Monday, Mar 26, 2018 at 12:12
Hi Wayne ,I would think the
battery was put in to run lights etc ,it would not in any way affect your lights,indicators,or brakes as they are supplied from the tow vehicle .The only time your van
battery powers the brakes is if it has a break away system fitted ,which is a cable that attaches to you vehicle and in the event you and your caravan part company ,while driving ,the cable will disconnect a switch which will activate the brakes on the van ,to stop the van from doing too much damage to itself and anybody else .The
battery break away system will hold the van on a ,I think 15% slope for at least 15 mins .
If your
battery is down to 9 volts ,it is
well below being flat and if it is an AGM
battery it is on its death throws ,12.2 volts is considered flat or 50% discharged .
Just for your info ,if you are charging solely from vehicle ,your van
battery will ever only be charged to 75% of its capacity ,as alternators are designed to top up start
battery ,not charge aux batteries to 100% .In other words if your Aux
battery is say 100 AH ,the most you will get into it is 75AH ,and for an AGM
battery to last it must not be taken below 50 %, so in actual fact you have only 25 Ah to safely use .A portable fridge will use approx 4 amps per hour ,so you will run it for 6 hrs only ,without charge ,a three way fridge will use 11 Amps per hour ,so two hours will be all you will get safely without damage to your
battery .
If you require any more info on how to run your aux
battery ,send me a PM and I will gladly help
John
AnswerID:
617840
Follow Up By: Allan B (Sunshine Coast) - Monday, Mar 26, 2018 at 12:54
Monday, Mar 26, 2018 at 12:54
.
Bigred,
Your expression about charging from "solely from vehicle" is simply not correct.
A correctly installed and wired system is quite capable of charging an auxiliary
battery from the vehicle alternator to its full State of Charge. Problems come about with inadequate wiring and connections.
Long runs of wiring require large cross-sectional cables or dc-dc chargers installed at the auxiliary
battery.
Additional charge input from solar etc. may be required if the auxiliary
battery is not receiving frequent charges from the vehicle.
FollowupID:
889645
Follow Up By: Member - rooster350 - Monday, Mar 26, 2018 at 14:52
Monday, Mar 26, 2018 at 14:52
Our caravan
battery (100ah dc) is charged up by the generator of our car while we are traveling and it certainly does get charged its full capacity , and has been the case for some years now...cheers
FollowupID:
889648