Converter charging vehicle battery

Bear in mind, if you really only want a trickle charge to the chassis battery all you need is a relatively small gauge wire.

I use about a 6" piece of 12 gauge wire with alligator clips on it to bridge the solenoid.

By adding a third battery to the load on the converter it also lowers the amount of charge each battery gets so I worry less about over-charging them.

I also use a timer on the shore power line when it's parked at home so the batteries are only on charge a few hours a day, not 24 / 7.

So putting a a thick jumper across the solenoid will charge the engine battery too? What if your alternator goes out and you onlly have what's left in the engine battery to get you to a garage. Can you either put the jumper across the solenoid or jamb the engine start switch with paper to use house batteries for engine? I suppose then running the generator will keep all batteries charging until you can ge a new alternator.

valhalla360 wrote:
Before you plug in, take a multi-meter and check the voltage at the battery terminals.

Plug in and check again. If it goes up, it is charging.

The only iffy part is if fully charged the converter may not put out any power and you won't see the voltage jump (turn on a few 12v lights and it should push the converter to come on)

What valhalla360 said above.

Mine didn't charge the chassis battery, so I installed a Trik-L-Start. Now it does.

One lead to the chassis battery side of the relay that connects the two batteries together, the other lead to the house battery/converter side of the relay, the third lead to ground. You are done.

eric1514 wrote:

JaxDad wrote:

I think it would be easier to just put a little bit of folded paper under the end of the rocker switch for the Aux. Or Emergency Start switch. That closes the relay and connects the coach and house batteries together via the motorhomes existing internal wiring.

That's very clever and I'm going to look into it. If it works I could see wiring up a permanent on/off switch as a poor man's Trik-l-start.

Agreed. That's a great idea if it'll work.

JaxDad wrote:

I think it would be easier to just put a little bit of folded paper under the end of the rocker switch for the Aux. Or Emergency Start switch. That closes the relay and connects the coach and house batteries together via the motorhomes existing internal wiring.

That's very clever and I'm going to look into it. If it works I could see wiring up a permanent on/off switch as a poor man's Trik-l-start.

poncho62 wrote:
A pair of booster cables between the 2 batteries would work in a pinch

I think it would be easier to just put a little bit of folded paper under the end of the rocker switch for the Aux. Or Emergency Start switch. That closes the relay and connects the coach and house batteries together via the motorhomes existing internal wiring.

A pair of booster cables between the 2 batteries would work in a pinch

Hi,

After checking with a meter and finding that the chassis battery is not being charged, add a Trik-L-Start or an Amp-L-Start.

With your shore power cord plugged in disconnect the positive terminal of the chassis battery then turn on the ignition.

If the instrument cluster and radio come on, the converter is powering the chassis battery.

However based on my similar vintage Winnie, I think you'll find the chassis battery does not charge from the converter. In that time period Winnebago used a constant duty relay to link the house and chassis batteries together for charging from the alternator. The relay is only closed by the ignition circuit. If the ignition is not in the run position the relay is open.

Before you plug in, take a multi-meter and check the voltage at the battery terminals.

Plug in and check again. If it goes up, it is charging.

The only iffy part is if fully charged the converter may not put out any power and you won't see the voltage jump (turn on a few 12v lights and it should push the converter to come on)