Electrical Issue-Starting

Just curious if this has happened to anyone else.

I went to start my truck Monday, pushed button and nothing. Pushed button several more times, nothing. Ok, truck has been sitting for 3 days, and I left my fridge plugged in. It's a Dometic but I may have not had the power settings set right. (I've had several trips where the truck is sitting and fridge running with no real issues. Once I did have the fridge beeping and I went to start the truck, the "Check charging system" light came on but the truck fired right up. I didn't think much of it because well, I was drinking a good bit and had several things plugged in that were low draw)

So I hook up a battery tester, 12.4 volts. I hooked up a charger just to see if it changed anything. The interior lights flickered dim/bright but no start. So I grab the 4Runner and hook up cables. Nothing. Frustrated, I disconnect the cables and put everything away. Just for grins I hit the start button, truck fires right up.

Is there a battery saver somewhere in the truck or stock battery?

 

Did you unplug the fridge during this? Sounds like the battery voltage was too low but recovered enough to start. The factory battery is designed for starting and not deep discharge. Multiple deep discharges are not good for it (or the alternator).

 

Yep, unplugged it first but it was not on, no lights or anything. The battery tested at 12.4 volts and did fine with a load tester. I'm upgrading soon with a winch going on now.

The part that puzzles me is that it seems like there is a safety or battery saver. I just didn't know if is, is it in the truck from the factory or is it in the battery?