Does the breakaway brakes system require maintenance?

[peislander]

On my Camplite there is the standard factory-installed breakaway brake system. It is of course designed to automatically engage the trailer's electric brakes should the trailer become unhitched and the tether wire gets yanked by the uncoupled trailer or the tow vehicle. My question is does this system require any maintenance? I understand the black box on the trailer tongue that is associated with the system has the pull switch and a battery. Since I bought the trailer in 2012 I have not done anything to this system. I'm wondering in particular about the battery. The trailer has been unused since last fall and I don't keep it plugged in for the winter. I take my main trailer battery inside for the winter and occasionally put it on the charger  -- but I never do anything with the breakaway battery. Should I?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[drdave]

I don't think the breakaway battery charges off of the trailer electrical system.   I charged battery up after buying my trailer last summer and I probably should do the same this weekend now that you reminded me!

[daplumbr]

On my 16TBS, the breakaway battery is not charged at all by the system. I have to take the cover off the box and charge it separately with my charger. I removed it for the winter and kept it charged in the garage. If the one in yours is also not charged by the system and hasn't been charged externally since 2012, it will be bad and need to be replaced. You can test it by checking the voltage. 12.7V is normal full charge, anything less than 12V is less than half charged and less than 11.5V is very not good. 

[peislander]

Yikes. I will do some checking tomorrow in the daylight.

I think mine does have electrical wiring connected to the system's little black battery box. I have assumed that means the battery does receive a charge when shore power is supplied to the trailer. Now I'm not so sure.

[scout]

Mine wasn't connected to the charging system on my 13 RDB. Had to buy a new one as the trailer sat on the lot and was already a year old. It likely froze over the winter. Will have to manual charge when  its low.

[peislander]

I just read some guy noting he tests his breakaway system every time he hitches. I've never done that. I suppose you just yank the tether and listen for the breaks to clank on. I have always avoided yanking the tether because I didn't know if it is a resettable system. It would have been appropriate for LivinLite to include info about the system in the Owners Manual -- the copy I received doesn't. 

[daplumbr]

You can pull the tether to test. It does reset when you put the tether back in. Don't leave the tether out because the battery will discharge quickly. And sure enough, it would be nice to have instructions from LL about this important safety device. It requires an isolator of some sort to charge 2 different batteries that are used for different purposes. That extra cost is probably why LL didn't charge the breakaway battery separately on my trailer.

[shortcircuit]

[font face="comic sans ms" size="3"]The breakaway system on my 14DBS is not charged by the power panel and has to be done manually.
However, the attached link takes you to the breakaway system MFG web site called Jammy, INC.
It describes several breakaway systems for various trailers including the J-JKL system used on my trailer.
You can buy the battery charger that goes with the system to keep the battery charged. The model is : J-BCH .
It runs off the 12 volts of the main battery. 
I don't know why LivinLite didn't utilize the whole system which included the charger, probably cost?
Look on the shiny label on the top of your battery box and it should tell you what model breakaway system you have.


Here's the link:  http://www.jammyinc.com/Products/Breakaway/Breakaway.htm[/font]

[peislander]

Thanks.

I took the battery out. It was a bit of a tight squeeze because LivinLite had mounted the box for the breakaway system just under the edge of the aluminum frame associated with the house battery. That frame prevented the cover on the breakaway box from fully opening. They also secured the cover with a heavy duty cable tie kind of thingie that I had to cut off to open. For anyone who didn't know - it certainly looks like you aren't supposed to get in there.

I put the battery on my charger. The charger rejected the battery: the chargers lcd display lit up with "BAD". I'll assume the FM1250 sealed lead acid battery is shot and will need replacement.

I don't think I 'll change out the system for a self-charging version. Just knowing I need to maintain the system should be enough -- I can keep a battery charged and remove it from the trailer as part of the winterization.

Testing the switch will also be on my radar during the camping season. I might think about getting one of those cheap voltage displays on ebay and mounting it somewhere to show the state of charge. They can be amazingly inexpensive - like under five bucks & often have shipping from China included.

[peislander]

I might reconsider getting the product shortcircuit suggested. I found it for sale at >> [a href="http://www.diytrailerparts.com"]www.diytrailerparts.com[/a] << for $20.85 USD including the battery. The product listing is >>[a style="font-weight:bold;" href="http://www.diytrailerparts.com/Break-Away-Kit.htm#"]here[/a]<<. Unfortunately the site won't estimate the shipping cost to Canada. Still, at that price it is worth considering. I like that the charger has a test button to allow you to visually confirm the charge is working.

By the way it seems the tether switch LivinLite uses is made by the same manufacturer -- Jammy Inc.

[david]

There is another way to rig your breakaway system to be maintenance free. It was discussed on a previous thread on this topic.

Remove the battery and wire the +/- leads back to the main trailer battery. I am guessing 12 gauge wire would be fine, but try to match the existing wire. Put a 20 amp (again another guess, will have to measure current draw to be sure) on the positive wire near the main battery.

