That upgraded wire from the camper to the truck came in handy

[craig333]

After the awards presentations and general weepiness, I took off about 11pm from Antelope Lake. I opted for the back way to Beckwourth. No cell coverage and few if any people on that route. I'd noticed when I turned on the ham radio that it read 11.7 volts but other than thinking that was a bit strange I didn't follow through and do any diagnosis. Being night and no traffic I had the driving lights on. Then the radio shut itself off. The dash lights began behaving strangely. Then I lose my headlights and the engine starts behaving strangely. The volt meter reads under 8. Not where I want to break down I pushed on till the truck stopped completely at the intersection with the Lake Davis road.

At this point I'm assuming I lost the alternator, likely long before I reached Antelope Lake. So I climb in the camper over all my gear and manage to throw the switch connecting the camper batteries to the truck. Sure enough, after a few minutes the lights come back on and the truck starts. How far can I run on the camper batteries with just the low beams? No idea but if I can make it to Beckwourth I'll have cell phone coverage. Keep in mind the camper batts have stayed fully charged via solar. Looking good so far I push on to Sierraville. If I can make it to Truckee I'll have free towing to Sac.

To shorten this up I made it home, the camper volt meter still reading 12v. I don't know what the S.O.C read as my gear was covering it up and I just hooked up the IOTA to shore power and went to bed. This morning when I fired up the truck the alternator was working again. I'll have to think on that some.

I know most people upgrade their wiring to charge the camper batteries (still have yet to need to do that) but its definitely worthwhile when needing the power to flow the other direction.

Btw, the traffic on 80 at 3am was lighter than I've ever experienced before.

 

[fish more]

Craig, it sound like you have a problem with output from your alternator. I would have a load test put on the alternator to see what the amp output is. Glad to hear you made it home !!

 

[fuzzymarindave]

Is the switch that you throw part of the battery separator or a similar device? I have 6-gauge wire from the truck to camper and I’ve replaced the battery separator with a DC DC charger. I’m pretty sure the DC DC charger will put a charge to the truck battery I’m not sure if it would be enough to start the engine.

 

[ntsqd]

I have no direct experience with them, so take this fwiw, but my understanding of DC-DC chargers is that they only work in one direction.

 

[craig333]

I don't have a separator since my camper didn't come with a battery originally. I use a marine battery switch. Haven't seen the need for a DC-DC charger either since the solar is so effective.

 

[fuzzymarindave]

I have no direct experience with them, so take this fwiw, but my understanding of DC-DC chargers is that they only work in one direction.

Understood. I have a Renogy DC-DC w/MPPT unit so it is probably the MPPT periodically charging the truck starting battery. I don't know the logic but I have seen the light illuminated a couple times.