Trik-L-Start battery charger success

[SteveG]

I can now testify that the Trik-l-Start battery charger has charged my chassis batteries. I installed this small charger in our 2004 Journey 36G and was not having success. Once the house batteries went to "float"� I assumed that the Trik-L-Start charger would never leave the yellow "charging"� light and reach the green "maintaining"� light. That assumption was wrong. I was only giving it about two to three days to charge the two 12 volt chassis batteries. What I failed to initially grasp was that this is a very small battery charger connected to two very LARGE batteries. The Trik-L-Start person suggested that I give it a week. So last Monday I plugged in and by Tuesday the house batteries were already in "float"� mode. By Thursday the chassis batteries were still charging and showing 12.4 volts. Today, Monday, one week later Trik-L-Start had reached maintaining stage. The panel showed the voltage as 12.5 but my digital volt meter read the voltage at the battery as 12.73 volts. So all's better in the battery charging department!

Is anyone else seeing a voltage difference between the panel voltage display and that measured at the batteries?

[SteveG]

I can now testify that the Trik-l-Start battery charger has charged my chassis batteries. I installed this small charger in our 2004 Journey 36G and was not having success. Once the house batteries went to "float"� I assumed that the Trik-L-Start charger would never leave the yellow "charging"� light and reach the green "maintaining"� light. That assumption was wrong. I was only giving it about two to three days to charge the two 12 volt chassis batteries. What I failed to initially grasp was that this is a very small battery charger connected to two very LARGE batteries. The Trik-L-Start person suggested that I give it a week. So last Monday I plugged in and by Tuesday the house batteries were already in "float"� mode. By Thursday the chassis batteries were still charging and showing 12.4 volts. Today, Monday, one week later Trik-L-Start had reached maintaining stage. The panel showed the voltage as 12.5 but my digital volt meter read the voltage at the battery as 12.73 volts. So all's better in the battery charging department!

Is anyone else seeing a voltage difference between the panel voltage display and that measured at the batteries?

[dstinch]

hi SteveG our 06 journey came with the charger installed to solve the dead battery problems and yes our starting battery,s have stayed charged. i aslso have solar panals and it works with them too. also i get different readings from batterys,the ems,and the solar charge controller. what an easy fix. Don

[John_Canfield]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by SteveG:
--snip--
Is anyone else seeing a voltage difference between the panel voltage display and that measured at the batteries? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>That's not unusual for the "One Place" voltmeter to read a couple of tenths different from a meter with leads right across the batteries. Wouldn't worry about it at all.

[SargeW]

Hey John, I wanted to ask a question aobut that. My House battery switch on the one place panel reads exactly 1/10 higher than the battery read out on the SeeLevel panel I installed, even though I used the same wire for both. Is that normal as well??

[John_Canfield]

Sarge - don't get your knickers in a twist over a tenth or two different reading. The digital meters will have varying degrees of accuracy and some readings might even be affected by temperature differences in the meter electronic components.

You would need a high precision lab-type DVM to establish a highly accurate benchmark to compare the other two with.

[SargeW]

Sounds reasonable to me John, thanks!