Battery Cut-Off Switch
 

We purchased a 2007 Monaco Cayman 10 months ago. My wife has gotten into the habit of turning off the Battery Cut-Off switch every time we leave the coach. (Some call this switch a "salesman switch".) She also leaves the refrigerator set to Auto Mode expecting the refrigerator will switch over to LP gas if the AC power discontinues.
We were told today that with this switch turned off there would be no 12 volt power available to switch the refrigerator over to LP gas if the AC power failed. My question is if the AC power goes off with the Battery Cut-Off switch turned off will the gas be able to switch on automatically?

FYI - Some refer logic boards require House Battery 12 volt power to operate even on 120 volt AC. Your refer manual should address this issue.

The reason for the "Battery Cut-off Switch" is for storage and to keep your battery from discharging when not in use. With this switch OFF your Refrigerator cannot work because it requires 12VDC to ignite the Propane Burner. The Refrigerator requires 12VDC to operate even on Propane.

The 'salesman switch' probably controls slightly different things on different years of coaches.

However, on our coach, the 'salesman switch' controls power to the lights only. It does not affect the operation of the fridge or the furnace. I would check your fridge and furnace to find out if they continue to work properly with the 'salesman switch' turned off.

My understanding is that the 'salesman switch' was not designed to be a battery disconnect. It was designed as a convenience item to be able to turn off all the lights with one flick of a switch when leaving the coach, and to be able to turn on all the lights with one flick of the switch when entering the coach.

The solenoid that this 'salesman switch' controls has a history of failure. I leave mine turned on all the time. Someday I plan to bypass the solenoid so that the 'salesman switch' won't function at all. Hopefully I'll do it before the solenoid fails.

The switch does Not turn off the power to my refer on a 2008 Endeavor. I highly doubt yours will either. Easy to test. Just switch to gas, let it light. Then turn the salesman switch off. This could be a disaster if the switch was accidently turned off and the refer let the beer get warm.

Thanks for the replies. It looks like we need to do some trials to see what effect the switch has on the refrigerator on our particular unit. Will let you know.

Forget the tests and just bypass the stupid relay that is activated by the switch. If you don't, there will come a day when you will regret not doing it. The battery cutoff relays are prone to failure at a very high rate and they WILL fail at the worst time in the middle of the night when it is pouring rain outside.

Just my suggestion.

Dr4Film ----- Richard

Or just leave the 'salesman switch on' when you have 120V power - and only use to disconnect the batteries when you are going to store the RV for a couple weeks without power.
I think the switch will last longer if you aren't cycling it all the time.

Dr4Film has a good point that the relays are prone to failure. You should learn how to bypass it (and make/store a jumper wire near the switch). A jumper should be the same gage wire as the input wire.

Most modern gas referigerators required 12v for the system to work. To see if yours is that way, switch your refrigerator to gas, make sure it lights up and is running on gas and then turn off your slaesman switch. If the refrigerator is still operating after you turn off the salesman seitch then your question will be answered. It is with powered by another source or it does not require 12v to operate. (unlikely). Seeya on the road.

The switch turns everything off in my Bounder...including the propane gas. Turn the switch off...open fridge door....light on...ya got 12v, light off, ya don't. I turn my swith off if not using coach for several days, otherwise, leave it on. Leave it on if hooked to shore power too.

Great replies. We are off on a short trip tomorrow and it will give me a chance to check things out. We don't want to create future problems forr ourselves.

Thanks for all the info, I was wondering what the "battery kill switch" was in my 1995 Thor Manor that I just bought. The owner did not have any owner manuals, and he did not explain the switch to me.

The 12V kill switch on our 2011 RED shuts off everything 12V and everything that requires 12V to start and operate, including the A/C units (thermostats).
It has also failed once requireing it to be replaced.