Community Forums

Gearhead Jo · 03-21-2005, 04:11 AM

I have blown fuses on the charging circuit of 04 F-250 pulling Tahoe lite TT w/2 12 volt batteries. Is that too much to ask of the circuit, or should I just charge one at a time as I drive. I have the batteries hooked up paraell(sp) and they seem to take a charge for awhile, then the fuse blows. Thanks for any insight. By the way, both batteries are new last spring and are deep cycle batteries.

Gearhead Jo · 03-21-2005, 04:11 AM

I have blown fuses on the charging circuit of 04 F-250 pulling Tahoe lite TT w/2 12 volt batteries. Is that too much to ask of the circuit, or should I just charge one at a time as I drive. I have the batteries hooked up paraell(sp) and they seem to take a charge for awhile, then the fuse blows. Thanks for any insight. By the way, both batteries are new last spring and are deep cycle batteries.

Gary RVRoamer · 03-21-2005, 03:24 PM

I'd say you are pulling more current than the designer of your F-250 ever imagined. Perhaps he was myopic, but you are stuck with it. What is the amp rating on the fuse(s) that are blowing?

You no doubt have a big alternator capable of pushing out the amps and a pair of decent sized 12V can suck in a lot of amps if they are well discharged. 50+ amps would not surprise me a bit. You may have to put a charging regulator on the circuit to hold the amps down. Meanwhile, a circuit breaker in place of the fuse would save you a lot of trouble. They have them that plug right into fuse sockets, so no re-wiring. One of the automatic reset types would be real nice.

Gearhead Jo · 03-22-2005, 08:17 AM

RV Roamer, thanks for the reply. The fuse is a 20 Amp on that circuit. I guess that if my batteries were discharged that it could blow that fuse. Maybe I just better make sure that they are fairly fully charged before I take off. Thanks again.

Gary RVRoamer · 03-22-2005, 03:47 PM

But what happens if you are camping for a few days and using the batteries, then hook up to go home? Batteries are discahrged and are going to draw a lot of current unless you disconnect them first.

With a 20A fuse, I can readily see why it is blowing.