On days such as this in MN, when it is a whopping 1 degree F, my SD doesn't want to go to work. I have found that plugging in the engine block heater, as well as putting a trickle charger on one of the batteries helps quite a bit.

My question is, when I have a trickle charger on one battery, the other one is charged at the same time, right?

Thanks.

TT

P.S. how diffucult is it to add a 3rd, deep cycle battery?

 

if they are in series with each other (they are) then yes you are charging both batteries...

why would you want a 3'rd?

my truck starts just fine as long as the block heater works..

...zap!

 

Yes and no...

The two batteries are connected in parallel (think "next to each other") still only making 12 volts. If they were connected in series (think "in a line") they would make 24 volts.

Imagine your setup as one big 12volt battery that just happens to be split into two smaller cases. What you do to the one, the other does b/c they are directly connected to each other. And that's the key, if the battery wiring is loose or corroded, you won't have both batteries "pulling" together.

How old are these batteries? Shouldn't be a need for extra batteries unless you winch or run a massive amount of lighting.

Adrianspeeder

 

I guess I thought I needed a deep cycle battery because if I would leave a cordless drill charging, or the radio on for a bit, the truck would not start. It was like that for like a year. I put in 2 new batteries yesterday, so maybe now it will be different/better than it was.

TT