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Old 04-27-2017, 06:46 PM   #1
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Added a Battery Cutoff and Rewired the Box

I added a battery cutoff and rewired the whole box.
  1. Got rid of the car battery lugs.
  2. Changed all cables to the heavier gauge.
  3. Added a common ground post.
  4. Parallel connections are long enough to go around instead of on top the caps.
  5. Using the switch as common positive post.

The original wiring was tight across the caps. I had to disconect them in order to check the water level.

Found everything at West Marine.
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Old 04-27-2017, 08:01 PM   #2
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That looks great!!!! So much cleaner! I'm tempted!!!! [emoji3]
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Old 04-27-2017, 08:09 PM   #3
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Thanks for posting. This is something that I've been wanting to do too. How did you cut the hole in the battery box?

I'm not sure I want to put the switch there, because it would be in the way if I wanted to add larger/taller batteries.
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Old 04-27-2017, 08:14 PM   #4
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Added a Battery Cutoff and Rewired the Box

Use A bi-metal hole saw. Drill pilot hole first. 1/4 inch drill bit. Very clean and easy. Lowes and Home Depot sell them for around $15.
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Old 04-27-2017, 08:23 PM   #5
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Nice!
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Old 04-27-2017, 08:53 PM   #6
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Nice upgrade. A battery disconnect should be standard from Airstream.
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Old 04-28-2017, 04:15 AM   #7
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I did not think of using the side of the box for switch mounting!
I made a panel to hold the switch for my MH

The small "FIRE" switch next to the cutoff switch controls the House/Chassis battery solenoid. That allows me to join all 3 batteries manually if I need to.
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Old 04-28-2017, 04:49 AM   #8
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Ernster, I did the very same as part of my winter servicing. The battery box was a tangled mess from the factory. I chose to mount the switch and the common post exterior to the battery box. I placed the switch on the negative side with the positive all going to a common post in a junction box. Heavier gauge wire on the connections too.

Here is my question. I may be missing this in your picture but it looks like your switch is wired between your batteries and not between the batteries and your trailer. Shouldn't the battery at the bottom in the third photo be directly connected in parallel to the upper battery? The switch would disconnect both batteries instead of just the parallel connection.
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Old 04-28-2017, 04:56 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FishByFly View Post
Ernster, I did the very same as part of my winter servicing. The battery box was a tangled mess from the factory. I chose to mount the switch and the common post exterior to the battery box. I placed the switch on the negative side with the positive all going to a common post in a junction box. Heavier gauge wire on the connections too.

Here is my question. I may be missing this in your picture but it looks like your switch is wired between your batteries and not between the batteries and your trailer. Shouldn't the battery at the bottom in the third photo be directly connected in parallel to the upper battery? The switch would disconnect both batteries instead of just the parallel connection.
Look closer, he has it right. The red wires on the right run close together but the switch is not breaking the parallel wire.
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Old 04-28-2017, 05:45 AM   #10
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Yes. I now see the positive parallel wire running below. I kept looking at this photo trying to figure that routing. Thanks. These improvement sure "clean up" the standard wiring.
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Old 04-28-2017, 06:14 AM   #11
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This looks great! I think I will do it!
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Old 04-28-2017, 11:53 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ernster View Post
I added a battery cutoff and rewired the whole box.
  1. Got rid of the car battery lugs.
  2. Changed all cables to the heavier gauge.
  3. Added a common ground post.
  4. Parallel connections are long enough to go around instead of on top the caps.
  5. Using the switch as common positive post.

The original wiring was tight across the caps. I had to disconect them in order to check the water level.

Found everything at West Marine.
What gage did you use and changing from battery post, did you solider the new connectors to the current cable?
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Old 04-28-2017, 01:51 PM   #13
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That's AWSOME!!! I've been wanting to do that for years, now I must....
Great job!!
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Old 04-28-2017, 02:22 PM   #14
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That's a good looking solution. I presume you have a relatively late model trailer that has one of the pseudo-disconnect switches inside the trailer. If so, I'm under the impression they disconnect most things from 12V but leave some parasitic loads for safety related items. The type of single-pole, single-throw (I think) switch you installed will do the job to really disconnect the entire battery bank.

We added a switch very much like yours in our Airstream B190 van. I was surprised that van did not come with a disconnect switch. Our 1992 Classic trailer has a switch very similar to yours and it came from the factory.
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Old 04-28-2017, 05:46 PM   #15
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It's the angle of the photo. I have the two batteries in parallel and one cable to switch.
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Old 04-28-2017, 05:52 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by dames7 View Post
What gage did you use and changing from battery post, did you solider the new connectors to the current cable?
Changed everything to 4 AWG. I used a hammer style crimping tool with a 2lb mallet. Two hard hits and it was done.

All of the wire and lugs are marine grade.
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Old 04-28-2017, 06:24 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SeaLevel View Post
Thanks for posting. This is something that I've been wanting to do too. How did you cut the hole in the battery box?

I'm not sure I want to put the switch there, because it would be in the way if I wanted to add larger/taller batteries.
Hole saw from the inside. That was the hardest part of the project. It's difficult to get pressure directly behind the drill.

The switch I bought can be fully surface mounted on the outside. I thought it looked better the way I did it.
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Old 04-28-2017, 06:30 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ernster View Post
I added a battery cutoff and rewired the whole box.
  1. Got rid of the car battery lugs.
  2. Changed all cables to the heavier gauge.
  3. Added a common ground post.
  4. Parallel connections are long enough to go around instead of on top the caps.
  5. Using the switch as common positive post.

The original wiring was tight across the caps. I had to disconect them in order to check the water level.

Found everything at West Marine.
Oh yea........

The total cost for for the job was about $75. Using marine grade components drove up the cost. You can do it cheaper by using automotive components.
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Old 04-28-2017, 06:35 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ernster View Post
Changed everything to 4 AWG. I used a hammer style crimping tool with a 2lb mallet. Two hard hits and it was done.

All of the wire and lugs are marine grade.
Thanks.
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Old 04-28-2017, 06:42 PM   #20
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Very nice job. Certainly a must do if the coach spends time in storage. Our shutoff switch ended up next to the shell in the triangle section of the frame to the curb side of the OP's switch. It's protected there and does not take up space in the box. However, we have a terminal block located where the OP's switch is and it does take some space that might be used if we went bigger on the batteries. Upgrading the cable size is a great addition to the install. Pat
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