Battery Cover Appears to Be Unremovable

Rob_M

We just brought our 2016 T@B Max S home, and since it is cold here in Michigan, I wanted to put a trickle charger on the battery. But I ran into a little problem right off the bat ... it appears that my battery box cover is trapped by the battery disconnect switch and wiring, which runs down through a hole drilled through the top of the cover. I can release the tabs on both sides of the cover and lift it about an inch at the back end, but that's as far as I can move it. I'm always concerned about breaking wires or loosening connections, so I don't want to get too rough with it.

I hope I'm missing something that others have already seen and solved. Any suggestions or solutions would be most appreciated. (The good news is that if I end up having to cut the cover to remove it, I think I can get a replacement battery box and cover at Menards for about $12.)

BTW, I don't really want a hole in the top of the battery cover, where water will be able to get into the battery box itself.

Here are a couple of pictures of my dilemma:

jdargis

Can't you just unscrew the 4 screws holding the battery disconnect switch, seems like everything would be moveable, all the cables be free to move?

Cyclonic

One solution is if you can plug the T@B in itself, you don't need to mess with the battery at all.  The converter will trickle charge the battery for you.

If that is not possible, you may want to rewire and relocate the switch.  It looks like you are eventually going to have to do that anyway. 

Was this a dealer install?  I didn't think Pleasant Valley was putting cut off switches in, but I could be wrong.

Nomad

That's weird - I'd definetly make whoever did it redo it. For now either of the two suggestions above would work (jdargis/cyclonic)

Tabaz

Looks like you have the Lifetime Battery option. The one where the battery lasts the life of your T@B. Seriously, OMG! The dealer really screwed this up.

ChanW

That's a really weird thing to do to the battery cover. Sloppy!

There are places (gaps) on the sides of the cover that are designed to route the wires out of the box. Looks like they cut the wires short, so they drilled a hole in the cover to accommodate the short wires.

This is the kind of workmanship that makes me hesitate about ever going back to the same place, even to correct their screw up.

Looks like the wires are even too short to mount the switch high enough.

Verna

With long enough wires, you could mount the switch on the crosspiece at the top rear of the diamond plate box. It's reachable, but out of the way of the propane tank and battery.   That's where I put mine. 

Cyclonic

Mine is a simple toggle mounted directly on the battery box.  Dealer installed it long before I even thought about buying a T@B.

Rob_M

Thanks, everyone, for the good suggestions!

I didn't really want to start disassembling and modifying a brand new camper, especially part of the electrical system, although this may well come to that. If so, your suggestions are good input. Many years ago, I became a mechanical engineer, in large part, because electricity is invisible ...

I'm going to find out if the disconnect was a dealer or factory install. I agree, it's a poor installation, either way. I'd prefer getting the dealer to fix it, so I don't void any warranties, even before our first trip.

In the meantime, I can plug into 110V in the barn. Does the battery disconnect switch in the off position totally isolate the battery from the rest of the electrical system? If so, I guess that means I should leave the disconnect switch in the on position to trickle charge the battery through the trailer's converter.

Thanks again! I'll update this discussion with whatever becomes the solution.

Michigan_Mike

I mounted the same switch in my 2015 T@B and mounted it to the right side of the battery box and came up under the cover (no holes needed) as the covers normally do have an offset built in to allow for cable and wire to enter the box.   I passed your information on to the factory this morning too, made the above suggestions as I agree, this is a poor install and should be changed as water can easily get into the compartment now and allow for corrosion to occur, it is much easier to access the battery compartment with the switch off to one side, etc.  

You can clearly see in the photo that the lid has an entry point on the left side too and that is where the wiring comes into the battery area.  Your trailer is under warranty and you could have them repair this setup or easily do it yourself if you want to eliminate having to drag the trailer back over to your dealer.  I think a battery box is around $10 at Wally World.  

Rob_M

Mike, thanks so much for passing this information back to the factory folks. I just e-mailed our dealer as well, to ask if it was a factory or dealer installation, and to see what their recommendation is for a solution. I like your suggestion of mounting the disconnect switch on the side of the battery box and routing the wires underneath a new cover. It looks like new, longer wires to the switch will be needed, too.

When the dealer--or I-- end up relocating the switch and replacing the cover, it's too bad that the diamond plate will now have four unnecessary holes in it. There's evidence that the mounting screws have been siliconed, and I guess the remaining holes will eventually have to be sealed with silicone, too!

jkjenn

I wonder if they originally meant to mount it on the battery box and when it didn't work out, they use the hole for the wire? That was the first thing that struck me when I looked at the photo.

