Truck remote start and TC battery charging
When I got my TC, I had the dealership install the wiring for TC hookup under the bed. I added remote start as a feature to the truck when I bought it specifically so I could charge the batteries with...
Forum Discussion
mkirsch wrote:
The voltage regulators on these modern trucks are computer controlled. On my 2015 Chevy for example, the voltage will drop down to ~12V during times of low demand and only goes up to 13.8V when electrical load dictates it. Apparently it saves a little fuel, and does help to keep from overcharging the battery.
I would expect all trucks work similarly these days.
Frankly, I would expect that you would have to perform some sort of computer programming change in order to get it to charge at full voltage with remote start.
This statement is 100% correct and has been covered in several other threads in the past 3 or 4 months.
The bottom line is, the alternator on any vehicle is designed to charge the starting battery. Period. END OF DISCUSSION. Heavy gauge wire will not help much to fully charge a house battery.
If you want to charge a house battery you need a special device called a DC-DC Boost Converter that will bump the voltage up to over 15V (regardless of the input voltage) and then a multi-stage solar charge controller connected to the house battery. Both of those devices have limited current capability so recharging a depleted house battery will take many hours.
