jimroach
Maryland
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My RV has a built in trickle charger, but does it work if the battery disconnect switch is engaged? If no, should I not use the battery disconnect switch for long term storage?
Can’t really find an answer to this, is it different for every RV?
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naturist
Lynchburg, VA
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Some RVs have a 4-stage converter that will trickle charge, perhaps that is what you mean? I’ve never heard of a rig that has a separate trickle charger that came that way from the factory but yours might have one added by a previous owner. If the last, you would have to ask whoever installed it as to how they wired it.
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KD4UPL
Swoope, VA
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If you can plug the RV in while being stored I would leave the battery switch on and let your charger float the batteries. Not all RVs are wired the same but I would thing most of them, when disconnecting the batteries, would indeed disconnect them from the charger.
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way2roll
Wilmington NC
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2 of the Class A's I owned, fairly newer, would charge the batts when plugged in. Further, when plugged in to shore power it would override the battery disconnect. So it didn't matter if I hit the disconnect, it charged them anyway.
Pretty easy to see if yours does the same thing. Hit the disconnect, plug it in and see if they charge. Simple.
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Bobbo
Wherever I park
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What converter/charger is installed in your unit? Without knowing that we really can't give meaningful responses. (HINT:If it is a Parallax/Magnatek unit, do NOT leave it plugged in all of the time, it will boil batteries dry and kill them. Some other brands are perfectly fine to leave plugged in 24/7/365, my Progressive Dynamics for example. My trailer came with a Parallax/Magnatek, but I replaced it within 24 hours of trailer delivery. I actually had the replacement converter/charger here before I got the trailer here.)
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Sam Spade
North Central Florida
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First, this has nothing to do with the AC unit.
Second, you need to find out what make and model of "charger" you actually have. It should be a "smart" tender type battery maintainer and NOT a cheap trickle charger.
Then, you need to invest a few $$ in a multi-meter so you can test things like this for yourself to be sure.
So....to get anything near to a good answer, more information is needed.
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YC 1
Yuba City Calif./ Auburndale Florida
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Use a voltmeter across the terminals of each battery bank. Report those voltages and we can answer with some accuracy.
These are snowflakes and if not brand new a previous owner could have modified things a bit.
Take some pictures of your battery banks and print them out. Then write those readings down for future use.
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garym114
Bluff Dale, Texas
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Get a decent digital volt meter and you can see for yourself.
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Gjac
Milford, CT
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When you say trickle charger on your AC unit are you referring to a small solar charger? If so the easy way to answer your question is to check voltage across your pos and neg terminals with switch off and on when the sun is out.
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dodge guy
Bartlett IL
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If it’s the one like the one on my buddy’s 2017 then it’s a small solar trickle charger. Not sure how it’s wired. But with a trickle charger designed for RV storage I would imagine it would be wired in at the battery and not the switch. There is only one way to tell. Turn off the disconnect switch and disconnect the solar charger and check for voltage at the RV side of the connector.
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