Factory battery disconnect?

[DECelt]

So...what exactly is the point or function of the factory battery disconnect on my Solitude.

I know that it doesn't prevent parasitic drain. Should I use it when hooked up to shore power to keep the battery from potential overcharging? Will anything that is 12 volt function if it is disconnected when plugged in.

Exactly what is its function? It seems like a poorly executed good idea!





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[jjbbrewer]

So...what exactly is the point or function of the factory battery disconnect on my Solitude.
I know that it doesn't prevent parasitic drain.

The disconnect on my Momentum kills everything except for ~50mA of drain. That is so small that it's not worth doing anything about unless I'm going to be storing the trailer for several months.

Do you know how much drain you're getting with the disconnect disconnected?

[DECelt]

The disconnect on my Momentum kills everything except for ~50mA of drain. That is so small that it's not worth doing anything about unless I'm going to be storing the trailer for several months.

Do you know how much drain you're getting with the disconnect disconnected?

Not yet, but we will be leaving on a long trip so I will have time to fully investigate. The history is that the battery has been dead all three times that it has been left in storage with a fully charged battery.

The first two times with the factory disconnect used, and the third with the battery disconnect on the negative terminal of the battery. The first time I blamed on a battery perhaps not fully charged from the dealer...the next two times have me at a loss. It could be just a bad battery...I had it tested by the distributor for the brand and tested good...but they gave me a new battery anyway. Go figure. I'll know more soon...but I sure miss having my rig stored at my house.

[bertschb]

So...what exactly is the point or function of the factory battery disconnect on my Solitude.

I think it's so the dealer can sell you a new battery when your original battery dies while your RV is in storage.

It's a well known issue that the factory battery disconnect switch doesn't disconnect everything from the battery. If you're going to park your RV for more than a few days while not connected to shore power, you need to remove a cable from the battery. Many owners add a true battery disconnect.

Your converter/charger will prevent your batteries from being overcharged so there is no problem leaving the RV plugged into shore power.

[JCR GD]

I think originally the switches were to completely disconnect the battery while stored. But then new rules came along requiring certain "safety" items to remain powered (CO/Propane detectors, trailer breakaway etc.) and then some convenience things added also (radio etc.) Of course all that defeats the original purpose. Now they are only useful for totally confusing folks and leading to a false sense of security.

In my opinion the OEM switch should be left alone and never used. If the trailer is going to be stored for awhile either remove neg. from battery(s) or install a new true cutoff switch that kills everything. BUT be sure if you do this you don't tow without reconnecting so the "safety" features will work.

[jjbbrewer]

There is some provable bad information on this thread and I really wish people wouldn't be posting stuff that they don't know is true for every trailer.

I have an ammeter on my batteries so I know *exactly* what current is drawn after disconnect and I have a pretty good idea of what's drawing it. It's not the detectors, trailer brakes, and radios. PM me if you want to know.

[PappaJohn]

FYI - Measured the battery draw on my 2021 310GK with the battery disconnect open and shore power unplugged. The draw was 160ma.

[JCR GD]

There is some provable bad information on this thread and I really wish people wouldn't be posting stuff that they don't know is true for every trailer.

I have an ammeter on my batteries so I know *exactly* what current is drawn after disconnect and I have a pretty good idea of what's drawing it. It's not the detectors, trailer brakes, and radios. PM me if you want to know.

Wow! First of all, no info on this site or any other is accurate for EVERY trailer. Secondly I did add etc. meaning there may or may not be other things also.

So... please share with us what you have found so we can all understand.

[bertschb]

There is some provable bad information on this thread and I really wish people wouldn't be posting stuff that they don't know is true for every trailer.

I think the point is the factory battery disconnect doesn't disconnect the battery. I think Grand Design should have a large label next to the "disconnect" switch warning owners that the switch doesn't disconnect everything.

[jjbbrewer]

So... please share with us what you have found so we can all understand.

On the unit I have in my .sig, everything is unpowered except:

• motion detection light in the front battery compartment
• motion detection light in the pass through storage
• the switch for the happi jack lift in the garage
• the switch for the front hitch lights
• the trailer breakaway switch

There is power directly connected to the hydraulic pump, but the leveling controller and the OneConnect panel are both unpowered. No detectors are powered except those that have internal batteries. The RockfordFosgate stereo is unpowered as is anything else I could find that runs on 12V.

I am not sure where the 50mA is being drawn, though. I'll try pulling some fuses to see if I can track that down.