Battery Charging Via Tow Vehicle

[Maverick]

Any one had any issues with charging the on board batteries from your tow vehicle, while traveling down the road?

 

For the past couple of weeks we have been traveling in Colorado and we are headed to Moab Utah. It appears that our Oliver batteries are not been charged by our Tundra. The Tundra's has voltage at the rear connector; and the Oliver has voltage on the correct pin of the trailer plug. And when the Tundra's voltage is a little higher than the Oliver it does not appear to increase the battery charge voltage at the battery.

 

Does anyone know where the +12 volt lead from the trailer plug is terminated in the Oliver?

 

[John E Davies]

I'm not sure of the location, but the Oliver diagram shows a 20A breaker in that circuit. The cable runs from there directly to the battery bank. But if the breaker were tripped you would not see any voltage at the seven pin connector with it unplugged. I suggest that you first disconnect the smaller positive cables and use a multimeter to figure out which one is going to the seven pin. Make sure the resistance is near zero.

 

I suspect that there is a connection failure between plug and receptacle. For some reason that charge pin isn't making contact when you plug in.... You need to disassemble the trailer plug and perhaps the truck socket to see if there is an internal problem. It is really common for the truck parts to get corroded and fail, but that usually takes a few years and I would not expect it on your recent tuck. The ground especially is problematic, but usually you will see weird behavior in the trailer lighting.

 

One quick test would be to borrow somebody's trailer. Ask if you could back up to and connect to a nearby rig,  and see if your truck charges their batteries. They would have to turn off their converter or solar. That will tell you if the problem lies in your truck or in the Oliver. I am not sure how easy it would be to find a "guinea pig" trailer, but it wouldn't hurt to ask over a beer and some doughnuts....

 

I hope you understand that you will not get a bunch of amps from your truck through a teeny 12AWG wire, but if you drive for many hours it should be sufficient.

 

Good luck.

 

John Davies

 

Spokane WA

 

 

[Maverick]

Problem corrected, discovered the trailer cord plug was corroded on the inside of the connector; looked great on the outside.  Replaced plug, this appears to have corrected the issue.

[John E Davies]

Problem corrected, discovered the trailer cord plug was corroded on the inside of the connector; looked great on the outside. Replaced plug, this appears to have corrected the issue.

Got a picture to share?

 

John Davies

 

Spoakne WA

[Maverick]

I did not take any pictures; just installed a new plug.