Does the 4 pin hookup to my tow vehicle charge the battery?
[quote source="/post/20765/thread" author="@catmanriff" timestamp="1461345154"]Does the 4 pin hookup to my tow vehicle charge the battery? [/quote][font size="3"]No. The four wires are Ground, Left Turn, Right Turn, Brake. You have to add a 7 pin connector and associated wiring to get battery charge and/or trailer brakes.[/font]
ok. That's what I thought. But what about the running lights? Those are continuously on.
My mistake. You're correct. The four wires are ground, left, right, running. Braking powers left and right.
So, would there be a way to trickle charge the battery off running lights?
Quote from: @catmanriff" source="/post/20771/thread" timestamp="1461352427So, would there be a way to trickle charge the battery off running lights?
You would need a diode to keep the trailer battery from powering the running lights all the time and you'd have to limit the current somehow since it's probably only rated for 5 or 10 amps. It's probably less work to just add the 7-pin and then you'd get decent current without any funny business.
You could also go over the top in the other direction and wire up something like this: http://amzn.to/1WhLnFJ
A run of heavy gauge wire from the charging system, to a set of these mounted to the rear of the car with the receiving plug mounted to the battery:
http://amzn.to/1VHGAz5
I've been planning this for my quick silver. I think I'm going to add a set of these plugs to the camper no matter what. That way I can have the battery, in its box setup to be easily removable while in storage. The battery could even be used as a mobile power station at camp if we dont need it on the camper.
Then with the plugs I would have a universal system to plug in things like a solar setup, a powered charger at home, or even a charge from the tow vehicle when needed.
I've only started toying with the idea, but I'm thinking 1 run of a heavy gauge wire from my charging system in the truck to the rear would be fairly easy. Then at the rear I should be able to run a short ground to the frame thus completing the truck install. From there I could setup a connection run from the truck to the camper. That way I wouldnt have to have a permanently mounted longer run of wire attached to the battery.
Its overkill, but I like overkill. I also like the fact that with this idea I could then easily take the battery off and use it on the boat for the troller or as a backup battery.
In case you couldnt tell I'm a big fan of multi-use setups.
Quote from: @catmanriff" source="/post/20769/thread" timestamp="1461346311ok. That's what I thought. But what about the running lights? Those are continuously on.
Either you have your headlights on, or a wiring problem.