Need Help w/2016 F450 Charging System
I'm not sure if this should be in Tow Vehicles or Tech Issues. I'm in the process of installing a heavy-duty battery charging circuit for the truck camper battery on my new truck. I've done this o...
Forum Discussion
The short answer is that I want the TC battery to charge up as quickly as possible while I'm driving. It's a necessity for me.
You don't get much charging current through the standard 7-way RV plug. The wires are too small, too long, and the 7-way blade connector isn't designed to carry much current anyway. The voltage drop from your trucks alternator to the RV batteries is tremendous, and by the time you get to the RV battery (especially in a trailer) you're getting no more than a trickle charge.
After finishing the truck-side wiring this morning, I split the TC umbilical cord into two plugs, and tested the system.
This is the voltage to the TC battery right after starting the truck. Nearly 14.0 volts! The amps was about 10.5 and slowly dropping by the time I got back to the Trimetric panel and scanned through the readings. The TC battery was fully charged before I started the truck, so it wasn't needing much of a charge, and the truck batteries were quickly being recharged.
This is the TC battery voltage after a 45 minute drive with the fridge running off the inverter. The fridge had not been on at all, so I know the 325 watt AC heating element was on 100% of the time. The voltage at the truck batteries was 13.6. Not bad.
My initial impression is that the heavy-duty charging system on this truck is going to work even better than the one I put on the old truck, despite not being connected directly to the alternator. I was using 6 AWG wires on the old truck, and I'm using 4 AWG wires on the new truck. So, maybe I don't care about connecting to that device on the truck after all. It would add extra length to the wires in order to reach it anyway.
:):)
You don't get much charging current through the standard 7-way RV plug. The wires are too small, too long, and the 7-way blade connector isn't designed to carry much current anyway. The voltage drop from your trucks alternator to the RV batteries is tremendous, and by the time you get to the RV battery (especially in a trailer) you're getting no more than a trickle charge.
After finishing the truck-side wiring this morning, I split the TC umbilical cord into two plugs, and tested the system.
This is the voltage to the TC battery right after starting the truck. Nearly 14.0 volts! The amps was about 10.5 and slowly dropping by the time I got back to the Trimetric panel and scanned through the readings. The TC battery was fully charged before I started the truck, so it wasn't needing much of a charge, and the truck batteries were quickly being recharged.
This is the TC battery voltage after a 45 minute drive with the fridge running off the inverter. The fridge had not been on at all, so I know the 325 watt AC heating element was on 100% of the time. The voltage at the truck batteries was 13.6. Not bad.
My initial impression is that the heavy-duty charging system on this truck is going to work even better than the one I put on the old truck, despite not being connected directly to the alternator. I was using 6 AWG wires on the old truck, and I'm using 4 AWG wires on the new truck. So, maybe I don't care about connecting to that device on the truck after all. It would add extra length to the wires in order to reach it anyway.
:):)
