battery shut off switch

[janleslie]

Hi,
New to this forum and to rving so will have a lot of newbie and stupid questions I'm sure. Bear with me please.

Bought a new 2021 Coleman Light 1805 RB. Had it delivered as I hadn't bought my truck to pull it with yet. Driver delivered it, put power jack down, etc. I went back 2 days later to put down stabilizer jacks and there was no power in the batteries (2). Got humongous snow storm so can't get truck close to rv to plug in. There are two little buttons under a rubber cover outside of each battery - would these be the battery shut off that maybe I need to turn on? I have no idea what they are. Any advice would be appreciated.

Also, where is the manual hook up for the slide? I found the pole to turn it with but cannot locate where to hook it up to - just in case. Owner's manual isn't very good for me and can't find much info that I need.

Thanks.

 

[ewarnerusa]

Welcome! The "2 little buttons" sounds like an auto-resetting circuit breaker that are often wired to the batteries on travel trailers. A disconnect usually looks like a big labeled dial or a switch.

There are always parasitic draws on the 12V system of your camper, from propane detectors to stereo lights/clocks. There are also other 12V draws that can be left on like a TV antenna booster, light, refrigerator, etc. This is why disconnects are common in order to have piece of mind that everything is disconnected. A battery left connected to a stowed trailer will certainly drain to 0 after some time, but only a couple days seems a little short on time for that to happen if you're sure everything was off when you left it. Can you tell if the emergency trailer brake key is still in place?

Can you plug into shore power? You said you had it delivered but it isn't clear where you had it delivered to. Hopefully your home where you can get an extension cord and adapter to plug your shore power cord into. Then just plug into your household 120V outlet for a couple days. This should hopefully get your batteries back to full, although every deep discharge damages the batteries so they could already be compromised.

I can't help with the slide, I don't own a trailer with one to know how they work.

Good luck! Keep asking questions, people love to try and help

 

[chily3]

You need one of these in the negative line for your battey. It is disconnect that cuts the circuit.

 

[janleslie]

Thank you so much for your answer.

 

[persistent]

Please post pictures of the little red buttons.

Your travel trailer has two to four electric power systems. Most typically have the first two listed below.
30 amp 120 volt shore power (possibly 50 amp 240 volt)
12 volt battery
solar panel on the roof
generator

There are two ways to store a travel trailers that have the first two systems. You will need a digital voltmeter. They are cheap. Get one at your local hardware store or on line.

The first storage method is to plug the shore power cord into an electric outlet. Use an adapter if you do not have a 30 amp 120 volt outlet. Even a standard 15 amp home outlet can provide enough to keep the batteries charged. You may need a heavy duty extension cord and an adapter to plug in.

There may be one or two battery disconnect switches. Manufacturers may install a disconnect near the entry door. Sometimes after marked disconnect switches are installed near the batteries. Leave both of these switches "on".

Check voltage at the battery terminals. Voltage should be above 13.2 volts if everything is working. (Discharged batteries should be charged for 14 to 18 hours before this test.)

Monitor water level in flooded cell batteries after charging. Flooded cell batteries have caps on top for adding water. Fill to full mark using distilled water. Charging consumes water.

Store disconnected.
Lead acid batteries in good condition can be stored disconnected for 6 months. Check battery terminal voltage periodically and recharge 14 hours before voltage drops to 12.4 volts. Check water level after charging. Charging consumes water.

Disconnected means fully disconnected. Sometimes the manufacturer installed switches are called disconnect switches. They do not do the job.
Disconnect by removing the negative cable from the battery terminals.
Some owners install a disconnect switch next to the batteries. This works OK.

Note:
Lead acid batteries should be stored fully charged. Fully charged means 14 to 18 hours using a high quality voltage regulated charger like the one in you travil trailer.
Don't let your batteries sit discharged for any longer than necessary. The longer the time and the deeper the discharge, the quicker they will fail altogether. Batteries discharged flat need to be fully recharged immediately to protect long life.

I wish you good luck and happy trails ahead!

 

[kjlarson]

The advice to put the disconnect switch in the negative line is incorrect. Shutting off the negative side still leaves power on the positive input to the trailer. The switch should always go on the positive lead to ensure there is no power being delivered to the trailer; this will also eliminate the parasitic draw mentioned in a previous post.

Congratulations on the new trailer. I hope you enjoy RVing as much as the rest of us do. Keep asking the questions, there is a ton of knowledgeable people here that are willing to assist you.

 

[chily3]

I have to disagree with you on this. Here is why, "Do not disconnect the positive (+) battery cable first! A slip of the wrench here creates a direct short to ground. Think instantaneous arc welder. The negative () cable is the ground cable; it is always connected to the frame or body metal and can safely be disconnected first with no chance of causing sparks. By the same token, always reconnect the positive cable before connecting the negative cable."


With NO ground there is not way for power to flow into the Trailer etc.

 

[persistent]

The safety rule is to disconnect the negative wire first so that a wrench on the positive side does not touch a grounded structure near by. If a disconnect switch is installed, there will be no wrench.

Put the disconnect switch on either the positive or negative side. Typically people choose to put the switch on the positive side.

Note: Some inverters require the positive to be disconnected before the negative. In these cases, put the switch on the positive side and be very careful when wrenching on the positive connectors.

I wish you good luck and happy trails ahead!

 

[Local150]

Thats exactly what I put on my 5ver

 

[Local150]

As far as the slide-out you probably have to lay underneath the slide to see it

 

[Witt84z]

Excellent information.