no battery charge while driving

[davidsongreg]

Hi, I have a 2003 Salem t23 travel trailer. The batteries are not charging while driving, but do charge when camper is plugged in. I'm not sure where to start. Ideas?

[mlangdn]

I'd check the wiring on the plug to the TV. Maybe look for corrosion on the plug itself. Once, I didn't have mine pushed in correctly. I had all the lights, but no power to the 12v refer when traveling.

[DAISY BOYKIN]

Look at your TV for the problem. I pulled a 26' TT for a year up & down the road thinking my batteries were being charged. I had purchased a 2005 F-150
used with 28K miles on it, Installed a hitch in the bed for my 5th wheel thinking all was OK with the plug-in for the RV. We were on a pretty long trip
before stopping for the night, took a little longer than usual to get the 30 amp 120 volt supply hooked up. Discovered the battery was not being charged while being towed. When F-150 was purchased new, someone failed to install the towing relay for the 12 volt charging & supply to the camper.
Purchased a 12 VDC relay from Auto Zone, plugged in under the hood.
Charging system never worked so good after 18 months of towing.
Use a 12V light or volt/ ohm meter to measure the 12 Volt pin in the trailer plug in the truck or TV with the key switch on. If you have 12 VDC at the pin on the TV, look at the camper for a re-settable relay for your problem.

[TURBS]

Above statement correct.
Ford uses a relay.
Gm uses a fuse.

If the tow charge wire was never energized via a fuse or relay it still isn't.

Number 4

TURBS
Sabre owners united!

[f5moab]

And if you have a newer GM pickup, make sure the wire is connected to the post, at the front of the fuse distribution center under the hood. They ship it to the dealer just hanging down in the wiring bundle. That's the way my 2013 was delivered.

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by f5moab

And if you have a newer GM pickup, make sure the wire is connected to the post, at the front of the fuse distribution center under the hood. They ship it to the dealer just hanging down in the wiring bundle. That's the way my 2013 was delivered.

Good point.

That info is in the owner's manual as well.

TURBS
Sabre owners united!

[f5moab]

Yes, but they do not tell you which wire to connect to which post. There are two red wires, and two posts (of different diameter). One wire is for the aftermarket brake controller and runs under the dash; the other is the wire to the 7-pin at the rear.

[TURBS]

Not entirely true.


TURBS
Sabre owners united!

[TURBS]

This.


TURBS
Sabre owners united!

[f5moab]

Actually, what I said was true for my Silverado ("they do not tell you which wire to connect to which post"). May be different for other people.

On my vehicle, both wires were tied off in the same location, with NO tags as to which was which. So, I just connected both wires to the two separate threaded studs and retained in place with some electrical tape. The tape lasted for a few days and a few hundred miles until I came across a hardware/auto parts store. (NO nuts on the posts.)

However, that's a nice photo.

I should have checked before leaving on the trip, but I didn't and believed the dealer's tech when he said he had connected the power feed wire to the fuse block. When I purchase my next Silverado in a few months, I guarantee I will make sure there is B+ power to the 7-pin connector.

[TURBS]

Originally Posted by f5moab

Actually, what I said was true for my Silverado ("they do not tell you which wire to connect to which post"). May be different for other people.

On my vehicle, both wires were tied off in the same location, with NO tags as to which was which. So, I just connected both wires to the two separate threaded studs and retained in place with some electrical tape. The tape lasted for a few days and a few hundred miles until I came across a hardware/auto parts store. (NO nuts on the posts.)

However, that's a nice photo.

I should have checked before leaving on the trip, but I didn't and believed the dealer's tech when he said he had connected the power feed wire to the fuse block. When I purchase my next Silverado in a few months, I guarantee I will make sure there is B+ power to the 7-pin connector.

If you buy a new truck with hd tow package there should be a service note in with your owners manual for the charge wire.

TURBS
Sabre owners united!

[f5moab]

I did get the HD trailer package, and there was no note in the owner's manual. But the vehicle was purchased new, locally at a Moab dealer, but it was originally shipped to a Grand Junction dealer. So who knows what happened between the two dealers.

All I know is the wires were not connected by the tech and when I got back into town, I went into the dealer and asked Mike the tech, exactly what wires he connected. He was slightly embarrassed, gave me a free oil change (I supplied the oil, he did the labor) and assured me, the next truck WILL have the wires connected.

For a small town dealer, they actually have a pretty good service department and Mike, is a pretty darn good tech.

So, time to move onto another thread....

[TeJay]

DASYBOYKIN,
It's not that somebody forgot to put the relay in it's just that Ford includes the fuse and relay and put it into a plastic bag and it's usually in each truck. They don's install it. There's something about not wanting the hot wire going down through the truck unless you are going to tow. We bought a 2010 F-150 and they knew we were also going to buy and tow a TT and they did not install or even tell us that we needed to do the same to charge the trailer batteries. After a friend of mine did the same thing the camper dealer told him about the fuse and relay. He found it in the side door compartment.

TeJay

[davidsongreg]

Thanks for all the replies. I cleaned the terminals after reading the first post with no luck. I just got to read the other posts tonight (after driving all day with batteries not being charged). I have a 2005 suburban that was probably never used for towing, so I'll search out the spot for the fuse tomorrow and see if that works.

[rracer5]

Originally Posted by f1100turbo

Above statement correct.
Ford uses a relay.
Gm uses a fuse.

If the tow charge wire was never energized via a fuse or relay it still isn't.

Number 4

TURBS
Sabre owners united!

Nice diagram Turbs but, if your sitting on the ground with a test light or volt meter probing under your flip up weather cover, refer to the 7-way Trailer side diagram. The diagrams depict the "back side" of the respective connectors where the respective wires would be attached.

So, the "pin" near the "1 o'clock" position should be "hot" with the ignition in the "on" position.

I had a 2002 Chevy and if I remember correctly, flip over the cover of the under hood electrical center, and the location and purpose of each fuse/relay is indicated. In my case I believe it was labeled AUX 1 and AUX 2 and they were 30a MAXI fuses. In later years, not sure exactly which year, they went back to the regular type mini fuse.

But anyway, with all of our fellow campers' input you should be able to figure it out from here.

[Teamfour]

Originally Posted by f1100turbo

Above statement correct.
Ford uses a relay.
Gm uses a fuse.

This is not completely correct for Ford. They use a relay AND fuse. Just went through this issue yesterday. For my truck the relay is in socket #9 and the fuse in socket #21 in the fuse panel under the hood.