Forum Discussion

Parrothead_Mike's avatar
Parrothead_Mike
Explorer
Sep 12, 2016

Charging the battery with generator issue

I'm not new to using my little Honda 2000i to charge my battery while boondocking, but on a recent outing at a music festival I ran my generator for nearly 2 hours and my battery didn't charge. Then the next morning (after my battery was totally dead) I tried the generator again and it charged the battery.

I had the fairly new Interstate battery checked at one of their shops and no problem was found. We're heading out to another music festival this coming weekend and I'm concerned about the charging issue. What should I be looking for in regard to the generator charging issue? BTW all the fuses look fine. Thanks!

32 Replies

Show More
  • BFL13's avatar
    BFL13
    Explorer II
    Sep 12, 2016
    Yes, you should be just plugging in the RV to the gen to give 120v input to your installed converter (which charges the batteries as well as run the other "12v" things in the RV)

    Of course to do that you will need an adapter to go from your shore power cord to your generator receptacle. Then you will also need to do some "power management" so as not to run other things so much that the gen can't run the converter.

    After a while as the battery gets charged up and amps to the battery taper, your converter will draw less from the gen and you can run more of other 120v things up to the gen's max output.
  • YC_1's avatar
    YC_1
    Nomad
    Sep 12, 2016
    Loose connection? Are you using the charging cord or charging the rv through the power cord?

About Technical Issues

Having RV issues? Connect with others who have been in your shoes.24,343 PostsLatest Activity: Dec 11, 2025