I'm confused about battery disconnect??

[joemcgriff]

Thanks a 1,000,000 for any feedback y'all!!!

I have my class A parked and plugged in here at the house. I've reduced the 50 amp service down to 15 with adapters to plug into the house. Shouldn't the lights and such work in the motorhome work even when the battery disconnect in activated because I'm plugged into my power here at the house??

When i switch the battery disconnect ON the lights then come on but seem to be drawing against the 12V battery bank.....

I REALLY appreciate the input as I'm fairly new to RV'ing...:

[WinnieView]

The shore power should be running the 12 volt DC converter/battery charger (the most common configuration) and there will be no lights or battery charging for that matter if the salesman switch is off.

[BuzzWolfAR]

Your lights are 12 volt and are powered off your battery.

[twinboat]

RV adaptors or home made adaptors ?

If it has a converter/charger, it should.

If it has an Inverter/charger, it shouldn't.

[nothermark]

Originally Posted by joemcgriff

Thanks a 1,000,000 for any feedback y'all!!!

I have my class A parked and plugged in here at the house. I've reduced the 50 amp service down to 15 with adapters to plug into the house. Shouldn't the lights and such work in the motorhome work even when the battery disconnect in activated because I'm plugged into my power here at the house??

When i switch the battery disconnect ON the lights then come on but seem to be drawing against the 12V battery bank.....

I REALLY appreciate the input as I'm fairly new to RV'ing...:

It depends on whether your converter is wired to the battery or the house side of the disconnect. Units are built both ways.
The easy way to figure out what is happening is to activate the storage relay then unplug your unit and check the battery voltage. Plug the unit back in and check the voltage again. If it goes up then the converter is active. Toggle the relay and see if the battery voltage changes. If it does then the converter power passes through the relay. If it does not change then it the converter power does not pass through the relay.

[MisterT]

the Converter is the device that takes your incoming 120v power from [your house outlet] and 'converts' it down to 12v, to power your 12v items such as lights - WHEN you are on external power.
so, effectively, it's to keep your 12v items from using your batteries when you have external power, and should NOT be using your batteries when plugged in.

If your 'storage' switch must be OFF in order for the 12v items to work, AND you have external power, your Converter should be powering these items, not your batteries. (IF your Converter is working, of course)

Are there 'other' items that are wired DIRECTLY to your batteries, though? Yes, sometimes C02 detectors, smoke alarms, and other items could be.

[rarebear.nm]

If you are connected to shore power there's little reason to turn off the main 12 volt disconnect. Depending exactly how its wired, that may also prevent your converter or inverter/charger from keeping the battery fully charged. It will lose 1 to 3% per month with nothing connected. You may also have a propane alarm running off the 12 volt system and you don't really want to deactivate that. Plug it in to the 120 v plug you have and leave the main disconnect switch on.

On my rig its wired with two 12 volt bus bars. The first one after the battery connects all of the charging sources and a small 12 volt fuse panel that powers all essential circuits and also powers the second bus bar with a disconnect switch between them. Everything else runs off the second 12 volt bus bar and other fuse panels.

[twinboat]

For those that say the converter will NOT power the 12 volt devices in the RV, with the battery disconnect switch off, I believe that is a wrong assumption.

A converter is a battery eliminator that is installed and wired directly to the 12 volt fuse panel of the RV. Both items are typically together and actually a combination unit.

From there, the charging output of the converter, from fuse panel, is sent to the battery disconnect switch and then the battery. In many cases the disconnect is remote from the fuse panel/converter unit. With that type of setup, the converter is designed and can power the 12 volt devices without the battery.

Only the excess amperage, up to the converters output, above what the house items are using, is sent to the battery. One reason converters are not great chargers.

For it to work the other way, the converter output would have to be wired to the battery or battery side of the disconnect switch, then back thru the disconnect switch to the fuse panel. If its wired that way its no longer a converter, its a battery charger.

If the RV has an inverter/charger then yes, the disconnect will shut off power to the house items. That is because the large inverter/charger cables handle the battery charging and are often connected directly to the battery bank.

The charging section of an inverter/charger is NOT designed to eliminate the battery, like a converter does. It needs to be connected to a battery to function.

In that situation, the 12 volt devices need the battery disconnect ON, so battery power can get to them. That is also why inverter/chargers have 100+ amp output. The can cover the low battery charging and supply enough power to the house items.

[nothermark]

I've seen converters wired to either side of the disconnect relay. First MH had it to the battery, second to the panel as you describe. Both C's. Go figure. My point is to assume it can be either way.

["007"]

Always have your BCO on when using your coach and plugged into house outlet.
If you install a 30 amp or 50 amp outlet some day follow these instructions.