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Battery Minder
- Thread starter Jeff1759
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Jeff1759
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Posted in haste. Went ahead and ordered the BatteryMINDer 2012-AGM.
My original battery died at 17 months, 24,000 miles which, unfortunately, seems to be fairly common.
My trucked camper stays on my truck with the 7-pin connector plugged in all the time.
Does anyone know if that 7 pin connector will draw from truck battery when truck is not running, does it only supply power to camper when vehicle is started/running?
My original battery died at 17 months, 24,000 miles which, unfortunately, seems to be fairly common.
My trucked camper stays on my truck with the 7-pin connector plugged in all the time.
Does anyone know if that 7 pin connector will draw from truck battery when truck is not running, does it only supply power to camper when vehicle is started/running?
Riddick
Well-Known Member
My 7 pin powers my trailer with the truck completely off, you could have something in your trailer pulling power constantly.
You picked a pretty nice battery tender but I personally would of went with something with more than 2A of charging. I know its only a maintainer but there could be a time in which you use it to charge a battery and if you do it will take longer at a 2A charging rate.
You already bought yours but if someone else stumbles across this thread I have had great luck with CTEK and Optimate products. See links below.
Charger Selection Chart
Please use our helpful Charger Selection Chart to help you decide which CTEK Smarter Charger is right for you, your vehicle, and your lifestyle. If you have any questions or need more information, please feel free to contact us.
smartercharger.com
Battery Chargers Archives - OptiMate
optimate1.com
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I really like my NoCo Genius 5. It compensates for temperature automatically, and when the battery is topped off it stops charging until the battery comes down from 100% SOC. This keeps the battery from overcharging.
Yes the 7 pin is hot and there are likely things in the camper that will kill the batteries. Just the radio and propane detector will consume a couple hundred AH per month.
Yes the 7 pin is hot and there are likely things in the camper that will kill the batteries. Just the radio and propane detector will consume a couple hundred AH per month.
H3LZSN1P3R
You're doing it wrong
Best way is if the camper has a converter that charges the camper batteries just keep it plugged in to the 110V and it will charge the truck.
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Depends on the converter, as many will slowly overcharge the battery.
H3LZSN1P3R
You're doing it wrong
Back in the day yes now thats very rare to see
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Not that rare, lots of companies still use cheap converters. It is certainly better than it used to be.
Smart chargers stop charging when the battery is full am not aware of any converters that do that.
H3LZSN1P3R
You're doing it wrong
Most of the newer trailers (last 15 years) have a control board where it will stop charging the batteries with the high level of 12V integration in these new trailers its not surprising
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I’ve monitored voltage and amperage on several of the common converters in that time period, and they don’t stop charging like the intelligent maintainers do.
Do you know of any model numbers that work the way you described?
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Jeff1759
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Thanks for all the useful information, hopefully it will help others in the future.
I plan on reaching out to the manufacturer and ask him what he recommends . Smaller company, great customer service.
I did not realize the 7-pin was hot at all times. That info is great to know!
I plan on reaching out to the manufacturer and ask him what he recommends . Smaller company, great customer service.
I did not realize the 7-pin was hot at all times. That info is great to know!
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What model is the converter on your camper?
Jeff1759
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Sorry, haven't logged on in awhile.
I seem to have hid all my camper related paperwork from myself. Will post that info when I find it.
Here is a response from the camper manufacturer:
" I didn't know that the 7-way terminal stayed hot when the ignition is off. I will need to check my 2017.
The 7-way 12V (+) wire is usually a 10GA wire when there is a tow package on the truck. Especially on a 3500. When the camper is plugged in, that wire is run to the disconnect switch with the red key. If you leave your camper on the truck between trips, just turn the key and that will kill the power to and from both the truck and camper batteries. The solar panels are run independently direct to the batteries so the controller can maintain a charge to the on board batteries.
If you leave things in the refrigerator between trips, I would run a cord out and plug it in so the converter can keep the charge up. When the camper is plugged in and the red key is in the "On" position the converter will also be charging the truck battery. It has a computer to regulate the output voltage so the batteries do not get over charged."
I seem to have hid all my camper related paperwork from myself. Will post that info when I find it.
Here is a response from the camper manufacturer:
" I didn't know that the 7-way terminal stayed hot when the ignition is off. I will need to check my 2017.
The 7-way 12V (+) wire is usually a 10GA wire when there is a tow package on the truck. Especially on a 3500. When the camper is plugged in, that wire is run to the disconnect switch with the red key. If you leave your camper on the truck between trips, just turn the key and that will kill the power to and from both the truck and camper batteries. The solar panels are run independently direct to the batteries so the controller can maintain a charge to the on board batteries.
If you leave things in the refrigerator between trips, I would run a cord out and plug it in so the converter can keep the charge up. When the camper is plugged in and the red key is in the "On" position the converter will also be charging the truck battery. It has a computer to regulate the output voltage so the batteries do not get over charged."
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I don’t know if I’ve ever owned a rig that the + on the 7 pin was tied to the ignition.
I have installed voltage sensing relays to do this thou.
Hi All,
Two battery tender questions please:
It's on a RAM 2500 Cummins 2022 model.
Thanks
Two battery tender questions please:
- Can you use the 7 pin trailer plug as the input to the batteries for the battery tender? ie instead of having to directly connect to the battery under the bonnet I could use the trailer plug.
- Are both batteries connected even with the key off so I only need to connect the battery tender to one and it will charge both?
It's on a RAM 2500 Cummins 2022 model.
Thanks
flan
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Yes, and yes.
Bumping up to see pics of anyones set-ups. i.e 7 pin plugs adapted to a battery tender. I like the NOCO plug but this seems easy enough to be worthwhile. Pros/Cons?
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I would say do what is easiest for how you park.
I have a good spot for my NOCO by my drivers side battery, so that’s what I do.
If I had a better spot for the NOCO by the rear bumper I’d use the 7-pin.
One isn’t better than the other, just go off what’s easiest.