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Old 02-07-2017, 03:10 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crasher View Post
According to LSL, the manufacturer, the amp-L-start will not transfer charge if it is not plugged into shore power. This is from their site.

Will the house battery continue to try to charge the engine battery if the shorepower is not connected?

Do you have the same question? Follow this question

Answer 1 of 2< prev answer | next answer >
No, it will only charge when you are connected to shore power.
That answer is technically false I know I have one. Those device don't know whether your plugged into shore or not all it sees is battery voltage. I have solar and the amp L start will engage when the sun is out and not connected to shore.

All they do is engage at 13.2v house and disengage at 12.8v house. If the house was at or above 13.2v for any reason it will connect and charge the chassis battery until the house hits 12.8v.

If its connecting outside of those parameters then the unit is probably defective.
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Old 02-07-2017, 03:23 PM   #16
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That's a pretty safe and generic answer.

What about with the generator or solar input ?

There is a voltage threshold, on the house battery that needs to meet, before the TLS sends some current thru.

It doesn't know where it's comming from.
You're correct. It doesn't care where the power is coming from. It was my understanding several years ago when I purchased one, that it would only charge the chassis batteries when it sensed an incoming charge from any source.
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Old 02-07-2017, 08:16 PM   #17
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Well Boys,
I've been following this thread loosely and, I was a bit perplexed on some of the ideas and statements presented on the way a Trik-L-Start operates. I purchased the Amp-L-Start a couple of years ago for the very specific reason of keeping my chassis batteries charged, WHILE PLUGGED INTO SHORE POWER.

Now, we all (most of us Winne and Itasca owners with units built prior to '06)know that, the chassis batteries on these coaches would inevitably go dead, while the coach would be in storage for an extended time, even if the coach was plugged into shore power. So, the need for something to charge them was in order. Hence, the Trik-L-start was born.

Ok, that's ancient history. But, the way it's been desribed as to how it works, on this thread, was puzzling me. Many of you have stated that:

1. It takes battery power from the house batteries to charge the chassis batteries.
2. It cares not that the coach is plugged in.
3. It doesn't care where the power is coming from

There's other statements that I think are a bit off but, no biggie.

I dove into my PDF of the Service Tips from the Winnebago and Itasca and have tried to link it here but, it exceeds the data amount I'm authorized to place here in the "Manage Attachments" section. In any case, I managed to copy what I think is pertinent information as to what is WRITTEN as the correct operation of the Trik-L-Start.


For 2006, P-Series (Journey/Meridian) and SSeries (Vectra/Horizon) models are equipped with a new chassis battery charging feature. This new feature called a Trik-L-Start will help maintain the chassis battery anytime the unit is plugged into 110V shore power and the battery disconnect is in the “on” position.
The Trik-L-Start device monitors battery voltage in the house batteries and compares it to the chassis battery. When the Trik-L-Start senses the chassis battery voltage is approximately ½ volt lower than the house battery, it allows up to 5 amps current flow to the chassis battery. The circuitry within the Trik-LStart prevents back feeding of electricity from the chassis to coach battery so if 110V power is interrupted, the chassis battery will not be discharged.



Now, for those that said it TAKES battery power from the house batteries, to charge the chassis batteries, that's not how I interpret some of the above description of it's operation. I see it as, "When the Trik-L-Start senses the chassis batteries as 1/2 volt lower than the house batteries, it ALLOWS up to 5 amps current flow to the chassis batteries. As I see it, The Trik-L-Start is NOT A BATTERY CHARGER. It's simply a controller that, ALLOWS some of the charging current that is INTENDED FOR THE HOUSE BATTERIES to flow into the chassis batteries.

And, it states above that, "any time the unit is plugged into 110V shore power....." Again, as I interpret that, it means that the unit DOES CARE weather the coach is plugged in or not. And, the entire PDF unit does not mention anything about Solar operations. Solar ops are not normally tied into either the Shore power charging system or, alternator (engines alternator that is) charging system. They normally are an independent wired system. The charge controller for any Solar system is in charge of any and all voltage and current going to which ever battery system it's wired to.

