Could I get a charging system explanation please?

[BugsRLB]

As told in another post, the TC and Chevy got hit by lightning! :E
Truck was at dealer for 2 weeks and after replacing many modules and $4000 later it was fixed. TC generator got a new control board and works great now. Still waiting on the "system monitor" panel.

Labor Day we used the TC for the weekend. Got home and left it on the truck because I knew we had to get the TC back to the shop. Few days later we went to bring TC back to shop and the truck would not start. Batteries were dead and had to jump start truck. This has never happened before.

My question is:
Is there a relay or module or something in the truck that could have been hit by lightning that does not allow the TC to suck juice from the truck? We have the standard Lance wiring harness with all the lighting leads wired to the rear of the truck and a (+)&(-) going to the battery.

[BugsRLB]

nm1oqrz wrote:
Hello fellow campers. Lance campers have a battery isolator that is between the truck and camper that will disconnect the charge wire if the truck battery falls below a specific voltage. On my 08 1055 it is located inside the stepup to the overhead bed. If this doesn't work properly and things are on in the camper it will also drain the truck battery. Lance has been using these isolators for several years.
Happy camping nm1oqrz

I will take that panel step off and investigate as soon as the TC returns home from the shop! :@

[nm1oqrz]

Hello fellow campers. Lance campers have a battery isolator that is between the truck and camper that will disconnect the charge wire if the truck battery falls below a specific voltage. On my 08 1055 it is located inside the stepup to the overhead bed. If this doesn't work properly and things are on in the camper it will also drain the truck battery. Lance has been using these isolators for several years.
Happy camping nm1oqrz

[DWeikert]

BugsRLB wrote:
I am assuming if there is some kind of solenoid (I did not install one)that it is possible it could have gotten hit by the strike.

If you didn't install one, and the camper dealer didn't install one, there isn't one.

The head scratcher is that you had the camper plugged in to shore power at the time. If the converter in the camper is working it should've been putting a charge into both batteries with no isolator.

Some quick questions, have you let the truck sit for an extended period without the camper plugged in and the truck battery held a charge? With the camper not plugged into the truck but plugged into shore power, is the camper battery being charged?

[BugsRLB]

tony lee wrote:
Is it possible that you have a problem with the truck alternator and it is not charging the start battery as it should be and in fact your whole rig was running off the camper instead of the other way around.

Truck has been charging fine since the day I jump started it and dropped the TC back off at the repair shop! 🙂

I am assuming if there is some kind of solenoid (I did not install one)that it is possible it could have gotten hit by the strike.

[tony_lee]

Is it possible that you have a problem with the truck alternator and it is not charging the start battery as it should be and in fact your whole rig was running off the camper instead of the other way around.

[DWeikert]

BugsRLB wrote:
And, the TC was plugged in to shore power when is sucked the truck batteries dry in our driveway.

That's an interesting detail. With no isolator the converter (if functioning) should have kept the truck batteries charged along with the house batteries. Was there a charge on the camper battery when the truck's battery was dead?

[mkirsch]

Nothing on the truck.

Last year I forgot to unplug the camper and didn't get a chance to go camping for almost a month. Went to start the truck and...

[Super_Dave]

Well, that sounds odd for sure. This is what a typical battery protector solenoid would look like.

[BugsRLB]

Super_Dave wrote:

deltabravo wrote:

Super_Dave wrote:
Yes, there is an anti-suck relay between the battery and the truck plug in the bed of the truck.

GM doesn't install one.

But his camper dealer should have. This problem appears to be new since the truck was hit by lightening and not previously an issue.

I installed the TC wiring 2+ years ago myself. Came back June 17th from a 51 day x-country trip with no problems boondocking or shore power. Spent a 5 days in a St. Charles, MO. driveway and 4 days in a Denver, CO. driveway, no problem. And, the TC was plugged in to shore power when is sucked the truck batteries dry in our driveway.

[Super_Dave]

deltabravo wrote:

Super_Dave wrote:
Yes, there is an anti-suck relay between the battery and the truck plug in the bed of the truck.

GM doesn't install one.

But his camper dealer should have. This problem appears to be new since the truck was hit by lightening and not previously an issue.

[deltabravo]

Super_Dave wrote:
Yes, there is an anti-suck relay between the battery and the truck plug in the bed of the truck.

GM doesn't install one.

[deltabravo]

DWeikert wrote:
There's nothing stock on your truck to isolate the truck and camper batteries.

Ditto.

GM does not install any sort of isolation device to cut off power to the trailer plug or camper wiring when the truck is not running.

Sometimes a camper dealer will install one when a person buys a new camper and has the dealer get the truck ready for the camper, in the form of a large solenoid.

The way to test your truck is with a test light or voltmeter. Check for 12 volts on the battery charge line when the truck isn't running. If there's no 12v there with the truck off, but is when the truck is running, this would seem to indicate there's a solenoid.

If there IS 12v when the truck is NOT running, then there's no solenoid, or the solenoid is stuck in the ON position.

[DWeikert]

There's nothing stock on your truck to isolate the truck and camper batteries. Don't know if there is anything internal on your Lance. I installed a continuous duty solenoid on my truck to prevent the camper from draining the truck battery when not in use.

Although, since I have solar on the camper maybe I should remove that to keep the truck battery charged...?

[Super_Dave]

Yes, there is an anti-suck relay between the battery and the truck plug in the bed of the truck.