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Old 05-23-2012, 03:36 PM   #21
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Originally Posted by azflycaster View Post
Maybe their is a second battery or a solar panel.
If this is not the source of the voltage with all else disconnected you may have invented the preternatural motion machine.

What are you using as a ground when measuring this spurious voltage, Chassis?
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Old 05-23-2012, 03:52 PM   #22
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I'm getting the 12v reading with a multimeter. It eventually lost the power after about 15 minutes at a steady decrease in voltage of about 1/minute. I took a second reading at the positive feed at the battery and got the same reading.
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Old 05-23-2012, 04:13 PM   #23
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What are you using for the ground when you measure this voltage. The Chassis?

Are you saying that you measured voltage at 2 different location at 2 different times? If so what was the time laps between these measurements?

It beginning to look like there is a solar panel some where on that trailer.
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Old 05-23-2012, 04:40 PM   #24
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Get a auto pig tail fuse holder and some 15 amp fuses.
Connect the battery on the trailer. With the meter locate the pin on the U cord that has 12 volts to chassis. Put a fuse in the fuse holder. Put on end in the pin on the U cord that had 12 volts. Now one by one touch each of the other pins and have someone note what comes on. You will see the parking lights, the left and right directional. Two of the pins will most likely blow the fuse. The ground and possibly the brakes. Once you have determined what may be the brakes and ground jack up one side of the trailer and while someone spins one of the wheels again touch one of these two pins. If the fuse blows replace it and try the other, that should be the brakes and the wheel should stop when you touch that pin.

Now you have mapped the trailer electrical system at the U cord. With your meter find 12 volts on the truck, ignition may have to be on depending on your trucks wiring, and have someone turn on, one at a time, the parking lights, left and right directional and hit the brakes. Test the remaining pin for for ground to the truck chassis with the ohm meter.

Let us know if the pin configuration is the same, note they will be on opposite sides as you look at the u cord and the truck receptacle.

The center pin may or may not be hooked up as it is often used as an Aux Connection.

We need to know that there is not a wiring problem between the 2 units.
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Old 05-23-2012, 05:42 PM   #25
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In my mind, the primary question is a secondary concern . . . after the phenomena of measurable voltage on a disconnected wire. I'd actually pay to see this in person.
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Old 05-24-2012, 05:47 AM   #26
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I did the 12v test on the lines and everything is as it should be and working properly. I attempted to bypass everything and wire the break away switch straight from the battery and to the same brake line that the TV uses on the camper side harness and within a few seconds after pulling the plug on the switch, it melted. Almost makes me think I'm getting feedback from the camper brakes causing an over voltage, but if that were the case I would think it would affect the brake controller on the TV. I pulled the converter/charger and completely required it last night as well as every growing wire I could locate and the battery connections as well and the results were the same as before. Brakes/lights work perfectly with the TV but as soon as I hookup the camper battery, the TV controller doesn't recognize that the camper is hooked up.
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Old 05-24-2012, 07:07 AM   #27
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Are you saying the breakaway switch melted? If so, I would suspect that you either have a coil in one of the brake assemblies that is shorted to common/ground, the wire from the breakaway switch is shorted to common/ground or the wiring to the brakes under the trailer is shorted.
Did the wires from the breakaway switch melt? Or did you just blow up the breakaway switch?
I would start with a meter and look for shorts to ground.
I would also use a battery charger for a power source to check everything out. You won't burn things up using a battery charger. If there is a short, the charger will just crowbar and shut down.
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Old 05-24-2012, 07:18 AM   #28
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Not knowing how you wire the emergency switch and what size wire you used. If you used less than a #12 wire I can understand that the melted. That was the reason for requiring a 15 amp fuse while testing the brakes so it would fail before something melted. That circuit supplies the full battery voltage to the brakes and will normally melt any wire in it that is less than #12. The only reason I could see it melting a correctly sized wire is if one of the brake magnets was shorted internally. That would cause the current to go beyond the limits of correctly sized wire.

You might contact the maker of the controller and ask if a shorted magnet would effect the proof of connection circuit, TV to trailer, in their controller.

