Ok to shore power with battery removed?

Thanks folks!

I still gotta work for a living so I pulled the battery late last night, after winterizing *again* (we got about 6" of snow). I suspect a dead or dying cell so I'll check the battery tonight.

Leads are marked and taped.

We're back from Spring Break and are cleaning the RV out. Just wanted to know if I can tell the wife it's OK to plug things back in so the cleaning can continue.

My converter paperwork states that it will work with no battery connected. We will often turn the battery off and run the lights and small 12v loads with just the converter. No problems here.

when I pull a battery I wire ty the blks,then the reds so I,m sure what goes where ,then cover each bunch .

Just remember that if you hookup to shore power you will have 12VDC charging voltages on the battery wiring like you was thinking. It would be a good idea to put a sock or bag over the POSITIVE cable or wrap in black electrical tape so it won't come in contact with frame ground somehow...

Also good idea to identify where the wiring was connected. Some folks will paint a RED dot on the positive cables (I use fingernail polish). Others in the new technology world we live in will take a photo of the wiring using their camera on their cell phone... All of the trailers are prone to mixing the trailer wiring colors with the automotive wiring colors when it comes to battery wiring... In the trailer world BLACK is positive hot and in the automotive world BLACK is negative Frame Ground and this make the old mechanics turn over in their graves when they see BLACK and RED wiring colors on the same wiring terminal...

If you spark the cables just one sec re-hooking up backwards then you will be spending hours finding the blown REVERSE POLARITY fuses and getting them replaced. You will 99 percent of time blow the REVERSE POLARITY as soon as you replace for forgetting to hook the battery terminals up correctly before changing the fuses hehe (Wonder how I know that)

Definitely fun times...
Roy Ken

pconroy328 wrote:
Just wondering, I yanked the coach battery out (completely out) to test it tomorrow.

What kind of test do you intend to do ?
The standard load test for a starting battery may not tell you what you want to know about deep cycle capacity; AFAIK there really is no test for that.

What leads you to believe that it NEEDS to be tested in the first place ? If there are some actual symptoms, just replace it. If there are NO SYMPTOMS, then why bother.....really.

To be sure about the converter with no battery, disconnect the battery and then measure the voltage at one of your DC connection points with the shore power connected. If it's between 12.8 and 14.5 you should be fine.

NOTE: The shore power should be disconnected while you are removing and installing the battery so that the converter is NOT active.

At RV shows the RVs are plugged in for days with no batteries in them, without the leads being connected. no problem. don't worry about it.

Back in the last century there was one that needed a battery

But it's not been made since.. I'm not sure when. but I know it's not been made THIS century.. So you are good, Modern converters work with or without.

Just for giggles.....color mark all wiring
Which were on positive
Which were on negative

Hook them up backwards and 'reverse polarity' fuses on converter Blow...then NO DC


Older converters needed battery in place to provide 'load'

Newer converters don't need that.
Yours is newer.
Tape up battery cables.....positive will be hot

Can you do it..Yes
Do I recommend it ? No

How long does it take to test a battery ?
I've gone hours with batteries disconnected, while working on cables or replacing batteries , or something else that necessitated power be disconnected
Except for the inconvenience of no light, no water pump,etc..no 120v power
Fridge will stay cold,
If you do this insulate the positive cables with rubber gloves trapped over them
Then turn off power before you reconnect batteries
Getting a wire wrong while shore power is on, is a sure way to kill the converter

Your 2008 rig's converter will work with no battery. If you want the slides and jacks to work from the converter, you must clamp the pos wires together that were together on the pos battery post. (vice grip pliers work for that) Their negs are via the frame so that path is still there.