. Finishing a loop is the same regardless of where it is done.

2X...I totally agree with comment by cookinwitdiesel

[Roll With The Changes]

The reason for disconnecting the negative is more of a safety thing than anything else. When working on vehicles the whole frame and anything metal is connected to the negative terminal of the battery. Disconnecting it first removes all chances of shorting out the positive with a wrench or screwdriver, etc. while trying to disconnect it.

Agreed. The reason for disconnecting the negative first or connecting it last has to do with the wrench involved at the battery.

The statement about positive side sparking and negative side not is false.... If current is flowing in the circuit, an arc will occur at the point the circuit is broken.

The question of whether to switch the positive or negative side seems to be a matter of convenience. For example, a starter motor is typically switched on the positive side because the engine block is a good ground. On the other hand, if a circuit is to be controlled from multiple switches it may be more convenient to provide a ground for each switch. Both approaches seem ok.

[g2driver2]

I like what you have done so far to clean up the electrical. Only thing I would change is the disconnect. You should always put it in the (-) negative side. I know it may not matter but as a rule of thumb that's the recommended side of the battery.

You're correctly thinking about disconnecting a car battery with (-) ground. The (-) should be disconnected first and connected last to preclude a short circuit from the tool if it makes contact with ground ( Any metal part in the engine compartment ). It doesn't matter with a cutoff switch.

[SolarPoweredRV]

What trailer do you have (it saves questions if you add your truck and trailer info to your signature)? I am guessing you have electric landing gear. I have hydraulic landing gear, stabilizers and main slides on my Solitude. The pump, the controller and the electric selector valves (solenoids) are separate.

Edit - I see from your first post you have a 2017 Solitude. Ignore my (incorrect) comments on electric landing gear. The rest still applies.


The controller (which also drives the solenoids) was a direct (not switched) connection to the battery through a 10A in-line fuse from the factory. It is now on the switched side of the disconnect switch. A little extra security to keep someone from "playing" with the trailer in storage. No inconvenience to me and a good reminder to re-enable the battery .

I left the hydraulic pump as a direct connection to the battery, as it was originally wired. I have increased the wire size (from #6 to #4 gauge) and changed the circuit breaker from the factory 50A (which gave me problems) to a heavy duty 80A circuit breaker (Grand Design would neither send me an upgraded breaker nor help me with after market breaker - disappointed in GD ). I have seen over 90A draw in operation (not locked rotor). Typical draw is 60~70A so a stout, direct connections is warranted (in my opinion).

Chris

I also upgraded the wires to the hydraulic pump to number 4 when I replaced the breaker with an 80 Amp breaker. The hydraulics work much better with the new breaker and heavier wires.

FYI: I installed a High Amp, Self-Resetting, Breaker from Bussmann. Here is the breaker I recommend...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1