Now, I suppose there's electrical wizards out there that can tie a solar system into maybe a BIRD system or, Dual Battery Isolator system, or any other charging system. I've always seen them wired direct to the batteries intended and not THROUGH any other components.

Now, I certainly am no expert on any of this. I simply try and learn from printed matter that at least APPEARS to be the correct instructions/operations/description/ of a given product or component. I can surely be corrected on here if anything I've presented is incorrect.
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Old 02-07-2017, 08:48 PM   #18
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Keeping it simple, it connects 1 lead to a house battery and 1 lead to a chassis battery. Plus a ground to run the tiny circuit. There are no connections to any charging sources.

With that, the only thing it can do, is pass current from a higher voltage ( house ) battery, to a lower voltage ( chassis ) battery. Nothing else.

How the house battery gets to a higher voltage does not matter.

Your charger and solar will be connected to the house battery.

The charger can run off the shore or generator power, the TLS circuit doesn't know this.

The solar is hooked to the house battery. When the sun is up, it charges the house battery. The TLS don't know this. Anything that brings the house battery voltage up to 13.2 volts will turn on the TLS.

You could strip away every other component but a charger, any charger, and 2 batteries and it will work the same.

Once the wire labled " house battery " senses 13.2 volts, the circuit sends some of it's voltage, to the other battery, thru the wire marked " chassis battery "
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Old 02-07-2017, 09:17 PM   #19
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This topic sure has attracted a number of opinions as to how it works. Here's another opinion from the company that makes it.

{ HOW IT WORKS - Connected between your house and engine starting batteries, AMP-L-START™ "steals" some of the charging current from your house battery charger (or solar panels) to also keep your engine starting batteries charged. [Whenever no house battery charging source is present, it automatically shuts down, thereby preventing any reverse current flow back into the house batteries.]

The charging current is continuously adjusted to whatever amount is necessary to recharge and maintain your starting batteries - It can vary from 0 to 15 amps, depending on the battery's state of charge. AMP-L-START™ works with single- and dual- starting battery systems, and is compatible with all battery types - Gell-Cell, AGM, "Maintenance-Free" and conventional flooded-cell.

The Revision F2 version also includes a user-selectable "HIGH TEMPERATURE" mode that reduces the turn-on and turn-off voltages to 12.7 and 12.5 volts, respectively, for computability with some temperature-compensated house battery chargers. This mode is enabled by installing a jumper across two pins on the back of the unit. Removing the jumper instantly restores the "NORMAL" 13.2/12.8 volt turn-on/turn-off settings. }

Because they make the Amp-l-Start, LSL Products should know how it works. When they say it automatically shuts down when any charging source is removed, I'm inclined to believe them.
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Old 02-08-2017, 08:16 AM   #20
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The manual for my Amp-L-Start says the same thing. They sense when you are on a charging source (shore power or generator) based on voltage, and only send power to the chassis batteries when a charging source is available.

I'm with Crasher. That's in the manual which came with my Amp-L-Start, and I hope I can trust that the manufacturer knows how it works.
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Old 02-08-2017, 09:00 AM   #21
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The amp l start is a different unit than the trik l start, made by the same company but is there a possibility that they function differently?
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Old 02-08-2017, 10:25 AM   #22
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How does the device (connected to the house battery positive terminal and ground) know that the battery is being charged by shore power? It just measures the voltage between the positive terminal and ground. Is there another connection from the device to the charger?
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Old 02-08-2017, 11:37 AM   #23
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I suspect that both concepts are true. a fully charged 12 volt system is at 12.7-12.8 volts after any surface charge has bled off. The only time the voltage will be higher is when some charging source is active. Shore Power, Solar, Generator, etc. When that happens, the voltage can climb up to 15 volts depending on the SOC and charger being used. The theory that the amp-l-start measures voltage holds true when it goes oner 13.2 and begins to bleed amps from the house to chassis batteries. When the charging source is removed, the voltage will quickly drop to 12.7v or lower shutting the amp-l-start or trickle-l-start off. So as LSL states, it only works when a charging system is active, holds true also.
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