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Old 10-31-2016, 05:09 PM   #1
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Battery not charging while driving?

Does your aframe batteries charge while driving to your destination?

I swear I never have 100% full batteries by the time I got to my destination. Well, this last trip I was able to monitor my solar power and power consumption which made me realize the batteries not charging from the truck. Since I didn't use solar the last day camping I had 11.95v leaving the site. Drove 7 hours home and still had 11.95v. The only thing running was the fridge on DC mode. It would draw 2-8 amps.

Anyone have similar experience?
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Old 10-31-2016, 05:25 PM   #2
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Not really. You cannot depend on your vehicle alternator to fully charge your house battery. You need to shore power it prior to leaving for a day (which I do anyway) to cool down the fridge.

I actually keep mine shore powered all the time when at home.
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Old 10-31-2016, 05:28 PM   #3
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If you are using 2-8 amps to run the frig you are correct you will not be able to charge your batteries. The truck has very small gauge wiring that connects to the trailer battery. Therefore you have a small trickle type of charger to charge your batteries and with that large of a load you have nothing left to charge your batteries.
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Old 10-31-2016, 08:53 PM   #4
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As you have found, running the fridge on DC while on the road will kill the battery. You can check this yourself with a volt meter.

One solution used by many is to install a cut off switch to disconnect the battery from the 12V system. Running the fridge on propane would also be a solution and give much better cooling in summer.
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Old 10-31-2016, 08:55 PM   #5
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Depends on your tow vehicle wiring to your 7 pin connector. Start your vehicle and check for voltage between the 1 and 4 pins, which are at 7 o'clock and 1 o'clock. If you have voltage then something is going to the trailer battery. Many vehicles need an fuse or relay to complete the 12 volt circuit going to the connector.


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Old 11-01-2016, 02:03 PM   #6
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I had the same problem with my F-150. What I discovered is that even though it had a towing package the relay for the charge circuit had not been installed. I put in a relay and problem solved. As previously identified check for power at the tow vehicle with the ignition on. If you only have a 4 pin connector you will not have power to the trailer for charging, only lights.
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Old 11-01-2016, 03:11 PM   #7
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You cannot turn the battery switch off because the frig need 12volt to operate on propane.
Also the truck wire gauge is to small to recharge the battery and the 7 pin plug is not made to connect a write size wire to handle that mutch courant.
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Old 11-01-2016, 04:28 PM   #8
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Trailer battery not charging

if your TV is a Chevy or GMC its possible the wire going to the 7 pin connector was never hooked up to the relay. My brother and I own the same truck [Chevy 2500] and both trucks did not have this wire connected. The relays are under the hood right in front of the fuse box.
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Old 11-01-2016, 06:01 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonol View Post
You cannot turn the battery switch off because the frig need 12volt to operate on propane.
The OP's A Frame camper has a 3 way fridge that does not need 12V to operate on propane. You could pull the battery and stick the camper in a field and it would cool on propane until the fuel runs out.
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Old 11-01-2016, 06:11 PM   #10
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Ive never had this issue when running on 12v for very long periods. Its always cold fridge after the trip..just above 34 f...but i have a separate 12 volt dedicated line from the manufacturer.
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Old 11-01-2016, 06:19 PM   #11
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I mite be wrong, but if an electronic board is involved, like for exemple a led that let you know when the frig is not working.
My old frig in my 1985 TT did work with no 12 volt supply in propane mode.
On my 2000 HTT it need the 12volt at all time.
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Old 11-02-2016, 11:33 AM   #12
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I will have to investigate this more. It is a 7pin connector on a 14' ram 2500. Now that I think of it I bet that is why my 5th wheel battery was low last time. Since that one is always shore power I never noticed. I will check the pins and see what it is doing.

Also, the 3 way fridge does need 12v DC to run the electrical board. It draws little power to run on propane. I will check to see how many amps the fridge draws to run on propane. Right now I draw 0.05 amps at idle... assuming its the co2 detector. That thing is ear piercing loud when it dips under 12v!

I do not feel comfortable running propane while driving. A lot of roads I take are extremely rocky/bumpy. If anything I would add another solar panel but first check wiring from truck.

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Old 11-02-2016, 11:47 PM   #13
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When I installed my trailer brake controller I had to run a 10 gauge wire from the battery with a 40-amp circuit breaker all the way to the 7 pin connector. With this setup there is no problem keeping my battery charged while I'm on the road.
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Old 11-03-2016, 04:17 AM   #14
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Originally Posted by glarior View Post
I will have to investigate this more. It is a 7pin connector on a 14' ram 2500. Now that I think of it I bet that is why my 5th wheel battery was low last time. Since that one is always shore power I never noticed. I will check the pins and see what it is doing.

Also, the 3 way fridge does need 12v DC to run the electrical board. It draws little power to run on propane. I will check to see how many amps the fridge draws to run on propane. Right now I draw 0.05 amps at idle... assuming its the co2 detector. That thing is ear piercing loud when it dips under 12v!

