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Old 12-25-2021, 09:35 PM   #1
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Brand: Thor Motor Coach
Model: Windsport 35M
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THOR #7496
Battery disconnect

Not sure this the right place for this, but here goes.
Just a random question, not really an issue.
Wondering just exactly what the battery disconnect switch does?
2017 thor windsport.
Weather I put it in use or store, every thing still works. Plugged in or not.
Just curious on what it disconnects? Lol.
Thanks for your input.

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Old 12-25-2021, 10:33 PM   #2
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THOR #12698
The battery disconnect is supposed to disconnect the house batteries while in storage. If it is not working it you should replace it.


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Old 12-26-2021, 12:50 AM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobj73 View Post
Not sure this the right place for this, but here goes.
Just a random question, not really an issue.
Wondering just exactly what the battery disconnect switch does?
2017 thor windsport.
Weather I put it in use or store, every thing still works. Plugged in or not.
Just curious on what it disconnects? Lol.
Thanks for your input.
If what you say is true, your battery disconnect is either not working or has been bypassed. The battery disconnect (USE/STORE) switch disconnects the house batteries from the DC load buss. If in STORE and disconnected from SP nothing should have electrical power in the RV except maybe the CO/Propane detector and the entry steps.
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Old 12-26-2021, 12:33 PM   #4
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THOR #7496
That's the way I understood it from reading the manual.
I can hear the solenoid click when I switch it, but it makes no difference.
We bought the unit new, so no one has done any work on it but me. Strange.
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Old 12-26-2021, 02:14 PM   #5
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Battery disconnect

You might still have a bad disconnect, but make sure you’re not getting invalid test results due to being connected to shore power.

I don’t see it mentioned here and not all coaches do it the same way, but if you’re plugged into shore power, the disconnect will still disconnect your batteries. However, everything will still seem to work, including the red light on the disconnect (if you have one). This has the same symptoms you’re reporting but is normal behavior.

This is because the converter is providing 12v power to all the lights, appliances and outlets, but your batteries won’t charge because they’re disconnected from the system. You can pretty easily check this by unplugging from shore power or turning off the converter breaker inside the coach. Without unplugging shore power, test by letting the batteries sit an hour or so and checking the voltage at the batteries. They should settle pretty quickly to 13.0v or less, while the “12v” inside should still be 13.5-13.7v.

My inverter has a voltage readout on its control panel and I compare that against our Firefly unit’s coach voltage since they are on opposite sides of the disconnect. Our disconnect has been triggered accidentally a few times because of where it’s located, so I usually glance at the inverter voltage when I enter the coach to ensure it’s in the mid 13s or better.
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Old 12-26-2021, 02:19 PM   #6
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I went thru a USE/STORE solenoid issue abt 8mo ago while on a week long trip.
I could hear the “clunk” but no power.
After help from the Forum, I was able to isolate the issue to a bad solenoid.

For the remainder of the trip, I removed the solenoid and connected the battery cables directly to the Converter/Charger cables (a couple of nuts/bolts I had in my parts kit).
Thus, over-riding the USE/STORE until I was able to repair/replace solenoid weeks later.

Bottomline…the solenoid, over time, gets corroded at the connecting point from firing and sparking.
And eventually does not connect at all.

When I dis-assembled the faulty one, I could see the obvious corrosion.
Although I replaced with a new one, I cleaned up the faulty one with a Dremel and now have a future spare.
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Old 12-26-2021, 02:29 PM   #7
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Thanks for the reply, that all makes perfect sense.
I forgot about the inverter supplying power to 12v system.
I suppose it's working like it should, but don't really see any need to use it.
When I store it for short periods at home, it's always plugged in to shore power.
Thanks for the explanation, was mostly just curious.
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Old 12-26-2021, 02:40 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobj73 View Post
Not sure this the right place for this, but here goes.
Just a random question, not really an issue.
Wondering just exactly what the battery disconnect switch does?
2017 thor windsport.
Weather I put it in use or store, every thing still works. Plugged in or not.
Just curious on what it disconnects? Lol.
Thanks for your input.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bobj73 View Post
Thanks for the reply, that all makes perfect sense.
I forgot about the inverter supplying power to 12v system.
I suppose it's working like it should, but don't really see any need to use it.
When I store it for short periods at home, it's always plugged in to shore power.
Thanks for the explanation, was mostly just curious.

So does everything work while in store while you are NOT plugged in as you originally said??

And INVERTERS do not supply power to 12 volt systems unless you have a large INVERTER/CHARGER. Most RVs, including yours, have a CONVERTER/CHARGER that convert 120 VAC from SP or the generator to 12 VDC to power DC loads and charge the batteries.

