Can't charge in my Toyota truck

[spar]

Using the HZ DC charger, I can charge my stock SC batteries in my Toyota truck with the engine running, but I can't charge my SC batteries when the truck engine is not running. I can charge my SC batteries in my minivan with engine running or not.

The symptom is the HZ DC charger flashes a few times, gets dim and goes out. It flashes a little longer if I lower the HZ charging current, but it still fails.

Does this make sense to anyone? The voltage on my truck battery is the same as on my minivan. I cleaned and tightened the battery posts on my truck with no change. Anyone have an experience like this?

[cybersoft]

Could it be the cigar lighter socket is only live when ignition is on?

If this is the case then you could wire it direct to your battery post and it'll charge whether on or off! I know my LiPo's charge direct from the battery via crocodile clips and a balance charger.

Maybe wrong but just a thought.

[Twister65]

I have the opposite problem. If I charge my stock batteries in my truck, while the engine is running, they don't get a full charge. 20 minutes later it tells me it's fully charged. The first time that happened I thought "Cool!" until I discovered that my flight time was greatly reduced.

[jt01]

Spar I know what you are talking about.My girlfriend has a 4 Runner and it's the same way.I read somewhere that if you reposition the fuse in the fuse box the 12 v port will be live all the time instead of just when the key is on.I believe the fuse port is marked Batt or Acc and you need to move the fuse to the Batt terminal.

Jim