This will let your trailer battery be the break away battery. In my case since I monitor my main battery religiously, never let it discharge below 50%, even at 90% discharged the trailer battery has more capacity than the 5 AH break away battery, and the TV recharges it, I think it will work fine this way.

I think that this is better than trying to periodically recharge the small break away battery. Easy to forget about, which is exactly what I did. So I will do the wiring and fugitaboutit.

David

[peislander]

Thanks David.

Sometimes I'll move my trailer without the house battery installed. For example I have to take the trailer in for our required annual safety inspection in the next week or so and I may not install the battery first. I like the flexibility of not having to have the house battery installed. It is also a bit safer to use an independant battery (providing it is charged!) although I can see that is a minor point if a owner keeps a close watch on the state of the house battery.

I just ordered from Amazon Canada a >> [a href="http://www.tekonsha.com/products/brake-controllers/breakaway-kits/breakaway-system/TzaIxkVx1cK4oA%7C7AYnwqeXNvGZPdT4HNche9p5NF1w="]Tekensha 50-85-313[/a] << with free shipping. It seems to be very similar to the Jammy Inc. model but clarifies that the charger is multi-stage. I'll have it in a few days.

By the way here is how Tekonsha say to test your breakaway system. I doubt very many trailer owners ever do all this.  :-S

To test an electric breakaway system, you will have to have the trailer hitched to the tow vehicle. You will also want to check the state of charge in the breakaway battery, it should be fully charged. Step 1- Unplug the trailer connector from the tow vehicle. Step 2- Pull the pin straight out of the breakaway switch. This will require approximately 40 pounds of pull to remove the pin. Step 3- Attempt to pull the trailer with the tow vehicle. The trailer wheels will rotate a little, to apply the brakes. The brakes should then be set hard enough to not allow the trailer to roll freely. If the trailer rolls freely, service breakaway system or trailer brakes and retest. Step 4- Reinsert the pin into the breakaway switch and reconnect the trailer plug to the tow vehicle. NOTE: The lack of heavy brake application could be due to the brakes being out of adjustment, low breakaway battery voltage or a heavily loaded trailer.

[charliem]

There is another way to rig your breakaway system to be maintenance free. It was discussed on a previous thread on this topic.

Remove the battery and wire the +/- leads back to the main trailer battery. I am guessing 12 gauge wire would be fine, but try to match the existing wire. Put a 20 amp (again another guess, will have to measure current draw to be sure) on the positive wire near the main battery.

This will let your trailer battery be the break away battery. In my case since I monitor my main battery religiously, never let it discharge below 50%, even at 90% discharged the trailer battery has more capacity than the 5 AH break away battery, and the TV recharges it, I think it will work fine this way.

I think that this is better than trying to periodically recharge the small break away battery. Easy to forget about, which is exactly what I did. So I will do the wiring and fugitaboutit.

David

[font size="3"]Turns out there is a very simple way of implementing this mod. All the wires required are in the small rectangular junction box next to the breakaway battery.

[attachment id="911" thumbnail="1"]

The black wire from the breakaway switch to the positive of the breakaway [/font][font size="3"]battery [/font][font size="3"](BB)[/font][font size="3"] runs through this box and exits on the top left. It then goes directly to the BB positive. The second terminal from the left, with the heavy red wire on the bottom, is the house battery positive. That red wire goes directly to the [/font][font size="3"]positive of the [/font][font size="3"]house battery. So just disconnect the BB positive, pull a little slack into the junction box, cut and install a crimp lug, and connect to the second leftmost terminal. Remove BB and place on desk as paperweight.

A second option is to leave the BB in place and install a diode between the positives of the two batteries, anode to the house battery. This will maintain the BB charge, but will not allow the BB to discharge into the trailer load.  Probably the best of both worlds, but more work. The brakes draw almost 14 amps so the diode would have to support this if the BB was discharged or defective. Probably would require some heat sinking on the diode. 

BTW, seeing this relatively small wire connecting the house battery and the converter explains why I can get so much higher charging currents with jumper cables to the TV.
[/font]

[fasteddieb]

Thanks for the reminder!

Never even looked at my breakaway battery. On the road camping and just checked it. 12.32v.

Will place it on a charger when we get home. Might trace the leads to that junction box and install a 2-conductor plug for my BatteryTender and maybe charge it before each trip.

One curiousity: We're hooked up to 15A shore power. In removing the cover to the junction box, I was sitting on the ground and lightly brushed my chin against the trailer frame and got a tiny "tingle". Nothing with my hand, but confirmed a second time with my chin.

Checked with my voltmeter and I'm showing 12v AC between the trailer frame and earth ground.

Is this at all normal, or something to worry about?

[charliem]

[font size="3"]Eddie,

There should not be any voltage between the frame and true ground. First guess is a faulty ground connection. Check extension cords, 30/15 amp adapters, and the 15 amp receptacle. Maybe even the wiring to the breaker, particularly if the receptacle is added and/or in an out building. There are stray capacitive paths to ground within the trailer that can electrify the frame. Eliminating this is the purpose of a safety ground.
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