Chassis battery charging from Shore Power troubles - Page 2

BobC · 03-29-2021, 11:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by puttin

Dumb question- Did you check their site? I didn't go through the whole ordering process because I already have one (been there for 10 years). LSL is the company. As somebody else said the AMP-L-Start is an upgrade so if you can get that one I'd do it!

Puttin is correct, http://www.lslproducts.net/ is the only place I've seen that has them for sale. They don't seem to sell through other sites like Amazon, etc.

CaptainTj · 03-29-2021, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jbcant

Has anyone purchased a Trik-l-start module recently? They seem to be out of stock anywhere I search. With no date for restock.

I ordered mine last week directly from LSL website and there was no mention of not having them in stock. Hasn't arrived yet and I will try to mention it when it does.

Duke · 11-13-2021, 07:58 PM

Hello, I have a question for you. Did you hook it up as shown on the diagram? My chassis batteries do not charge and the house batteries do charge on shore power.I’m looking to keep my chassis batteries charged while on shore power. What I am reading is the purpose of these is not to let your chassis batteries die while charging the house batteries. I’m thinking if so I would just reverse the wires. Thanks for your help!!

Morich · 11-13-2021, 08:34 PM

Not unusual for folks to stop by for a while and then maybe never check in again, so a post more than six months old may not find the same readers as before?

But maybe we can work out the question of how to connect the gizmo? I'm not sure I understand the idea of reversing the wires as you do want the current to flow from the coach batteries to the start battery when it reaches a preset level. Reversing the two wires going to the two battery strings would make the start battery setup to feed to the coach, rather than what most of us want?

I have not hooked one up as the diagram first states as my mode solenoid is back in a location which takes lots of work to reach, so I use other methods which do the same thing all ways except for an added hazard from putting wires closer to the batteries which does expose them to a bit more chance of corrosion.

But I'm willing to go with that hazard if it saves me moving an entire breaker panel to reach my solenoid as they show!

I've forgotten which colors go to which battery as there are only three and one is ground.
In my situation, the charging setup is like yours and that is very common on Winnebago, so rather than go to the solenoid, I have coach and start batteries alongside each other and space in the battery box for the small box.
I just added the box to the compartment wall and wired each wire to the proper ground and positive posts of each battery. I actually have large fuses for each battery and that is where I found most convenient to reach the positive side of each battery!

Electrically, connecting there is very much the same as doing it at the far end of the battery cables where they connect on the solenoid! When speaking of the electrical idea, the left end of a cable is the same as the right end, so I go for the less work and will worry any issues of corrosion due to being close to the battery, if that ever happens.

Keeping corrosion off the single small wires is not much added, compared to keeping it off the main battery cables!

Duke · 11-13-2021, 08:51 PM

Thanks!!

CaptainTj · 11-14-2021, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duke

Hello, I have a question for you. Did you hook it up as shown on the diagram? My chassis batteries do not charge and the house batteries do charge on shore power.I’m looking to keep my chassis batteries charged while on shore power. What I am reading is the purpose of these is not to let your chassis batteries die while charging the house batteries. I’m thinking if so I would just reverse the wires. Thanks for your help!!

I did hook mine up as instructed and it has the house bank charging the chassis batteries only once they are charging at a higher rate. I don't remember if it's 12.5 or 13 that they have to be at before it siphons power to the chassis. So far it is working as advertised and my batteries are staying fully charged. when parked on shore power.

I did recently take a 1200 mile each way trip with the family and we power drove so the house bank was getting full use of inverter and everything else on the road. I killed the house batteries once when I wasn't running the generator on the road. I have a battery link switch on the dash and I haven't looked up how it works so I am hoping that will be the answer to that problem.

Bottom line is I'm very happy with the functionality of this upgrade and not sure why Winnebago didn't do it from the factory since it seems to be a basic necessity.