I am sorry but I do not think I should remotely offer any additional help.
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Old 05-24-2012, 10:29 AM   #29
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It melted the wires preassembled on the switch as well as the switch housing
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Old 05-24-2012, 10:30 AM   #30
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As for the TV controller it will pop up a s.c. code identifying a short circuit if one is detected
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Old 05-24-2012, 11:47 AM   #31
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If you connected the positive 12 volt power to the breakaway switch and the wires melted along with the destruction of the breakaway switch, I think you have a short down stream, either in the wiring going to the brakes or internally in the brakes themselves.
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Old 05-24-2012, 12:33 PM   #32
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Quote:
Originally Posted by THEMACS3 View Post
I did the 12v test on the lines and everything is as it should be and working properly. I attempted to bypass everything and wire the break away switch straight from the battery and to the same brake line that the TV uses on the camper side harness and within a few seconds after pulling the plug on the switch, it melted.
I assume you realize that both wires connected to the break away switch are 12 volt positive.

To test the break away switch, connect one switch lead to 12 volt positive, and the other lead to the positive 12 volt coach wheel brake wire. When the pin is pulled on the switch, the brakes engage.

If one switch wire is connected to 12 volt positive, and the other switch lead in connected to 12 volt negative, a dead short will be created and the wires as well as the switch will burn up.

All the break away switch does is supply power to the brakes. If the trailer brakes work fine when connected to the tow vehicle, and burn up when tested, there's a LOT wrong with the wiring.

Simply rewiring everything should fix it. I had to do that with mine when I got it.

`
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Old 05-24-2012, 12:45 PM   #33
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Unless you grounded the output side of the brake away switch just after the switch by mistake you have a DEAD SHORT between the brake away switch and the brakes. That short may be one of the magnets in one of the brakes. In any case if you melted the wires at the switch you have most likely melted the brake wiring in the trailer because that is a lighter gauge wire after the separation form side to side in the brake system. The short may be in the axle tube as some times they use the tube to get from the drivers side to the other side. It is common for that wire to rub to a short inside the tube.

The only way to be safe is a complete rewiring of the brake system and a check of the magnets for shorts. Depending on how the brake away switch output wire is routed to the brakes you may have to replace the U Cord If the output wire goes directly to the junction box in the trailer and does not touch any other wiring you should be OK. If it is enclosed tight to any other wiring you My have other burnt wires to deal with.

After rewiring use the 15 amp fuse technique, for a 2 axle trailer and a 20 amp fuse for a tri axle trailer to check the brake away switch lest you melt things again. Do not leave the fuse in the system once it has checked out OK.
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Old 05-24-2012, 01:02 PM   #34
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Howie, wouldn't a short at the brakes reflect back to the controller and affect the operations from the TV as well? Remember everything is functioning properly until I hookup the battery
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Old 05-24-2012, 01:35 PM   #35
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Alright now we are in the swamp of intermittent electrical problems.

I have had a short in the axle tube twice that would come and go depending on road conditions and how the wire came to rest when I stopped. That condition is not a solid electrical connection and would allow some of the brakes to work with the controller. Keep in mind that the controller is a current limiting devise where as the brake has no current limit and thus feeds full 12 volts unlimited current when it is closed. Under normal conditions the resistance of the magnets would be the current limit in the system when the brake away switch is closed and as long as the wire size is big enough nothing will melt.

Now if you have a change in the resistance of one of the magnets, shorted internally, the current will go up and a meltdown can occur. The other condition that could result in a melt down is a worn wire that is VERY CLOSE to but not electrically connected to a ground, the axle tube of chassis. When this condition is present and you apply full 12 volts an arc may occur and fuse that wire to ground. Now you have a Dead SHORT and thing start to melt.

If you rewire the axle strap the wire to the outside of the tube to prevent this problem in the future.

I still can't understand why just hook the trailer battery up would cause the original problem but now you have a bigger issue that has to be resolved before you get back to the battery question.
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Old 06-04-2012, 06:04 PM   #36
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Howie, you were absolutely correct with your assumption. A complete re-wire from the brakes out took care of the issues. I'm able to run the battery and the break-away switch works perfectly. Thanks for all the help!
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Old 06-04-2012, 06:23 PM   #37
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It sounds like you have the problem solved. What size wire did you use for the brakes to connector at the tongue?
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Old 06-05-2012, 03:50 AM   #38
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