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Old 08-03-2014, 09:21 AM   #1
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Promaster/Travato owners - trickle?

I thought it was a good idea to put my van's chassis battery on a trickle charger - I use the Battery Tender mini charger - it's a smart charger that puts out a max of 1 amp and then floats when the battery is topped.

To my dismay, I had to remove the floor plate to get at the battery and hook it up directly to it. That's a pain I'd rather not deal with.

Most new cars that have the battery inaccessible will put jump points under the hood. I don't see any on the Promaster, unless I'm just not looking in the right place.

Before I go to the trouble of wiring in a trickle charging jack, can someone chime in if there are jump points on the van that I'm not finding??
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Old 08-03-2014, 09:32 AM   #2
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At a 1 amp charge rate , you could go anywhere in the 12 v system that has constant, battery power and a wire size to match the charger's. Some trickle chargers have adaptors that plug them into the lighter/ 12v power socket. usually a 20 amp circuit.
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Old 08-03-2014, 12:34 PM   #3
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You have to look at your trickle chargers manual. Even a thick 5ft wire can cause several hundred mV voltage drop. This confuses the charger.

Look at the chargers manual, most say to put the positive terminal directly on the positive post, and roughly 3 feet of wire to the negative post or directly to a nearby ground.
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Old 08-03-2014, 03:33 PM   #4
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The battery tender JR (I have one) includes a cable for hardwiring the charger to the battery and you just plug it in to the end of the cable for easy removal/ install each time it is used. Seems that you could do that?

On the battery location, the van design is from Europe, so there may not be some of the common alternate jump points that one might like. I suspect we will find some surprises when the Ford Transit starts shipping as an RV chassis as well. (I'm seeing the cargo vans at our local Ford dealer already)
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Old 08-04-2014, 06:04 AM   #5
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Winnebago use's a Trik-L-Start on there high end Motorhomes I have added it to my last 2 class c's, in process of buying a Class B and will be my first add on. I always kept mine plugged in with no problems.

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Old 08-04-2014, 07:12 AM   #6
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It must be some kind of US centric thing to have the jump posts under the hood. Several of my cars have them and they work fine for connecting the Battery Tender JR.

Since I can't find such a thing on my van, then I suppose I'll just find a way to route the pigtail to somewhere accessable. It's just a pain as the battery is under the driver's feet and I'd rather not be constantly removing this panel.

Another odd thing is that this battery is enormous! Looks about the same size as one of the starting batteries I used to have in my DP (it took two). Silly considering this is just a gas V6 engine. You'd think a group 24 would be more than adequate.
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Old 08-05-2014, 01:58 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by wincrasher View Post
It must be some kind of US centric thing to have the jump posts under the hood. Several of my cars have them and they work fine for connecting the Battery Tender JR.

Since I can't find such a thing on my van, then I suppose I'll just find a way to route the pigtail to somewhere accessable. It's just a pain as the battery is under the driver's feet and I'd rather not be constantly removing this panel.

Another odd thing is that this battery is enormous! Looks about the same size as one of the starting batteries I used to have in my DP (it took two). Silly considering this is just a gas V6 engine. You'd think a group 24 would be more than adequate.
My prius (battery in trunk) has the jumper posts in the fuse box under the hood. You have to take the fuse box cover off, then another little cover flips over to reveal a jumper spade.
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Old 08-05-2014, 02:42 PM   #8
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Thanks, I'll look in there.
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Old 08-06-2014, 07:09 AM   #9
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Wincrasher,
Look on page 302 of the owner's manual. It will show how to jump start but that is where to put the leads for the trickle charger.

To get to the positive terminal there is a cover on the left of the fuse box, lift it and the terminal is there. The ground is located on the core support by the hood support base. It easy to use the alligator clips to trickle charge, but I want to
use the ring terminals and have it there all the time. Have to take the complete cover off to get to that terminal as you will see. The problem is my manual says to release the tabs to get access to the fuses...not...mine has 2 bolts and 2 nuts to take off. Does yours have tabs or the nuts?
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Old 08-06-2014, 07:52 AM   #10
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I wish I had recieved an Promaster manual. All I got was the quick guide.

I'll have to check my nuts and let you know.
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Old 08-06-2014, 08:41 AM   #11
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I wish I had recieved an Promaster manual. All I got was the quick guide.

I'll have to check my nuts and let you know.
I prefer an electronic copy anyways because you can use the search function and look for keywords. Much easier than flipping through a book.

Here you go, just save it to your laptop. http://www.ramtrucks.com/download/pd...ter-OM-3rd.pdf

I guess alot of companies are trying to be space and cost efficient by integrating the jumper posts with the fuse box.
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Old 08-06-2014, 12:42 PM   #12
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Wincrasher,

Mine didn't come with the manual either. Call Dodge Customer Assistance 800-992-1997, give them your VIN and they will send it for free. That's how I got mine. It's almost 400 pages in length.

Just received a recall notice about possible corrosion due to water entering the in-floor batter well, door foot-well and/or Restraint Control module connector. Parts aren't available yet but will send a notice when they are. At least they are proactive on the notices.
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Old 08-14-2014, 03:02 PM   #13
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got the same notice, call both promaster and winnebago and asked if safe to drive, neither could answer
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Old 08-14-2014, 04:05 PM   #14
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I rotated those little "screw things" and couldn't get the floor plate out completely, I think there are some tabs towards the firewall so the lid has to be pulled to the rear to get out. Anyway I could look in enough to see that I don't have any corrosion at this time. It was driven from Iowa to Cali where it now lives.

It appears all Dodge will do is replace any corroded parts. I would at least hope they would have some kind of foam weather stripping to stop the water from going in.

Hey Wincrasher, I think you mentioned you got into the battery compartment. How did you get that floor plate out? Did you connect the Battery Tender on the battery or used the jump start connectors under the hood?

Thanks
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