Duke · 11-14-2021, 10:58 AM

Thanks for the response. I’m on the right path! The button on the dashboard will jump between the chassis batteries and the house batteries. I’ve had to use it several times when the chassis batteries die to start the coach. You must hold the button down while starting. Hopefully this helps you!

Morich · 11-14-2021, 02:15 PM

Small; point there that is not always clear when we read the manul as the dash switch is a momentary that only keep the contact made as long as we hold the switch, so to get the engine started we do need to push the switch and hold it while we also crank the engine until it starts.
Basic idea is that it is a jump start just like we do with cables and we need to keep it connected until we get the engine started!

CaptainTj · 11-15-2021, 07:55 AM

So there is no system designed to charge coach batteries from chassis when deriving either from the factory? It's starting to seem like Winnebago dropped the ball across the board here on the 12 V charging system. Does that mean I need to add another of these overflow charging units to allow charging back to the House bank too?

BobC · 11-15-2021, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainTj

So there is no system designed to charge coach batteries from chassis when deriving either from the factory? It's starting to seem like Winnebago dropped the ball across the board here on the 12 V charging system. Does that mean I need to add another of these overflow charging units to allow charging back to the House bank too?

Your MH should be set up for this from the factory. It's easy to check. Just start your engine and check your house battery bank's voltage via your power management system. It should display a charging voltage. If it's not, the solenoid that controls the connection may be defective.

There are newer devices, called B.I.R.Ds that are bi-directional. I don't know if these were ever installed on Winnebagos. Here's one example of a B.I.R.D:

https://rvpartsexpress.com/product/i...-00-00362-100/

Morich · 11-15-2021, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptainTj

So there is no system designed to charge coach batteries from chassis when deriving either from the factory? It's starting to seem like Winnebago dropped the ball across the board here on the 12 V charging system. Does that mean I need to add another of these overflow charging units to allow charging back to the House bank too?

No. The solenoid will connect the two batteries together as we drive and the alternator will keep both charging to the limits set by the alternator. If the inverter is using so much power that the engine alternator can't keep up, that is way excessive use and we need to cut back. I don't remember what the normal engine alternator puts out but it should be way above anything we are using while driving.

The reason for not adding it to many Rv is just the limited use many would make of it and there are lots of alternates to the system. If we are storing the RV and have power available, the Trik-l-Start can be handy but also just a very cheap simple second battery charger will do it for $20 or less!

A simple strap between the positive posts will do much the same but also comes with the idea that if we let one battery run down, both will be down!

Point is that it is not a system that everybody wants/needs, so the market is somewhat limited and just an option not found on many of the lower end RV.

I removed the Trik-l-Start from my last RV due to a buyer who did not want something he did not understand and was really sure he knew more than anybody about RVs. So he bought the RV because I was willing to take the charging system off!

He was able to tell me several things that I was doing wrong on my batteries and I was very happy when he left!

puttin · 11-15-2021, 10:50 AM

I removed the Trik-l-Start from my last RV due to a buyer who did not want something he did not understand and was really sure he knew more than anybody about RVs. So he bought the RV because I was willing to take the charging system off!

He was able to tell me several things that I was doing wrong on my batteries and I was very happy when he left!

Morich- Glad to hear you sold it but I would have loved to hear his "suggestions".

Morich · 11-15-2021, 11:18 AM

Some of his knowledge?
You should never use metal tie downs as they are lible to short against the posts, the No-Ox is not something he would use as it collects dirt and when the weather gets hot it gets down between the cable and post and causes problems, you should not leave the plastic handles on as you can't get to the lids to check water and just a fountain of information?
Funny thing was he never did get around to telling me what I SHOULD do, just what I was doing worng!

For those not using No-Ox, this is some info on why I use it:
https://www.sanchem.com/electrical-c...lubricant.html.

I heat it on a trouble light so it is a bit thinner and then paint it on with a brush to get a thin consistent coat without air gaps!
It makes the yard light bulbs stay on longer, too!
But only use it if you like it, not because some dummy tells you it's good stuff!