Charging the engine battery

[ValofNY]

Will shore power charge my engine battery?

[senf]

Actually it depends on whether you have an isolator or a separator. In the case of the former - no, in the case of the latter - yes. We have a separator on our 2008 Chevy 190V and have replaced it once because of it being faulty - not charging the coach batteries while driving. Both coach and chassis batteries are now charged when driving and again on shore power. There is a caveat and that has to do with the charged state of the "local" battery - chassis battery when driving and coach battery on shore power. I have used a "clamp" multi-meter to check this out for my own satisfaction.

[ValofNY]

thanx for all the helpful replies ~

[PSW]

Our previous rig was a 2007 Roadtrek 210P and on it the answer would be "NO".

[time2roll]

Trik-L-Start is what you are looking for.

You can verify chassis battery charging by measuring the voltage. 13.2 after 24 hours is charging. 12.8 or less is not charging.

[avanti]

Maybe. Most RVs, of course, will do the opposite: charge the house battery while the vehicle is being driven. There is typically some kind of isolator to prevent the house load from drawing current from the chassis battery while parked. Fancy isolators certainly exist that will charge in either direction, using intelligent algorithms that "do the right thing" depending on the voltages on either side. You would really have to look to see if you have one. A simple voltage test may or may not reveal its presence, since you might look at a time when the rules call for isolation. AK is correct that the odds are against you. This feature is relatively uncommon. it is an easy upgrade, though.

[wsfurrie]

No. I use a small charger that will plug into the cigarette lighter socket, assuming it is live with the key off. It is just a trickle charger and will not bring the battery back if it is very low. It you need to charge a close to dead battery the best way is still a separate charger plugged into shore power and attached directly to the battery. The problem with charging both the coach and engine battery's from the same source is that you have two dissimilar battery's with different levels of charge, it really will not work well and may even damage one or both.
Wayne

[AK49er]

Probably not. Check battery with volt meter first for reading then plug in and check again. If voltage goes up, then yes shore power charges batts.