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Battery Disconnect Switch and Converter

Advent16
Explorer
Explorer
Hi, new to this forum...

I have a 2016 Adventurer truck camper. The problem is when I push the battery disconnect switch to the OFF position, it cuts all 12 V power to the camper. In other words, the converter is also unable to power the 12 V circuits with the disconnect switch OFF.

My understanding is that the converter is wired directly to the 12V bus so all 12V circuits should operate when the battery disconnect switch is either ON or OFF.

The converter is also not charging the house batteries when connected to shore power.

This may have been covered elswhere in the forums but I couldn't find where that might be.

Thanks for any help/advice.
7 REPLIES 7

pianotuna
Nomad II
Nomad II
Check the reverse polarity fuses on the converter.
Regards, Don
My ride is a 28 foot Class C, 256 watts solar, 556 amp-hours of Telcom jars, 3000 watt Magnum hybrid inverter, Sola Basic Autoformer, Microair Easy Start.

ken56
Explorer
Explorer
Not uncommon for the charging side of the converter to die. Mine did. You need to access your converter and check the fuses on the back of it. Check the charging output by connecting a voltmeter to the disconnected battery cables when plugged into shore power. If you still have the original WFCO converter you may just want to cut to the chase and upgrade it to a newer 4 stage charger converter.

I didn't read your whole post...so....never mind. sorry.

enblethen
Nomad
Nomad
Check the 12 volt DC power distribution panel for a blown bat fuse.

Bud
USAF Retired
Pace Arrow


2003 Chev Ice Road Tracker

Advent16
Explorer
Explorer
Thanks very much for the replies. To clarify, the problem is that the converter is not charging the house batteries so that's why I thought it may have something to do with the disconnect circuit...like maybe the converter had to rely on the disconnect switch being on in order to be grounded properly...
The batteries will power the 12v system when they are charged up so I know that wiring is good from battery to 12v bus...
Guess it may still be the converter even though the output voltage is correct across the output terminals.
Thanks again.

DrewE
Explorer
Explorer
What the battery disconnect disconnects varies some from RV to RV. Often indeed the converter is on the house side of the disconnect, but that's not universal. On my class C, the converter is connected on the battery side of the disconnect, so the battery will charge even with the disconnect switch set to off but basically no 12V stuff in the RV will operate. (There are a couple of other things that are also not disconnected for various reasons.)

I don't really see any point in disconnecting the battery if you have AC power available and are using the converter; better to keep the battery connected and charged. Without AC power, it's of course essential to have the battery not disconnected to use any 12V power. The only times when it might be reasonable to disconnect are when storing for a relatively long period of time without AC power (in which case physically disconnecting the lead from the battery would probably be better) or when performing some sort of maintenance or repair on the electrical system (and, again, physically disconnecting the lead might be a better idea).

time2roll
Explorer II
Explorer II
Is this oem or added by prior owner? In a standard build your assumption is correct. You may need to trace some wire to find out what needs to be changed.

ORbiker
Explorer
Explorer
Normally if you push the battery disconnect switch, you are wanting to let the rig sit for awhile. The battery should be charged to full and gets to rest also. The full battery should be able to rest without charging IF all things get disconnected with the push the battery disconnect switch. KEN
Backpacker and tent camper all my life. Motorcycle trips with a tent too 1978 to Present. 2016 Grand Design 380TH as of 10-29-2015. Now a New 2018 374TH-R Solitude as of 3-16-19. 10-19-18-traded truck for a 2016 Ram 3500 DRW Laramie Crew Cab 4x4 Long Box.