Tow Vehicle Battery and Alternator
My trucks alternator is rated at 150 amps. Its starting battery is your typical 600 CCA AC Delco variety. My goal is to increase charging capability through the 7 pin pigtail connector near the hi...
Forum Discussion
grizzzman wrote:
I have the Renolgy 40 amp DC to DC charger. It has 3 stage charging and is adjustable. The truck input was 50 amps and the output as advertised. That was at 14.0 volts truck and 14.7 volts output. The charger has a trigger that you hook to the ignition switch. Hook to the battery. Do not use any less then 6awg wire (I used 4awg at 20 feet) I had a solar controller issue. Idled the truck for 1 TO 1 1/2 hr, and was able to run anything I wanted,including a 12 cup drip coffee maker. But to be fair, I had installed a 2P4S Lifep04 battery on this trip.(I wish that I had not waited so long to go LFP) What a difference!
Good luck with your adventure!
I'm going to purchase and install the 40 amp DC to DC charger. Couple questions though.
A signal control (ignition line) is required to activate this device. Considering the application is a tow behind trailer, can I use the 7 pin trailer harness to tap into for a 12 volt source instead of running a separate line all the way back to the TV's ignition circuit? It would either be the #4 pin (aux) or #3 pin (tail/running lights). I think the tail lights would be a better option as I could control the unit's power via the headlight switch. Thoughts?
Also, the Renogy wiring diagram shows both positive and negative lines running from the starter battery to the DCDC charger. Is it possible to just wire in a negative line to the chassis of the TV (near the hitch) and run that along side the positive line from the starter battery? I would use a dual pole plug & socket like the Tectran recommended earlier in the thread.
Also, I would wire in a fuse or breaker on the positive feed near the starter battery. Is a 60 amp ok for 6 AWG wire? What is preferred, breaker or fuse?
Finally, there are dip switches on the charger that customize the charging profile of the battery bank. Considering I'm using flooded GC2 6 volt batteries, what is the recommended absorption and float "end-of-charge" voltages for my configuration?
From Renogy's instruction manual:
