TV not charging battery when driving

albutzer

Hello Group,
Just got back from a great trip from Dallas to Wisconsin.
The only major issue is my battery in the camper is not being charged while driving.
I checked all of the outputs on the truck and all of the wires - all of the running, blinker, break lights work.
Any ideas? I had to toss out a bunch of food. Thanks

BBsGarage

Did you check the +12v pin. (#4 I think) It usually needs to be run separate from the connector to a switch or rely right from the battery.

Sharon_is_SAM

When you wired (or had wired) the 7 pin, did you request a charge line? If not, you may nit have one installed.

albutzer

Thanks for the help - the F150 King Ranch came pre-wired with a 7 pin connection.
I measured the output and it seems to be the correct voltage. I did not realize I would need to modify the camper wiring to charge the battery while driving. Has anyone done this? Do you know what color wires I need to run to the battery, etc.?
Any help or clarification appreciated.

BBsGarage

We are all speaking about the tow vehicle side of the 7 pin, not the camper side.
What pin did you measure for voltage?
On the vehicle side the charging pin should be on the upper right.

Michigan_Mike

Check at your battery and see if there is a fused line leaving the battery and running to the rear of your F150 to the truck wiring harness.

Another thing you can do is to check the voltage inside the trailer while unhooked from the tow vehicle. Then hook the trailer up to your truck, start the vehicle and then take a voltage reading inside the trailer. The voltage reading should be up near 13.5+ volts if the truck is providing a charge back to the trailer.

Just because you have a 7-pin connector doesn’t mean that the installer ran a dedicated charge line back to the rear of your vehicle. You could also get underneath your truck and tell whether or not you have seven wires running to the truck wiring harness. Chances are you only have six wires back there and one of the wires is not connected. That will be your dedicated charge line and you will probably end up having to run a “fused” charge line back to the rear of your vehicle so that it charges the trailer battery.

albutzer

Thanks for the clarification - I tested the plug on the camper - the ports do match up to the power ports on the truck. I could read the battery voltage at the camper plug and the shore power voltage as well - so the issue is not the camper after all.
The issue seems to be the power output on the Ford truck - when I idle I read correct power voltage on the truck 7 pin plug. I suspect this power is not consistent or is turning off when I am driving. Any Ford people out there with insight?

albutzer

Mike, thanks for the info. I do not see a fuse line at the battery but will check under the camper. Definitely 7 wires to the wire harness. Another weird fact, when I sit in the truck and measure the power at the harness on the truck it reads correct but when I get out and keep the truck running the power goes off at the harness - weird. Next time I connect the camper I will see if it reads 13.5 if not I will check with the tow settings on the truck to see if I can turn this on. Anymore suggestions appreciated.
Al

TomD

I would recommend having the battery checked to see if maybe a cell or two have gone bad or the whole battery is shot.

MikeLucky

You might check the inline fuse coming right off the camper battery. I once connected my 7 pin upside down and it blew that fuse and the battery appeared dead because I only had electrical while on shore power, but it turned out to be that fuse.

albutzer

Great tips everyone, it turns out my F150 king ranch only sends continuous power to the harness if the running lights or lights are on. By turning these on I get consistent 13.5 V at the upper right (thanks BBsGarage). Now the test is to hook the camper back up - turn on the truck lights and check the V in the camper - should be around 13.5V - if not then I need to troubleshoot on the camper side. Thanks again.

mgreen2