TV doesn't seem to charge TT batteries

[FirstTracks]

Originally Posted by TheGerman

Not normal. Assuming the cable has the standard color coding there should be >12V between the black and the white wire.

My stupidity, I was checking the red and black wires instead of the black and white. Doh! I'm actually getting 13.15V across the proper bare leads.

Originally Posted by Mr. Dan

Suspicious, indeed! Probably was cut by dragging, etc., and broken wires not correctly/thoroughly insulated.

I just got done replacing the umbilical cord. That indeed turned out to be half of the problem, and a short at the plug is obviously what was frying the fuse in the truck. The other half of the problem turned out to be a 30A inline fuse on the hot lead from the junction box to the trailer that was likewise fried. Now that everything's been replaced, the trailer is finally getting juice from the truck! I'll now be able to pull into a campsite and not immediately have to start the generator. That's actually what was frustrating me -- by adding 200W of portable solar recently I was trying to wean myself off the generator, but that's hard to do when you pull into camp at 6 p.m. with 12.2V on the batteries.

Thanks to everyone for the help. Even with buying everything that I did (including the multimeter which I should have anyway), it still cost me less than having someone else diagnose and fix the problem, and I also learned a bit along the way. I'd call that a win-win.

[Mr. Dan]

... and thank you for reporting back with your findings. That helps us all technically and encourages us to attempt aid in the future.

[FirstTracks]

Originally Posted by pjnlorrie

In fact, if I used a power hungry app like Waze, the car charger puts out so little that the phone would still continue to run down.

I once had that same problem. However, check to see what your cigarette lighter adapter for your phone's charging cable is putting out. It could be 1.0A, or as little as 500mA.

Use an adapter that puts out at least 2.1A, or even better 2.4A. I highly recommend those made by Anker, a very dependable company for these things. Best yet, if you have an Android device that has a processor with Qualcomm Quick Charge enabled, buy a Qualcomm Quick Charge-certified lighter plug adapter, from Anker or anyone else who licenses that technology. Anker's PowerIQ is a proprietary technology that simulates Qualcomm Quick Charge for iOS and Android devices that don't have Qualcomm Quick Charge -- it's not as efficient as Quick Charge, but it's better than without PowerIQ.

Using Qualcomm Quick Charge, I can run anything I want on the phone while driving, including Waze, and my phone not only keeps up, it charges rather quickly.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...ker+powerdrive

[FirstTracks]

Originally Posted by Mr. Dan

... and thank you for reporting back with your findings. That helps us all technically and encourages us to attempt aid in the future.

I wholeheartedly agree. There's nothing more frustrating than Googling your problem, finding a forum thread somewhere started by someone else with the identical problem, and never finding out what they did to fix the problem.

[aeblank]

That short in the plug blew both fuses. It was a long road, but you understand it more now and know your rig/setup that much better.

[SeaDog]

Feels good when you solve a problem like that plus the advantage of learning more about your rig and gaining a valuable tool (multi meter) Good job.

[CedarCreekWoody]

The upside of all of this is that you will now be an expert on your system and not reluctant to dig in and fix an issue. That is how all of us learned!