I discovered that my battery was not being charged by the truck on our last couple of trips. Last weekend we left with 12.73 volts (charged with house current prior) and came back with 12.53 volts. I have the new isolator that ATC is using. With the truck running the isolator was blinking on and off, not the continuous green light that means charging. A check of the battery voltage showed no charging current reaching the battery.
I checked all the usual suspects, truck battery, alternator, fuse, and power line connections. All looked good. Thinking a possible problem with the isolator, I talked with Jeff at ATC on the phone. He concurred that I was looking in the right places, told me they had heard of no problems with the isolator, but offered to send a new one to me. These guys are great, knowledgeable, and eager to help a customer.
After getting off the phone I thought of one place I hadn't checked, the marinco plug and receptacle used by many to hook the camper to the truck. I found the problem in the connections in the truck wiring to the receptacle mounted in the truck bed. The positive side was badly corroded, green and ugly like old fashion dirty battery terminals. The slot in the screw was gone. I had to cut the wire. It was also packed full of dirt on the inside. I replaced it with a new one today and everything checks out today -working properly.
I will return the new isolator that I don't need to ATC tomorrow when it comes in the mail. Thanks guys!
This receptacle is far from weather proof on the connection end under the truck bed. We live in snow country and I also religiously spray off under the truck when possible. When I installed this receptacle I figured it would possibly be a weak link.
So I suggest those of us running this connector to keep an eye on it, check it out, find a way to seal it to weatherproof, or look for a better replacement.
I checked all the usual suspects, truck battery, alternator, fuse, and power line connections. All looked good. Thinking a possible problem with the isolator, I talked with Jeff at ATC on the phone. He concurred that I was looking in the right places, told me they had heard of no problems with the isolator, but offered to send a new one to me. These guys are great, knowledgeable, and eager to help a customer.
After getting off the phone I thought of one place I hadn't checked, the marinco plug and receptacle used by many to hook the camper to the truck. I found the problem in the connections in the truck wiring to the receptacle mounted in the truck bed. The positive side was badly corroded, green and ugly like old fashion dirty battery terminals. The slot in the screw was gone. I had to cut the wire. It was also packed full of dirt on the inside. I replaced it with a new one today and everything checks out today -working properly.
I will return the new isolator that I don't need to ATC tomorrow when it comes in the mail. Thanks guys!
This receptacle is far from weather proof on the connection end under the truck bed. We live in snow country and I also religiously spray off under the truck when possible. When I installed this receptacle I figured it would possibly be a weak link.
So I suggest those of us running this connector to keep an eye on it, check it out, find a way to seal it to weatherproof, or look for a better replacement.
