dumb QS question

[catmanriff]

Does the 4 pin hookup to my tow vehicle charge the battery? 

[charliem]

[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]

[catmanriff]

ok. That's what I thought. But what about the running lights?  Those are continuously on.

[charliem]

My mistake. You're correct. The four wires are ground, left, right, running. Braking powers left and right.

[catmanriff]

So, would there be a way to trickle charge the battery off running lights?

[tinkeringtechie]

So, 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.

[admin]

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.

[pinstriper]

ok. 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.