well here is my problem. i recently purchased a 84 sunline camper which did not have a batt in it, it was made to run off the truck batt which my truck(05 f-250 5.4) wont send power unless its running so i got this brilliant idea lol i went and bought a deep cycle rv batt and i got a 7 way plug and some 12ga wire and i wired it up so when i dry camp i could just unplug the cord from the truck and plug this batt with this 7 way plug directly into the camper now i understand that this is prob not the most clever since the RV batt is completely seperated from any way of being charged but i just figured it would get me threw the weekend since this would be my first time using the camper(my first camper). anyways i wired up this lil batt and plug get up and plugged and BAM! im sending power to the lights, the water pump, and the furance fan kicked on but no power to the fridge the auto light wont come on( its a dometic 2-way that the owner replaced about 6 years ago so its fairly new model) and i dont hear the sparker in the fridge for the propane trying to light how ever when i plug it into the truck and start the truck up the fridge will work fine. so whats your thoughts everyone?
fridge aint working on batt i installed but will work on truck batt
- Thread starter Zjdre2009
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an RV or an interest in RVing!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Gary RV_Wizard
Site Team
If the indicator lights on the fridge don't come on, it is not getting 12v power. It sounds like the previous owner changed the 12v power lead to ONLY go to the truck for power. Find that lead and put a double-throw switch in it so you can flip it back and forth between the truck and your extra battery.
well i put a multimeter on the screws at the terminal block that is located near the control board for the fridge on the outside of the camper and its showing 12.6V at the terminal block with the batt hooked up but when i have the truck running its getting 14.1V at the terminal block before the control board. my Dometic booklet that came with the camper says the control board need atleast 9.6V for it to operate so i dont understand why it is not. also gary im plugging the batt into the 7way plug on the side of the camer with a simple plug and two wires clamped to the batt. i have one on the ground and one where the 12V acc hook up is on the std 7way. u think it could be drawing power off the 7 way from another plug in point?
Howard Kelly
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2010
- Posts
- 576
Make sure your ground on the trailer battery is connected to the ground of the trailer.
Lou Schneider
Site Team
- Joined
- Mar 14, 2005
- Posts
- 13,228
If your lights, water pump, etc. are working and you measure 12.6 volts at the refrigerator terminal, your battery connections are fine.
See if your refrigerator has a 12 volt ignition interlock - is there a third 12 volt wire running to it?
See if your refrigerator has a 12 volt ignition interlock - is there a third 12 volt wire running to it?
Alfa38User
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2007
- Posts
- 6,678
Check the fuses in the back of the fridge in the little black box. The model number of the fridge might help here but most have the little box just above the terminal strip. Use a meter and check for voltage at each end as those little glass jobs can often fool you by just "looking".
Mexray
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 31, 2006
- Posts
- 440
Just as an aside...when you get your additional battery to power the frig, don't expect it to run the frig very long!
The 12 volt mode on a 2-way (or 3-way) frig has a very high amperage requirement - it's trying to produce enough 'heat' to match the 'heat' generated when in propane mode, and it will run down your battery very quickly!
You'll also need heavier gauge wiring from your new battery to reduce DC voltage loss - and the length of the wires from the battery should be as short as possible...
RV frig's in the 12 volt mode are designed to only be used while on the road where you have constant charging current available from your alternator to support the high demands of the frig...
When we had our Lance with an F-350, I used #4 AGW cable from the charging relay in the truck back to the camper harness plug to reduce voltage loss, as I planned to run the frig in 12 volt mode while on the road - It worked very well, and had enough capacity to recharge the camper's battery as well...
The 12 volt mode on a 2-way (or 3-way) frig has a very high amperage requirement - it's trying to produce enough 'heat' to match the 'heat' generated when in propane mode, and it will run down your battery very quickly!
You'll also need heavier gauge wiring from your new battery to reduce DC voltage loss - and the length of the wires from the battery should be as short as possible...
RV frig's in the 12 volt mode are designed to only be used while on the road where you have constant charging current available from your alternator to support the high demands of the frig...
When we had our Lance with an F-350, I used #4 AGW cable from the charging relay in the truck back to the camper harness plug to reduce voltage loss, as I planned to run the frig in 12 volt mode while on the road - It worked very well, and had enough capacity to recharge the camper's battery as well...
