tri PAC apu how to turn on to just run

an alternator only charges to the batteries needs. this like saying not to drive your truck all day cause the alternator will burn up the batteries makes no sense at all. Got my tripac with sen switch going on three years no harm of anything it runs all night every night this is with the 120 amp upgraded alternator never going to hurt any thing.

 

i said basically the same thing to the tk shop foreman, who responded by saying explicitly this was not true and cited his 30+ years (as foreman). according to him, the way the tripac alternator senses how much the batteries needs to be charged is completely different from the way the truck engine alternator does it. he gave me a very long explanation for this but it was all way over my head...plus, he was starting to get irritated that i wanted an easier explanation (that wouldn't be above my head) and wouldn't take his word for it, especially since i had gone into the shop to begin with because of a fried alternator and batteries. (batteries 18 months old)

maybe you're totally right and he's totally wrong, but since i immediately had bad luck with both batteries and alternator after installing the sen switch i would like to do it the other way just as an experiment (by supplying power to the 7a)

thanks for the input

 

a bad battery will fry an alternator

 

Basically I did the same thing the SEN switch and my experience, smelling batteries and were going bad quickly as if they were over charging and getting hot. Also in the summer during hot temperatures when trucks running and Tripac running at the same time the Tripac was getting hot and shutting down. When I turn truck off and allow it to cool a bit the Tripac fires right up. The Tripac by it self will run for ever and not shut down but when truck’s running at the same time it shuts down. This happened on two Volvo 780’s D16 and D13. So Discontinued the SEN switch and it’s been good for going on 2 years.

 

dude what do you mean by truck and tripac running at the same time in the summer?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

 

I mean when I placed a switch on so the Tripac will run while the truck engine is also running.

 

yeah i'm totally confused by this. are you saying you can run the tripac air conditioner (but not the tripac generator/motor) at the same time as the truck engine? like for example if your truck air conditioner goes out while you're driving you would be able to run the tripac air conditioner (but not the tripac motor) as you are driving down the road? or for some strange reason would you want both the tripac motor and the truck engine running at the same time?? cuz this would absolutely be bad for the batteries, i'm told

now sometimes i run JUST the tripac bunk heater while the truck engine is on...for example in the winter when i first start the truck engine, i leave the tripac bunk heater ONLY on for a while until the truck heats up...but you mentioned summer....so yeah you have me very confused

unless you're talking about the tripac evolution....which is totally different from my older model

 

No you got it right the only thing different is I wasn’t going down the road with it, but yes I run the Tripac on A/C off course the Tripac engine will also run, at the same time the truck engine is running and yes it was ruining the batteries. Not a good idea!

 

im curious why were u doing this?

 

Man, it’s been a while and I forgot why I was doing that but sure done it and wasn’t a good idea.