Forum Discussion

gandk1011's avatar
gandk1011
Explorer
May 24, 2020

House/Chassis Battery Charging Issue

I'm new here to post, but always appreciate the help I receive from others questions. I edited some errors initially posted.

I installed a Trick L Charge to keep the Chassis (edited) battery charged when in storage. Well it quit working. The relay near the chassis battery that I connected the trick l start to shows 2 volts on both sides. So I don't think the problem is the Trick L Start.

The large positive wire from the relay near the chassis battery leads to the house battery compartment. The RV house battery compartment component it is attached to has two large gauge wires and a small yellow and black wire. The top wire on this component (which runs to the relay by the coach battery) shows 2 volts the bottom wire (which goes to the house battery) shows 13-14 volts.

**It appears to me this RV component isn't transferring power towards the chassis battery relay.

I'm not sure what the yellow and black wire on this RV component does? Not sure what this part or it's function but could that be the cause of the Trick L a Charge failure to maintain the house battery? Any other troubleshooting I can do? Thanks in advance.

Greg
2017 Coachman Leprechaun Class C E450 Ford Chassis
  • RJsfishin's avatar
    RJsfishin
    Explorer
    May 26, 2020
    I never did see the advantage of a trickle charge.
    Simply connect the individual positives together thru a spst switch on the dash.
    Mark the switch "run" and "park", fool proof and trouble free, been working for 20 yrs !
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    May 25, 2020
    gandk1011 wrote:
    Ok, sorry i said that wrong. The house battery is good, trick l charge was charging the chassis good until recently. Now the MH is not send house battery voltage to the relay you attach the Trickle L Charge to so it can charge the chassis battery.


    I believe you have an open connection between the house battery and the relay. Check your cable connections along the path from house battery to the relay. At some point you will find the drop off of voltage. Clean, tighten, replace, repair the situation you find. Trik-L-Start needs to see 13.5+ volts to be able to do anything.
  • gandk1011's avatar
    gandk1011
    Explorer
    May 25, 2020
    Thanks for all the advice. Its rainy here and I'll get out and look further soon. Its also parked in a field with no shore power nearby. I edited my initial post to make it clearer.

    I think the problem is the RV component by the house battery between the Positive battery lead and the relay near the chassis battery. One side has the voltage of the house battery the other side has the voltage of the chassis battery. I would post a photo of this component if I knew how? If this model has an emergency start switch, I don't know where it is.
  • pianotuna's avatar
    pianotuna
    Nomad III
    May 25, 2020
    Old timer Dave wrote:
    Living in Cold Canada I remove mine in the late fall. ensure that they are charged and bring them into the house. In the spring charge the up again for what little they have lost and reinstall them. Just like any other vehicle not being used for the winter.


    If you fully charge the batteries and then disconnect them you may leave them in place in the RV. The rate of self discharge is lower the colder it is. A fully charged lead acid jar freezes at -62 C (-80 f). If it is that cold outside you will have more pressing problems than a frozen battery.
  • pianotuna's avatar
    pianotuna
    Nomad III
    May 25, 2020
    Move the wire from the trik-l-charge to the house battery side of the relay.
  • gandk1011's avatar
    gandk1011
    Explorer
    May 25, 2020
    Ok, sorry i said that wrong. The house battery is good, trick l charge was charging the chassis good until recently. Now the MH is not send house battery voltage to the relay you attach the Trickle L Charge to so it can charge the chassis battery.
  • Bobbo's avatar
    Bobbo
    Explorer II
    May 25, 2020
    This is what needed to be done, you can check to see if this is what you actually did.
    1. Put Trik-L-Start to charge the CHASSIS battery from the HOUSE battery, not the other way around.
    2. Plug in your MH so the converter/charger will charge the HOUSE battery. The HOUSE battery will then charge the CHASSIS battery through the Trik-L-Start.

    If you put the Trik-L-Start on backward, so the CHASSIS battery is charging the HOUSE battery, and did NOT plug in the MH, the battery(ies) may have run down.
  • ksg5000's avatar
    ksg5000
    Explorer
    May 25, 2020
    If your referring to a Trik L Start an easy way to determine whether it's working is to turn on your headlights for a few minutes - that should deplete your chassis battery sufficient to kick on the charging light of the Trik L Start.

    Trik L Start Instructions
  • Old_timer_Dave's avatar
    Old_timer_Dave
    Explorer
    May 24, 2020
    Living in Cold Canada I remove mine in the late fall. ensure that they are charged and bring them into the house. In the spring charge the up again for what little they have lost and reinstall them. Just like any other vehicle not being used for the winter.
  • BFL13's avatar
    BFL13
    Explorer II
    May 24, 2020
    Not clear. Usually, the trickle charge is to maintain the engine battery while the house battery is kept up by the converter from shore power or from solar.

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