Wiring Question

[leemedic]

Is the Montana on baird battery being charged by the Tow vehicle when the tow vehicle is running?

[dieselguy]

As long as you have the charge circuit fuse in its holder on your TV. Some Bowtie products have come without the charging circuit fuse installed ... maybe Fords as well.
Looking inside your vehicle connector it should be the lug at the 2 o'clock position and ususally a black wire connected to it at the rear of the plug. With your truck running, put a voltmeter on it to check for charging voltage.

[leemedic]

quote:Originally posted by dieselguy

As long as you have the charge circuit fuse in its holder on your TV. Some Bowtie products have come without the charging circuit fuse installed ... maybe Fords as well.
Looking inside your vehicle connector it should be the lug at the 2 o'clock position and ususally a black wire connected to it at the rear of the plug. With your truck running, put a voltmeter on it to check for charging voltage.

Thank you. Great information. I checked my Ford , and yes the 2 O'clock is hot when running.

My TV is used, and already had an in-the-bed 7-way wiring harness, but I noticed I did not have backup lights on the Montana. So today, I investigated, and found the BackUp wire connected to the 2 O'clock position on the in-the-bed 7-way plug.

So I moved that wire to the center position and now I have backup lights, but no wire connected to the 2 O'clock tab. I figured it must be for charging. So whoever wired this thing did not wire in the "Charging" tab.

Is it necessary to have the 2 O'clock energized to the Montana?

[dieselguy]

I guess not unless you want the ability to charge yout RV battery while driving. So originally the 2 o'clock tab on your truck was the backup light when you put it in reverse?

[jlb27537]

Lee,

On your level-up panel is a function that says Battery Voltage. Manually go to it, with the truck running it should show 13+ volts. Turn your truck off and it will drop to whatever the RV battery is. You want the trailer battery to be charged off the truck when the truck is running.

Jim

[jcurtis934]

Well, that is something I didn't know about the level up panel. John

[leemedic]

quote:Originally posted by jlb27537

Lee,

On your level-up panel is a function that says Battery Voltage. Manually go to it, with the truck running it should show 13+ volts. Turn your truck off and it will drop to whatever the RV battery is. You want the trailer battery to be charged off the truck when the truck is running.

Jim

You are right. I just went out and checked. Guess I need to get some wiring done.

[DQDick]

Having the battery charging while your going down the road is definitely something you want to have happening, necessary if you ever plan to overnight at a Walmart or similar place.