Another Weird Battery Thingy

Bill_in_Tulsa

Thanks for the heads up. Keep on Keeping on....

Nomad

paddy - Funny, I had the same thing last week. First, the TV wasn't charging the T@B as efficiently as normal (first thought was maybe Jenn had snuck up and swapped out my alternator for hers :-). Then when hooking up to the TV, boom, the T@B battery fuse would blow. Crawled underneith and discovered the same, wire too close to the exhaust and finally melted the insulation so it was an exposed wire bouncing around off the frame. Mine was the charge wire.

RZRBUG

The Gremlins have returned.  On my way back from Tearstock, the original problem I posted about happened again.  Since the original posting, I have installed a heavier battery (150 ah) and a new two-way refrigerator, and noticed during one of my stops that the LP detector was beeping.  I checked the house battery and saw that it was a little low.  So, my conclusion is that my truck is not capable of keeping up with both the ARB and the house refrigerator.  I turned the ARB off since it was about empty anyway and the beeping stopped.  This ain't good since there are times on long trips that I will need them both.  Anyone have any suggestions?

Nomad

Bigger alternater - What size do you have now?

RZRBUG

145 amps.

ericnliz

Have you checked the LP detector battery? I know it's a silly question, but I've seen weirder things happen! 145 amps should be more than enough by the way. The alternator in my Avalanche is the same as yours, and I haven't experienced that issue at all. Have you check the wires to your ARB unit? I had a loose one on my ALDE unit is why I'm asking. 

ChanW

RZRBUG, I re-read this thread and can't see anything that mentions the wire-gauge running from your TV battery to the 7-pin on your TV.

Is it heavy enough (#8 or #10 wire)? Ditto for the ground wire on the 7pin.

You could have enough voltage drop in an undersized wire to reduce the charging capacity of your alternator.

Does the voltage reading show 14.8 at the Tab battery when hooked up/charging, while the ARB is also drawing power?

This reading would need to be taken when the Tab battery is low, or otherwise drawing a big load (ie: fridge running on 12V).

Just a thought.

RZRBUG

ericnliz said:

Have you checked the LP detector battery? I know it's a silly question, but I've seen weirder things happen! 145 amps should be more than enough by the way. The alternator in my Avalanche is the same as yours, and I haven't experienced that issue at all. Have you check the wires to your ARB unit? I had a loose one on my ALDE unit is why I'm asking. 

I thought this detector was hard wired into the system, which is the reason it beeps when the house battery is low?  I haven't checked the ARB wiring, but it is working fine, drawing less than 2 amps when running.  Reassuring to know the alternator is adequate.  Thanks.

RZRBUG

ChanW said:

RZRBUG, I re-read this thread and can't see anything that mentions the wire-gauge running from your TV battery to the 7-pin on your TV.

Is it heavy enough (#8 or #10 wire)? Ditto for the ground wire on the 7pin.

You could have enough voltage drop in an undersized wire to reduce the charging capacity of your alternator.

Does the voltage reading show 14.8 at the Tab battery when hooked up/charging, while the ARB is also drawing power?

This reading would need to be taken when the Tab battery is low, or otherwise drawing a big load (ie: fridge running on 12V).

Just a thought.

Chan, I'm not sure about the wire size.  It came prewired with the tow package from the factory.  I have not changed any wring since.  I will take a look at it.

I don't recall whether I checked the voltage while the TV was running or when it was shut off.  I did check when it was connected and both ARB and fridge were running.  I believe the reading was 12.5 (maybe 12.3) when beeping.

The T@B has been put up, but I will do these checks soon as I get the chance.

Thanks for the info.

Bill_in_Tulsa

RZRBUG said:

The Gremlins have returned.  On my way back from Tearstock, the original problem I posted about happened again.  Since the original posting, I have installed a heavier battery (150 ah) and a new two-way refrigerator, and noticed during one of my stops that the LP detector was beeping.  I checked the house battery and saw that it was a little low.  So, my conclusion is that my truck is not capable of keeping up with both the ARB and the house refrigerator.  I turned the ARB off since it was about empty anyway and the beeping stopped.  This ain't good since there are times on long trips that I will need them both.  Anyone have any suggestions?

What type battery do you have? AGM or ?

RZRBUG

It's a Lifeline AGM.

Ratkity

LP is hard wired, no battery. You need 10# for the battery charger wire. You can test to see if it's on by a simple meter. There's also a gizmo you can get at an RV parts store or Amazon that will test your 7 blade pigtail and plug (like the household one) to troubleshoot.  Good luck!

Bill_in_Tulsa

RZRBUG said:

It's a Lifeline AGM.

Do you have this for your AGM Battery State of Charge?