Shouldnt my TV be trickle charging my deep cycle?

[Kidd280]

We set out on a journey and had just come off shore power so the battery was full .

Got to our first stop use the furnace and lights overnight in the morning the battery was two thirds full .

Set out on a all day drive 12 or 13 hours figured the battery should be full... got here was still showing two thirds full let the slide out I'm now at one third full and worried about tomorrow morning

shouldn't my tow vehicle be charging my battery?

[bansai]

Yep, it should be. Start your truck, put a multi-meter on your battery and see if it's getting 'juice' while plugged in. You should see a noticeable difference in voltage when you are unplugged from your truck, vs. being plugged in to your truck with the motor running. i.e. if your battery is currently sitting at 12.3 volts idle, you can plug into your truck, start it up and you should see that go up to 13.x. A real charger will get you up to 14.x but I wouldn't expect that just plugged into your truck... anything above 13.2 while plugged into your truck and I'd assume you are 'trickle charging' and there's another problem (battery itself perhaps?)

Those thin wires from your truck to your camper plug are going to *severely* limit how many amps end up in your battery but it sounds like you have a potential issue. But the answer to your question is definitely yes.

After doing that test, you can continue to troubleshoot based on the results... bad battery vs. bad connections to it, any blown fuses in the way, is the plug on your truck sending power to those wires? etc.

Isn't electrical stuff fun?

[Kidd280]

Originally Posted by bansai

Yep, it should be. Start your truck, put a multi-meter on your battery and see if it's getting 'juice' while plugged in. You should see a noticeable difference in voltage when you are unplugged from your truck, vs. being plugged in to your truck with the motor running. i.e. if your battery is currently sitting at 12.3 volts idle, you can plug into your truck, start it up and you should see that go up to 13.x. A real charger will get you up to 14.x but I wouldn't expect that just plugged into your truck... anything above 13.2 while plugged into your truck and I'd assume you are 'trickle charging' and there's another problem (battery itself perhaps?)

Those thin wires from your truck to your camper plug are going to *severely* limit how many amps end up in your battery but it sounds like you have a potential issue. But the answer to your question is definitely yes.

After doing that test, you can continue to troubleshoot based on the results... bad battery vs. bad connections to it, any blown fuses in the way, is the plug on your truck sending power to those wires? etc.

Isn't electrical stuff fun?

It is all brand new, less then 60 days.
Going to eat quick then go investigate. 👍🏻

[oldmanAZ]

Originally Posted by Kidd280

We set out on a journey and had just come off shore power so the battery was full .

Got to our first stop use the furnace and lights overnight in the morning the battery was two thirds full .

Set out on a all day drive 12 or 13 hours figured the battery should be full... got here was still showing two thirds full let the slide out I'm now at one third full and worried about tomorrow morning

shouldn't my tow vehicle be charging my battery?

As bansai said, check the voltage at your TT battery. You will probably find it is being charged (voltage 13.5 to 14.5 range). But, as bansai said, the wires are too small to provide enough current to sufficiently recharge your TT battery to any meaningful degree.

I feel your pain. Last year we were in a similar position. We drove from one boondocking site to another thinking we'd charge thew TT battery enough to make it through the night using our furnace in the morning. Wrong. When the furnace started about 5am, I heard the fan motor bog down. I got up immediately and started the truck (TT still plugged in just in case). We ran the truck the rest of the morning to have sufficient voltage for the fan motor.

A few notes:
1) Leave your tow vehicle running and plugged into the TT when you run the slide(s) in or out if you are boondocking. Running the slides off your battery only is an unnecessary drain.
2) Buy an inexpensive voltmeter that plugs into your TT 12v output port (usually near your television connections). The lights showing the battery charge are virtually meaningless. You need to monitor your TT battery voltage and be sure not to have your 'resting' TT voltage at 12v or below. That damages the battery.
3) There are 'parasitic' drains (television amplifier- can be switched off, CO/Propane detector, refrigerator control) that will be draining your battery all day, every day.

[bansai]

Originally Posted by Kidd280

It is all brand new, less then 60 days.
Going to eat quick then go investigate. 👍🏻

Hoping it's something simple (it usually is on new campers). Good luck... have to go eat too now that I'm thinking about it. Will check in later probably.

[DanNJanice]

Some manufacturers do not enable the charging circuit, don't remember who. They put a relay in the glove box that you have to install. If you find it is not charging at all, look into that.

[hboy]

Originally Posted by Kidd280

It is all brand new, less then 60 days.
Going to eat quick then go investigate. 👍🏻

Do you mean the truck is new, or camper, or both? I've had a couple trucks who never put a fuse/relay in the truck to allow the charge through the 7way pin.

I would check your truck manual and see where that fuse is located, then check to see if there is a fuse/relay in that location. My last truck had 2 relays associated with the trailer plug. Good luck

[Kidd280]

Well I figured it out!
The 40amp under hood jcase style? was blown.

I recalled hooking up that wire 4-5 years ago for my old trailer.

Is jcase the proper term for this? Is it a standard item at the auto parts store?

I mash the parts together in the body of the fuse and verified i got power back to the 7 pin. I lacked power there prior to this but realized after dinner!

Thanks to all