INVERTERS take 12 VDC from the house batteries and create 120 VAC to power select AC loads in the RV.
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Old 12-26-2021, 03:21 PM   #9
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Yeah, everything works , plugged in or not, batt disconnect switch on or off.
Got my converter/inverter terms mixed up, sorry.
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Old 12-26-2021, 05:16 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by taylorbob1 View Post
I went thru a USE/STORE solenoid issue abt 8mo ago while on a week long trip.
I could hear the “clunk” but no power.
After help from the Forum, I was able to isolate the issue to a bad solenoid.

For the remainder of the trip, I removed the solenoid and connected the battery cables directly to the Converter/Charger cables (a couple of nuts/bolts I had in my parts kit).
Thus, over-riding the USE/STORE until I was able to repair/replace solenoid weeks later.

Bottomline…the solenoid, over time, gets corroded at the connecting point from firing and sparking.
And eventually does not connect at all.

When I dis-assembled the faulty one, I could see the obvious corrosion.
Although I replaced with a new one, I cleaned up the faulty one with a Dremel and now have a future spare.
Where is the USE/STORE solenoid located on the Vegas? I can hear the thump, but have never located it.
I just know that is the next thing to go out on a trip.
Thanks
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Old 12-26-2021, 09:05 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by bobj73 View Post
Yeah, everything works , plugged in or not, batt disconnect switch on or off.
Got my converter/inverter terms mixed up, sorry.
Then it is NOT working as it should.
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Old 12-26-2021, 09:53 PM   #12
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Thanks, guess that's kind of what I suspected.
Been like that since we bought it new, like I said, I can hear the solenoid click when I operate the switch.
I appreciate the responses, but I guess I've gotten along this far without out. Plus when I look under the bed at the tangle of loose wiring, I put the access panel back and hope nothing ever shorts out under there. Lol.
Another fine example of thor quality control.
Thanks again.
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Old 12-27-2021, 11:10 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by bobj73 View Post
Thanks, guess that's kind of what I suspected.
Been like that since we bought it new, like I said, I can hear the solenoid click when I operate the switch.
I appreciate the responses, but I guess I've gotten along this far without out. Plus when I look under the bed at the tangle of loose wiring, I put the access panel back and hope nothing ever shorts out under there. Lol.
Another fine example of thor quality control.
Thanks again.
Unplug from shore power. Go back under the bed. Start jiggling connections. Sometimes left loose from the gitgo. Sometimes work loose with all the jarring. You may just have a loose connection.
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Old 12-27-2021, 11:38 AM   #14
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Very easy fix and to troubleshoot

Take your VOM to the solenoid

Switch on and off

Note the values and proceed with the fix

Either the switch/wiring or solenoid
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Old 12-27-2021, 12:02 PM   #15
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Thanks, I'll check that out when we get home in the spring.
I did get thor to send me a wiring diagram for my coach.
I'll get in there with a multimeter and see what I find. If the color coding on the schematic is right, might be able to track it down.
Thanks again.
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Old 12-27-2021, 12:12 PM   #16
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That's a great possibility, have had a few issues with loose fittings, kind of goes with the territory, lol.
That will be a spring project, I think my wife has had enough of me tearing the bed apart on this trip. ��
It's not a huge issue, as don't really have a need for it.
More me just wanting to have things work like they should.
I really appreciate the reply.
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Old 12-27-2021, 12:48 PM   #17
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Another abbreviation? VOM? Multi meter. I guess jiggling the wire isn’t very techy.
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Old 12-27-2021, 01:17 PM   #18
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Haha, it's all good. I would use the same term.
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Old 01-01-2022, 08:10 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bobj73 View Post
Not sure this the right place for this, but here goes.
Just a random question, not really an issue.
Wondering just exactly what the battery disconnect switch does?
2017 thor windsport.
Weather I put it in use or store, every thing still works. Plugged in or not.
Just curious on what it disconnects? Lol.
Thanks for your input.
Y2018 THOR WINDSPORT 29M
The battery disconnect switch (BDS) is intended to disconnect the house batteries when the RV is placed in storage (i.e. not in use for a long time, such as winter storage). When in the STORE mode, the batteries will not be discharged by a DC load, i.e. the batteries are diconnected from the 12VDC bus in your RV.

The BDS operates the battery disconnect relay (BDR) which accomplishes the 'disconnect' of the batteries.

In your case as described above, it appears that the BDR is not working. The BDR is typically located in the power center area. In my THOR WINDSPORT, the BDR is under the bed. If the BDR is working, you can hear a 'click' in the bedroom when the BDS position is changed.
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Old 01-01-2022, 09:08 PM   #20
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Thanks for the response. I can hear the solenoid click when I operate the switch.
Just need to get under the bed this spring with a multimeter and see if I can figure it out.
Certainly not urgent, since I've never used it.
Was just playing with it the other day and noticed nothing was happening.
Who knows what thor did under there, lol.
But with that said, this is really the only issue we've had with it. I consider myself lucky.
Thanks again.
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