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Old 06-02-2020, 10:59 AM   #1
SLC
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Charging while driving

Hello,
We are learning a lot here. Just want to make sure of something while we are towing.

If I have this right....While towing...our truck should be charging our Montana battery, which charges the inverter, which charges the residential fridge.

So how do we know that is all happening for sure. The simplest way if possible.

We have a 2017 F350 (swr) powerstroke as our TV.

Thanks!
 
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Old 06-02-2020, 11:04 AM   #2
PNW Fireguy
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Your TV will charge your battery while driving and connected to your Montana. The inverter is not a device that charges but rathe a device that takes DC from your batteries and converts it to AC for use by your residential refrigerator. So if your inverter is on the fridge will be on. If your battery capacity is sufficient it will run the inverter over the time frame needed. If your are towing and your alternator’s output is sufficient it can recharge your Montana’s batteries.
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Old 06-02-2020, 11:20 AM   #3
Carl n Susan
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Check the battery voltage using the Level Up pad. If you are disconnected from the shore power, connected to the truck and the truck is running you should see voltage above 12.6
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Old 06-02-2020, 11:35 AM   #4
Preston & Terri
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I purchased a small 120v indicator light, mounted it on the front wall above the battery compartment door. I connected it to a cord that I plug into the outlet of the inverter. I can see the light in my rear view mirror. If the light is on, 120v is available and the refrigerator should be working. In theory.

https://www.amazon.com/Alpinetech-PL.../dp/B07F3H8J4Z
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Old 06-02-2020, 12:49 PM   #5
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Thx for the info...Next time we are connected to our TV we will check the voltage on the level up pad...easy enough!
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Old 06-02-2020, 03:25 PM   #6
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Hooking and unhooking from shore power blows the push button fuse on our converter outlets. So I make sure the outlet is working after hooking up the TV and before pulling out. Our outlet is in the belly section in front of the convenience center and the only plug to it is for the refrigerator.
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Old 06-02-2020, 04:51 PM   #7
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Depending on your TV you may have to press the brake pedal to activate the charging relay. Ford F350.
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Old 06-02-2020, 04:52 PM   #8
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Some require the installation of a Fuse to activate the charge line.
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Old 06-02-2020, 04:57 PM   #9
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This fuse you’re speaking of...
How do we know if we need one in the truck? By it not being in the truck fuse box?
I did look at my owners Manuel for our F-350 and it shows fuse #27 in the fuse box as the trailer tow battery charge relay...Mine is empty....does this mean I need to install it?
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Old 06-02-2020, 05:09 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SLC View Post
This fuse you’re speaking of...
How do we know if we need one in the truck? By it not being in the truck fuse box?
I did look at my owners Manuel for our F-350 and it shows fuse #27 in the fuse box as the trailer tow battery charge relay...Mine is empty....does this mean I need to install it?
The 2017's and up no longer use the 12V charge line relay and circuit breaker. Their positions in the fuse panels have no circuitry to connect to. After several trips to the dealer, they finally learned about the new improved system.

All 2017 F-Super Duty vehicles equipped with a factory trailer brake controller (TBC) utilize a trailer module (TRM) which initiates the trailer charging system. For trailer charging to operate, the TRM must detect a trailer is connected and a brake pedal input before charging will be present at the trailer connector. Adding the trailer battery charge relay and fuse into the battery junction box are not required to operate trailer charging with a TRM. This is covered in Ford document SSM 46257.

Ref: https://www.etrailer.com/question-278872.html plus many other internet sources.



(Most of this was copied from Post https://www.montanaowners.com/forums...charge+circuit )
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Old 06-02-2020, 05:40 PM   #11
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Awesome!
Thanks
I hope one day I know as much about our Montana and truck.
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Old 06-07-2020, 02:58 PM   #12
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The attached picture indicates which pin does what. You could check for DC voltage with a multi meter.