I do not feel comfortable running propane while driving. A lot of roads I take are extremely rocky/bumpy. If anything I would add another solar panel but first check wiring from truck.
1. The fridge in the standard A-frames does NOT have an electrical control board. The Dometic 4223 (standard A-frame fridge) has a 160 watt DC element which means it draws 13.5 amps at nominal 12V. Many tow vehicles do not have trailer wiring to provide more than 13.5 amps at 13+ volts, so the battery will not charge.

I am very fortunate that even with the fridge on, the wiring my dealer installed on my Hyundai minivan is 12 gauge, will give 13.6 volts at the A-frame battery. It may/may not taper fairly quickly to 13.2V, depending on loads (lights on both vehicles). This is enough to put some charge back in the A-frame batteries when on the road.

I did replace my A-frame tail lights and a couple of marker lights with LED bulbs to reduce the current going through the ground wire when the lights are on. This helps reduce the voltage drop to the camper with lights on.

The air flow while moving, and constant full power to the fridge heating element in DC mode means the fridge cools very effectively while traveling. I use a wireless thermometer ($10 at Walmart), and find I have to turn the fridge off during pit stops to prevent freezing contents. I do tow in DC mode - the propane flame will blow out from the wind while towing (I have tested). The 4223 Dometic fridge does not have automatic ignition to relight when it blows out.

2. The fridge in a High Wall A-frame (or PUP) is a completely different fridge, and works more like the fridges in travel trailers.

just my experiences
Fred W
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Old 11-03-2016, 10:41 AM   #15
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I had been driveing my f150 for 2 years and just noticed the batteries on the trailor weren't charging. I traced it out and found out the charge relay and fuse wernt installed. Even worse the dealer I took it to for an oil change, told me the relay was in the glove compartment.
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Old 11-04-2016, 12:02 AM   #16
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Originally Posted by glarior View Post
Does your aframe batteries charge while driving to your destination?

Anyone have similar experience?
I can run on DC for a day when I am moving. When the car is not moving I switch to propane. Still, this will work for a single day-night-day, and then I must recharge on 120V, otherwise everything fail (light, pump, alarm).

In fact, I found out that propane consumption is pretty low. A 20 lb cost me 8$ to fill. I can run for at least 8 days of fridge (plus stove and BBQ) and the tank isn't empty. So, in that regards, it does not make sense for me to pay for an electrical site. Whenever I move, the recharge from the car is good enough for the light and pump use.

I haven't been on a trip long enough to empty the battery with that scheme.

jf
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Old 11-06-2016, 05:01 PM   #17
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Find out before time !!!!!! Put a volt test on battery in your RV before you start your drive truck With units on start fridge drive lights etc. then TEST Voltage, Then Start drive unit truck etc. and retest RV voltage and see if its draw has been pulled to a stronger rate that would cause the battery to pull the Voltage up as on drive time and keep Charge Full or even build up the low Battery. You may find you have not received any extra Voltage thus not feeding any at all or not enough to help hold the Battery up on travel.
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Old 11-07-2016, 11:17 AM   #18
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Took camper out for the weekend and didn't use fridge. It appears the truck did charge the batteries during the 3 hour drive. However, the batteries were close to full charge with the battery charger.

Pretty sure the truck can't support the 2-8amp load the fridge pulls. Will verify with numbers.

I am thinking of adding two 140w solar panels to charge while driving during the day. That will help offset the power draw and keep me 100%.
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Old 11-07-2016, 12:12 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Pooneil View Post
The OP's A Frame camper has a 3 way fridge that does not need 12V to operate on propane. You could pull the battery and stick the camper in a field and it would cool on propane until the fuel runs out.
What ignites the propane? A long match?
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Old 11-07-2016, 12:21 PM   #20
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Originally Posted by glarior View Post
Took camper out for the weekend and didn't use fridge. It appears the truck did charge the batteries during the 3 hour drive. However, the batteries were close to full charge with the battery charger.

Pretty sure the truck can't support the 2-8amp load the fridge pulls. Will verify with numbers.

I am thinking of adding two 140w solar panels to charge while driving during the day. That will help offset the power draw and keep me 100%.
You have never said whether you have a high wall A-frame or not. The fridges are different in the high wall and the standard height A-frames.

The fridge - Dometic 4223 - in the standard (not high wall) A-frame draws 12.5 to 13.5 amps when on DC. This is a LOT more than the figures you are using. Both the AC and DC coils are rated at 160 watts, and the DC runs full time at full power whenever the DC power switch is turned on. It cools very well when the camper is moving.

Unless the tow vehicle wiring is at least 12 gauge, you will have too much voltage loss with the fridge on to charge the A-frame battery. A-frame running lights add to the voltage loss as both the fridge and lights use the same ground wire for power.

You can test voltage at the A-frame battery with the tow vehicle hooked up and the fridge on. Then you will know what's going on. 13.2V is trickle charge, 13.7V is normal charging. I would also check voltage at the A-frame battery with the fridge off to verify there is charging voltage coming through.

In my case, I am getting 13.7V at the A-frame battery while towing with the fridge on. However, I did switch some of my running lights to LEDs to assist in getting the voltage up when the running lights are on.

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2008 Hyundai Entourage minivan
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