Would a weak starting battery affect my ability to charge my Dometic PLB40 house battery?
I’ve had this PLB 40 for about six months and it generally works pretty well. But lately I’ve noticed that my vehicle, LX 470, has a hard time keeping it charged. I have it plugged in to the 12 V accessory outlet in the rear. That outlet only works when the vehicle is running so I assumed the starting battery has nothing to do with it. But my knowledge of auto electrical systems is clearly lacking. Is the starting battery involved in charging the house battery even if it’s not wired hot to it?
The reason I ask is that yesterday during an oil change the guy checked my starting battery and pointed out it was getting a little weak. It still has plenty of cranking power and I didn’t think much of it until I noticed the PLB40 not charging well again.
When I plug it into that rear 12 V outlet, it will charge for a few seconds and then the arrow indicator disappears and it starts to slowly lose its charge. It’s not a blown fuse because if I unplug it and plug it right back in it will charge again for a few seconds. I’ve tried plugging the battery into the other 12 V outlets in the front of the vehicle with the same results. This morning I started with the PLB40 battery at 100% (charged via AC at home). I drove about 30 minutes and it was down to 98% while being plugged in the entire time. It’s running a Dometic CFX35 fridge, but that fridge was pre-cooled (also via AC at home) and loaded with ice cold pre-cooled drinks. Demand from that fridge should not be more than the vehicles ability to charge the battery. But it is.
I run a Renogy 100w Solar panel on the roof as well but I don’t use it often because I park in the garage and anytime the vehicle is out in the sun it’s usually when I’m driving, so I use the 12v outlet instead. I’m headed out on a long road trip today and as soon as I get to some sunnier weather I’ll see if the solar panel does a better job of keeping up with the demand.
anyway, do you think me getting a new starting battery will help solve this problem?
thanks in advance.
I’ve had this PLB 40 for about six months and it generally works pretty well. But lately I’ve noticed that my vehicle, LX 470, has a hard time keeping it charged. I have it plugged in to the 12 V accessory outlet in the rear. That outlet only works when the vehicle is running so I assumed the starting battery has nothing to do with it. But my knowledge of auto electrical systems is clearly lacking. Is the starting battery involved in charging the house battery even if it’s not wired hot to it?
The reason I ask is that yesterday during an oil change the guy checked my starting battery and pointed out it was getting a little weak. It still has plenty of cranking power and I didn’t think much of it until I noticed the PLB40 not charging well again.
When I plug it into that rear 12 V outlet, it will charge for a few seconds and then the arrow indicator disappears and it starts to slowly lose its charge. It’s not a blown fuse because if I unplug it and plug it right back in it will charge again for a few seconds. I’ve tried plugging the battery into the other 12 V outlets in the front of the vehicle with the same results. This morning I started with the PLB40 battery at 100% (charged via AC at home). I drove about 30 minutes and it was down to 98% while being plugged in the entire time. It’s running a Dometic CFX35 fridge, but that fridge was pre-cooled (also via AC at home) and loaded with ice cold pre-cooled drinks. Demand from that fridge should not be more than the vehicles ability to charge the battery. But it is.
I run a Renogy 100w Solar panel on the roof as well but I don’t use it often because I park in the garage and anytime the vehicle is out in the sun it’s usually when I’m driving, so I use the 12v outlet instead. I’m headed out on a long road trip today and as soon as I get to some sunnier weather I’ll see if the solar panel does a better job of keeping up with the demand.
anyway, do you think me getting a new starting battery will help solve this problem?
thanks in advance.