Did I kill my start battery? 2006 Sunova 29R

[BCam]

Mine (actually an Amp-L-Start, Trik's big brother) is in the battery compartment under the step like your's and is connected directly to the batteries.

 

[creativepart]

I have the Trik-L-Start’s bigger brother, the Amp-L-Start and I installed it on the removable panel that covers the mode and disconnect solenoids. That way I just ran the device’s house wire to the house side disconnect solenoid and the chassis wire to the chassis side disconnect solenoid. With that location the wires are no more than 6” long. There is also a ground wire that is common and is grounded on the metal mounting frame for that area.

I was somewhat confused about how to do this, but it turned out to be very straightforward and it works great.

 

[Morich]

The idea of the Trik-l or Ampl are both pretty easy to figure and it is kind of odd that nobody has picked up the option to continue them as there are so many who would like to have one.
Part of that business decision may be just a guess from me. But if we look at how the BIM is now replacing the mode solenoids on Winnebago and assume the rest of the RV industry is going the same way, the idea of picking up that business may be clear.
There are likely far more , longer lasting places to invest than the Trik-l, etc. !

The idea is based on zener diodes. Those are really small little items like diodes but with a bit different function as they pass current in tow directions rather than one as most diode.
I picked this off the net:


When we had mode solenoids on all RV, the solenoid connected when the engine ran and that let the alternator charge the coach batteries as we drove.
Power moved from chassis side to coach!
So a Trik-L with a zener diode let power move from the coach side to the chassis side when we shut off the engine but were charging the coach by being plugged into shore power.
Power moved chassis to coach when chassis was high but reversed and moved coach to chassis if/when the coach was higher. And the Trik-L did it in a regulated/controlled way!

What may have stopped folks from picking up the business is that the mode solenoids became obsolete when the BIM replaced the solenoids as BIM is solid state and less prone to burned contacts!

When there is a solid state BIM involved, adding a zener diode to that BIM is so cheap and simple that there is going to be far fewer sales for the Trik lineup as it is going to be built into the BIM!

One of the problems with sorting trouble on solid state is that we can't see, hear, nor feel what is going on in them and the owner of the patent is not likely going to release the info on what and how the BIM does it's thing!
As long as folks are willing to pay big bucks to get the "deluxe" item, they are not going to mention it is based on adding a 20 cent diode!
The question comes down to exactly what each BIM may have built into it?
Is there a 20 cent diode built in or does it need a Trik-l setup added to do that job?

But the future of the Trik-L market is really not that promising when we look at how few RV now come out of the factory with a mode solenoid!

Folks kind of stopped buying horse shoes? They were great things but the demand is pretty flat!

 

[creativepart]

My RV came with a BIM so I had no need for the Amp-L-Start charging device, until I installed LFP batteries and removed the BIM to prevent the alternator from attempting to charge them. Without the BIM in place my chassis battery went dead in 5-days while the RV was sitting in my driveway as I was testing the new electrical system. (The Chassis disconnect was left on during that week.)

I contacted LSL and bought the Amp-L-Start that day. Unlike the Trik-L-Start, the Amp-L-Start had a special option for use with LFP batteries.

So there still is a market for this device.

 

[Skibum-FRF]

I just connected the infamous blue wire to my start battery. The yellow light came on right away which means that now the start battering is charging. It wasn’t on before because it wasn’t connected to the start battery. Hopefully this will resolve my problem. After that, it started right up, so the battery still wasn’t drained all the way yet and I pulled my slides in because I’m leaving tomorrow for a few days. Thanks everyone for your help, hopefully this fixes it.

 

[Morich]

One of the real treks of taking over from a previous owner can be sorting out the what and why things may have been done. This may have been a simple case the one wire left off/broken in error or it might have been some confusion on what and how that wire worked.
Nice item to have and if it is working, that can be a real bonus.
Possible you may want to watch it a bit more than normal, just on the idea that it may turn funky after some time?

 

[Skibum-FRF]

I was down in the flats for 10 days so I couldn’t check progress. I’m back up now and it is blizzarding btw, us skiers like that kind of weather. When I left, the Trick yellow light was flashing, which indicates that the battery was charging. When I came back yesterday, the light was green showing that everything was charged. I might try to start it up today just to see how that goes. Thanks everyone.

 

[Skibum-FRF]

She starts. Yaaaaaaayyyyyyy.