March Tech 101 Article

By: Fran Pepi

As I write this, it’s the end of February and STILL cold and snowy here in Western New York. The older I get, the more I dislike winter! Pretty soon we’ll be getting our trailers out of winter hibernation and one piece of equipment that needs to be checked is the break-away system which includes the battery. Before I put my trailer in storage for the winter, I remove the battery and then charge it before the trailer goes into service for the season. Then I try to remember to check its state of charge on a regular basis and charge it if necessary during the season. Well, as my family and friends know, my memory can be pretty bad and I forget to do it. I wanted to have the battery charge off of the tow vehicles electrical system. You can purchase a battery with a built in charger from companies such as Tekonsha and Hoppy. Just do an internet search for “breakaway battery charger”. This setup will charge the battery while you’re towing with your tow vehicles electrical system powering the charger. For my truck, I used a relay that was activated only when the ignition is on and it routes power to the breakaway battery through the 7-pin trailer connector. In this way the trucks charging system will keep the battery charged. This should keep the battery up so if there ever is a breakaway situation, there will be enough power to engage the trailer brakes and minimize damage. The 7-pin connector uses 5 of the terminals for left turn, right turn, parking lights, ground and trailer brakes. The two extra are usually marked for 12 volts and auxiliary. The auxiliary is typically the center pin. I used the 12 volt terminal for my charging circuit.

So when you get your trailer ready for the upcoming season, check out the battery and consider some sort of automated charging. If you want to test the breakaway switch and battery, DO NOT activate the switch with the trailer hooked to the tow vehicle. It may cause damage to the brake controller due to back feeding of current into the unit. Always follow the manufacturers instructions for installation, maintenance and testing. Questions and comments are welcome and can be sent to me at FP442@aol.com.

By: Fran Pepi