Sorry, I just saw that the picture was posted upside down
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Old 06-07-2020, 03:55 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Soon 2B snowbird View Post
Hooking and unhooking from shore power blows the push button fuse on our converter outlets. So I make sure the outlet is working after hooking up the TV and before pulling out. Our outlet is in the belly section in front of the convenience center and the only plug to it is for the refrigerator.
The inverter has a GFI outlet, and its breaker sometimes trips when connecting/disconnecting to shore power or tow vehicle. We always check to make sure the indicator light is lit before we travel. Not sure about your unit, but in addition to the refrigerator our inverter also supplies a number of designated 120V outlets in the RV. Rated at 2,000 watts.
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Old 06-07-2020, 06:27 PM   #14
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I am with Carl. But I am lazy. I use the level up keypad to Monitor voltage. With nothing hooked up: look at the keypad voltage. Then hook up the truck and step on the brake, with the truck running. you should see the voltage increase. This will tell you your truck is charging.
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Old 06-07-2020, 08:33 PM   #15
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Thanks again
We will definitely do the level up test and that pin picture of what each pin works is great!
Very informative
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Old 06-08-2020, 07:33 AM   #16
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If you are running a residential fridge off of an inverter it seems highly unlikely your standard TV charge can keep up with the draw. I'm not sure how many amps the charge line from the TV can supply (maybe one of the smart people here knows), but doesn't seem like enough to keep up with the draw from the fridge. In my experience it seems more like a trickle charge that will keep your battery topped off and from depleting while traveling. Depending on your battery bank size, battery type, and how far and how often you travel you may want to look into a DC to DC charger. This would also give you the benefit of smart charging (removing the risk of overcharging). It would require a separate charge line. Maybe not necessary in your case, but something to think about.
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Old 06-08-2020, 08:01 AM   #17
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My truck has the diagram right on the plug cover.
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Old 06-08-2020, 09:51 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TomCat View Post
If you are running a residential fridge off of an inverter it seems highly unlikely your standard TV charge can keep up with the draw.
Yup,
You don't get a lot of power from the tow vehicle to the towed items batteries. Think more along the lines of a top off vs actually charging.

You can measure the amount of power being transferred, its pretty low. From memory I believe it was a couple amps or so.

On my 2015 when we used the onboard inverter to keep the fridge running during a long tow. If we started with a cold fridge the onboard batteries and being towing had no issues keeping up. Even if we dry camped for a night when doing a long pull the batteries would be enough to run the fridge overnight and still pull in all the slides in the am.
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Old 06-09-2020, 05:28 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Soon 2B snowbird View Post
Hooking and unhooking from shore power blows the push button fuse on our converter outlets. So I make sure the outlet is working after hooking up the TV and before pulling out. Our outlet is in the belly section in front of the convenience center and the only plug to it is for the refrigerator.
I had this issue with the GFI tripping when disconnecting shore power. Now I leave the inverter off till I am disconnected from shore. I also plugged one of these ( https://www.amazon.com/Power-Gear-Re...1701460&sr=8-5 )into the duplex on the inverter. I can now see at a glance if the inverter is on. I also put a remote thermometer in the fridg and monitor it from the tv while on the road. If I see the temp starting to rise I'd know the GFI has tripped. Since starting to monitor this I haven't had any trouble.
I have the same tv and you and it has plenty of alternator power to keep the battery up while running the fridg.
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Old 06-09-2020, 06:00 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DebNJim B View Post
I had this issue with the GFI tripping when disconnecting shore power. Now I leave the inverter off till I am disconnected from shore. I also plugged one of these ( https://www.amazon.com/Power-Gear-Re...1701460&sr=8-5 )into the duplex on the inverter. I can now see at a glance if the inverter is on. I also put a remote thermometer in the fridg and monitor it from the tv while on the road. If I see the temp starting to rise I'd know the GFI has tripped. Since starting to monitor this I haven't had any trouble.
I have the same tv and you and it has plenty of alternator power to keep the battery up while running the fridg.
GFI tripping when disconnecting shore power sounds like to me the transfer switch may be defective
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