Mr Wato Posted July 21, 2010 Report Share Posted July 21, 2010 Hi to allCan anyone help with the breakaway battery charging system ????I have had the van plugged in full a couple of days now and the 12v switch for the brake battery on, but the battery still seems to be flat....I am supposed to be going over the pits tommorro to licence it... Hope they dont check the breakaway brakes !!!any help would be great thanks Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John and Ann Posted July 21, 2010 Report Share Posted July 21, 2010 Hi Phil,Don't have my van as yet, patiently waiting for December so winging it a bit here.You have not said if it was ever charging, most common cause would be no 12v supply to the charging pin of the caravan/trailer socket of the car (pin 2 on 7 pin plugs, black wire designated as reversing light but should have been connected for charging when the brake controller was fitted to your vehicle. I don't believe you need to operate any switches on the breakaway controller to initiate the charging.It may be possible that the breakaway battery will only charge when the vehicle ignition key is on Acc. or On (running), not really too sure, a tester on pin 2 of the vehicle will cear that up.It is also entirely possible that the breakaway controller is connected to the caravan's 12v system to get its' charge circuit, but that does not seem to be the case. A quick check of where the wiring goes will answer that.Best of luck, I'm sure it will be tested over the pits.John :thumbsup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyH Posted July 21, 2010 Report Share Posted July 21, 2010 Hi Phil,Check owners manual that came with van, the battery should be replaced every two years. Easy to replace & available from Dick Smith's or Tandy for about $50CU down the road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King and Deb Posted July 21, 2010 Report Share Posted July 21, 2010 Hi Phil, I've just had to replace my battery spent all last trip away trying to charge it off the van batteries and still no good decided for around $35 from Jaycar in the Gabba was easier to get a new one.King. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Wato Posted July 22, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2010 Hi allthanks for infothe van is brand new only towed from the truck depot home..... bought a new battery anyway but has still not fixed the problem... spoke to Tom at Kedron all a bit confused... on going... i think there is a prob with breakaway charge system..Anyway got it licenced today and fitted brand new private number plate which reads OUR SHACKheading south tomorro for the weekend just to try out the mattress... ok and the fridgecheers Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Lane Posted July 27, 2010 Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 I`m remembering I had a problem with our breakaway not charging, traced it to a missing wire in the tow vehicles trailer plug that charges the batteryfor the break away unit :confused: ! Rick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Wato Posted July 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 27, 2010 Thanks Rick but I know there is a wire there.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glacier Bill Posted August 15, 2010 Report Share Posted August 15, 2010 Phil, We had the breakaway battery go flat on our van (only 12 months old) for no reason, caused all sorts of problems to brake controller. Had an auto electrician look at it at Longreach couldn't find anything wrong except the battery was flat. Charged battery and all has been well since. Use a loww amp charger to the red and black terminals on breakaway unit. When the battery was recharged the problems with the controller dissapeared. I occasionally put the charger on the unit if we are not mobile for awhile.Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyH Posted August 15, 2010 Report Share Posted August 15, 2010 I had to replace my breakaway battery when we were in Darwin, battery flat & as dead as a dodo.Whilst fitting new battery refered to owners manual, I believe that my unit has possibly been incorrectly wired at the factory.I have made up a short fused jumper lead to go from the breakaway control unit 'charging point' to the nearest AGM battery....all good now....will have wiring checked when next at Brendale.Hope this helpsCU down the road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webby Posted August 15, 2010 Report Share Posted August 15, 2010 We had this problem also Tony and fixed it in the same way you did. All good now, although I believe Breakaway don't recommend wiring direct to the house battery.Pays to check on this little unit every now and then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glacier Bill Posted August 23, 2010 Report Share Posted August 23, 2010 Tony,I don't think there is anything wrong with wiring the brakesafe to the house batteries other than if the pin is pulled accidently the brakes will be activated for as long as there is charge in the battery. The small battery is used in the unit as it will go flat in about 15 - 20 minutes and not cook the magnets in the brakes.Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lionel and Margaret Posted August 24, 2010 Report Share Posted August 24, 2010 HI allI had a problem with brake controler and rang the manufactures in Adelaide. I was going to connect directly to the house batteries and was told that if the switch is pulled out the batteries will supply power for long enough to cause fire in the magnets (approx 1-11/2 hours) Lionel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glen and Debbie Posted August 24, 2010 Report Share Posted August 24, 2010 That makes a lot of sense Lionel. I imagine it must draw a fairly high current, so if it doesn't cause a fire it will probably flatten the batteries in a pretty short time. Some bright spark may think it's funny to go pulling the switch on vans as a joke or you may inadvertently pull it out and having a 15 minute power supply seems the safer option. Previously I thought it was a good idea to hook it up to the main batteries but I won't be doing it now. :thumbsup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the crow and i Posted August 25, 2010 Report Share Posted August 25, 2010 Hi I had the same problem a flat battery and was having a whinge to my brother (a phoenix owner) he advised that the breakaway battery is charged from the tug and it was a common problem if the van has been sitting idle for some time as mine was.I charged the battery and all is ok, :pray: but I now keep an eye on it.I guess as with all batteries the older it is the less charge it holds.Bryan :thumbsup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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