Knob on driver's side below seat

[BLESSEDBEE]

We are brand new Rvers. Our chosen RV is a 1997 BornFree President, 25'. There is a knob on the driver's side, below the seat, that is confusing to us. Can you help us understand what that is for? The young man who sold us our RV told us that when we are parked and plugged in, we should turn it to "on." Our son, who has owned a different type of RV told us that he didn't think we should. We want to do the right thing, so if you can answer this question, we would appreciate it so much! We looked in the manual and it said something about it having to do with the battery. We keep our RV plugged in since we are using it a lot and want to maintain the refrigerator and freezer items until our next get away (coming up this Thursday!)

[Roger H]

I believe that from your description, it would be the main cut-off switch for your coach's 12v system. Normally, you would only want it "off" when you're storing the coach for more than a couple of days depending what kind of charger you have. Older chargers can be hard on batteries if they're left plugged in. I'd recommend a modern charger. The coach batteries are isolated from both drain and charging in the "off" position.

A photo of the switch would be useful in confirming that for you though.

[whemme]

From his description of the location of that rotary switch, I also believe it to be the coach battery's ON/OFF master switch.

[BLESSEDBEE]

Thank you both for responding. We will leave it on then. If we have issues with the battery charger, we will replace with a more up to date one, although neither of us is sure if it already has a more up to date charger, yet. We are not mechanically inclined, so we would probably need to take it in for an RV check up. We did take it to a Ford dealer for an oil change and inspection of the truck part of the RV and they said everything was in excellent condition as far as that part goes.

[Roger H]

Thank you both for responding. We will leave it on then. If we have issues with the battery charger, we will replace with a more up to date one, although neither of us is sure if it already has a more up to date charger, yet. We are not mechanically inclined, so we would probably need to take it in for an RV check up. We did take it to a Ford dealer for an oil change and inspection of the truck part of the RV and they said everything was in excellent condition as far as that part goes.

I think you may have misunderstood what I wrote. IF what you're describing is the main rotary switch for the 12v system, and you're leaving the coach plugged in, you'll want to turn that switch OFF after a couple of days. IF you have an older single-stage charging system and you leave it plugged in and on, you'll boil off the water in your coach batteries and damage them by leaving it plugged in and charging constantly. However, if you have a three-stage charging system, such as a Progressive Dynamics 9245 RV Converter, that will only send that amount of current to the battery that it needs to stay charged, then it's ok to leave the switch in the ON position constantly when you're plugged in. That kind of converter will not damage your coach batteries.

[BLESSEDBEE]

Thank you both for responding. We will leave it on then. If we have issues with the battery charger, we will replace with a more up to date one, although neither of us is sure if it already has a more up to date charger, yet. We are not mechanically inclined, so we would probably need to take it in for an RV check up. We did take it to a Ford dealer for an oil change and inspection of the truck part of the RV and they said everything was in excellent condition as far as that part goes.

I think you may have misunderstood what I wrote. IF what you're describing is the main rotary switch for the 12v system, and you're leaving the coach plugged in, you'll want to turn that switch OFF after a couple of days. IF you have an older single-stage charging system and you leave it plugged in and on, you'll boil off the water in your coach batteries and damage them by leaving it plugged in and charging constantly. However, if you have a three-stage charging system, such as a Progressive Dynamics 9245 RV Converter, that will only send that amount of current to the battery that it needs to stay charged, then it's ok to leave the switch in the ON position constantly when you're plugged in. That kind of converter will not damage your coach batteries.

Oh dear! I will go out and see if our son can tell us what we have. I will take a picture and try to send it, too.

[BLESSEDBEE]

The rotary knob says "GUEST" in the center. Above that, on a silver ring, around the knob, it says, "Fully Engaged at Detents"
Below the knob on that same silver ring it says, "Stop Engine Before Switching Off"
The Power converter with battery charger is a 45 amp series 6300 A; Model 6345. It says Option: A; code 17-9634
"Class CTL Panelboard - Type 1"
Electrical Rating Max 30 amps 120VAC
Provided with integral protection against overloads.
I am sorry that I have not yet been able to find time to post pictures, as I am trying to handle business at work right now.
I appreciate your kindness very much!! I am sorry we are so ignorant.

[Roger H]

The rotary knob says "GUEST" in the center. Above that, on a silver ring, around the knob, it says, "Fully Engaged at Detents"
Below the knob on that same silver ring it says, "Stop Engine Before Switching Off"
The Power converter with battery charger is a 45 amp series 6300 A; Model 6345. It says Option: A; code 17-9634
"Class CTL Panelboard - Type 1"
Electrical Rating Max 30 amps 120VAC
Provided with integral protection against overloads.
I am sorry that I have not yet been able to find time to post pictures, as I am trying to handle business at work right now.
I appreciate your kindness very much!! I am sorry we are so ignorant.

"GUEST." Ok that's a new on on me... I had an '01 23RK Born Free, but sold it ten years ago, and I don't remember exactly what the configuration was on the 12v shut-off switch. Perhaps someone else will have a better idea... but I'll need to see a photo to try to help figure this one out.

That power converter is an old Magnatek, and it's the kind that will over-charge your battery if you leave the coach plugged in and the 12v shut-off switch "ON."

And always remember that ignorance is curable! It's merely the lack of specific knowledge. And you've come to the right place for help. Not that I'm particularly helpful, but we have members who are... and I'm hoping in this case that one of the others chimes in... Bill?

[whemme]

Yes the Magnetek 6345 Charger/Converter you have in your coach is a single stage unit that as Roger says will over-charge your batteries if the coach is left plugged into shoreline power with the coach battery master switch left turned ON for extended periods of time.

There is a post titled Converting Parallax 7345 Charger/Converter to PD4655V system in the Coach Modification section on this forum that you might want to read. It explains the advantageous of converting over to a modern 3-stage charger/converter.

But 1st, we are not sure about your switch until we see a photo of it. I found a photo from an old post that my be the same as your switch as attached below. If your switch is the same as the attached photo, then I believe it to be your coach battery master ON/OFF switch.

[whemme]

Also of possible interest to you is the fact that the owner's manual for your 1997 Born Free coach is published on this forum. Go to the section titled Factory Owner's Manuals for Older (thru year 2010) Born Free Motorcoaches and then click on the post titled Born Free 1994 - 1998 (All Models) Owner's Manual (2 Parts) to download a copy of your owner's manual in two parts.

For whatever reason, the owner's manual does not discuss this battery master switch.