Tabaz

I don't think LG ships their units with batteries - I believe that is a dealer add-on.  Also, there is no way that switch and battery cover would have made it through the LG quality control process.  I would strongly suggest having the dealer make the repair.  This way they can't blame a future warranty issue on your fixing their mistake.

Rob_M

I agree with both of your points, OutBackAZ. I also think this was most likely a dealer installation, and having the dealer rectify it is the best course of action, especially in light of the potential future warranty issues. I just wish it wasn't a 90 mile round trip to the dealership!!

Ratkity

LG doesn't even install the propane covers when they ship campers, so I agree with OutbackAZ. Dealer issue.

Rob_M

Quick update - I finally spoke with a service technician at our dealership about my battery box cover being trapped by the disconnect switch mounted directly about it, and with wires running through a hole in the top of the cover. The tech said that the only thing the dealer would have done is put in the battery, so the disconnect switch would have been mounted by the factory. The tech suggested I bring the trailer by their service department, and they would address it for me under warranty, so that's what I'm going to do ... once all the darn salt is washed off the road!

ChanW

That's kind of weird for the factory to do.  There were a few strange 'assembly flubs' in our Tab too.
Some things get past quality control, maybe?
Yours is so obviously wrong, I'm surprised it got out, though.
It's good the dealer saw it as wrong too though...

Photomom

I remember reading here that one or two others recently bought T@Bs with factory installed cutoff switches - wonder if theirs was the same? 
And I hope my camper doesn't show up like that!

Verna

Photomom said:

I remember reading here that one or two others recently bought T@Bs with factory installed cutoff switches - wonder if theirs was the same? 

And I hope my camper doesn't show up like that!

The dealer installs the batteries and the front tubs. After seeing the above photos, a technical advisiry was sent to dealers addressing this installation. No, I do not know what it said, I just know the factory addressed the situation quickly. 

Rob_M

Verna said:

Photomom said:

I remember reading here that one or two others recently bought T@Bs with factory installed cutoff switches - wonder if theirs was the same? 

And I hope my camper doesn't show up like that!

The dealer installs the batteries and the front tubs. After seeing the above photos, a technical advisiry was sent to dealers addressing this installation. No, I do not know what it said, I just know the factory addressed the situation quickly. 

Hi Verna!

Thanks for the information that the factory has issued a technical advisory to the dealers addressing this installation. I will ask about the advisory when I take my camper back to the dealer. That an advisory exists will be good information to have in my back pocket!

Photomom

@Verna thank you for the info! That surely didn't seem like something the factory would do.

Michigan_Mike

My apologies as I intended to post this information up previously (I've been busy with a home remodeling project lately) as I did get a response back from the factory earlier and included Verna in the original posting which she took the time to post up. Thank you Verna!  

I also got a communication from a factory rep who noted that the shutoff switch is normally mounted higher up on the tub by dealers and that by doing so, this eliminates any issues of removing the battery cover, servicing the battery, etc.  

The info below was sent to me from factory CEO, Scott Hubble who did communicate the prior info to the factory R&D area....  

Scott replied as follows:  

Hi Mike...

I sent your information along and discussed this at a meeting this afternoon....

1). The factory does not install the shutoff switches - they ship with the LP tub on T@Gs and T@Bs

2). As such, it is up to the dealer to install these switches upon arrival.  

3). We will take a photo of the ideal location for the dealers and send it out to the dealer body.

Rob_M

Mike, thanks again for passing along my situation to the factory, and for the update above. The service tech I spoke to may have just been assuming that the factory mounted the disconnect switch ... and we all know what assuming does. In any case, I'm sure my dealer will rectify the situation, and I won't chance voiding any warranty coverage.

Good luck with your remod. You'll enjoy it when it's done!

elmeaux

Photomom said:

I remember reading here that one or two others recently bought T@Bs with factory installed cutoff switches - wonder if theirs was the same? 

And I hope my camper doesn't show up like that!

Mine wasn't run like that. But the wire/conduit from the cut off is extremely short. We had to replace the battery on mine and it took several attempts to figure out how to place the battery and run the wire where you could get the cover to (barely) fit. It would only go one certain way. Through the hole might have been the only way the tech at the dealer could figure to get it connected.

Edit - Replied before I saw Mike's post. Surprised that the factory isn't the one installing these. 

Nomad

A reminder - Don't worry what might be ... We see the aborations and problems here on the forum. Rarely do we hear about the hundreds of T@Bs without any.