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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / RVs / October 2005testing brakes using 12 volt battery charger
This so cool! I am excited being a new trailer owner. I just bought a used Dutchmen '96 popup for the family. I am very mechanically inclined, however, electrical and this popup thing is all new to me. My trailer has electric brakes. Just picked it up over the weekend. I have read in many post how to test my brakes with a 12 v battery charger. My charger has a 12volt setting...simple enough. I figured set my charger to 12volts. On my 7way connector on the trailer, I see a blue wire for brake. Do I connect this to my positive on the battery charger? Where do I connect the negative connector on the battery charger, on the frame or dont connect to anything? This is my first step in testing my brakes. Next topic to learn, turning on my propane heater. The trailer had no manuals to explain how the trailer works. Thanks all...hope to see you camping :} If you use 12V directly to the brakes, you will be blocking them hard! Kind of using the breakaway switch. If you do have a breakaway switch (and a 12V battery connected to the trailer) you are better to use this. Make sure you don't have the tow vehicule connected to the trailer. pull the breakaway switch and you will hear the magnet snap. you shouldn't be able to turn the wheels once engaged on the breakaway. In my opinion, it would be better to get a Brake Controller installed on the tow vehicule and test the brakes using a controller. Mel JB a écrit: > This so cool! I am excited being a new trailer owner. > [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Thanks all...hope to see you camping :} > If you use 12V directly to the brakes, you will be blocking them hard! > Kind of using the breakaway switch. Nothing wrong with this. > If you do have a breakaway switch (and a 12V battery connected to the > trailer) you are better to use this. Might be easier, but better? How? > Make sure you don't have the tow > vehicule connected to the trailer. pull the breakaway switch and you > will hear the magnet snap. Not always. If the magnets are already against the drum, you won't hear anything. > You shouldn't be able to turn the wheels > once engaged on the breakaway. This is definitely true. If they're working, they are meant to stop a speeding trailer, way more force than you can apply by hand. > In my opinion, it would be better to get a Brake Controller installed on > the tow vehicule and test the brakes using a controller. Dutchmen trailers tend to be small (i.e. light). If they are not working, he may not want to bother getting the controller. IMHO, having trailer brakes is always better than not having them, but I could see him not wanting to spend $60 for a cheap controller if he then has to pay $50 for new brake magnets. meldix, I don't recall seeing you post with such poor grammar before. Did you post this after staying up all night or something? It seems out of character. Austin AustinMN a écrit: >>If you use 12V directly to the brakes, you will be blocking them hard! >>Kind of using the breakaway switch. > > Nothing wrong with this. did I say something was wrong??? >>If you do have a breakaway switch (and a 12V battery connected to the >>trailer) you are better to use this. > > Might be easier, but better? How? You are more certain that you won't mess up with Positive and Negative, ground, and choosing the good hole from the 7pin connector. Also you are sure you'll be sending the good voltage to the magnet >>Make sure you don't have the tow >>vehicule connected to the trailer. pull the breakaway switch and you >>will hear the magnet snap. > > Not always. If the magnets are already against the drum, you won't > hear anything. Probably true... mine have always snapped when I tested this way >>You shouldn't be able to turn the wheels >>once engaged on the breakaway. > > This is definitely true. If they're working, they are meant to stop a > speeding trailer, way more force than you can apply by hand. At least I got this one OK :-) >>In my opinion, it would be better to get a Brake Controller installed on >>the tow vehicule and test the brakes using a controller. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > could see him not wanting to spend $60 for a cheap controller if he > then has to pay $50 for new brake magnets. IMO, if the trailer has brakes, use them > meldix, I don't recall seeing you post with such poor grammar before. > Did you post this after staying up all night or something? It seems > out of character. No, I posted this morning... can't figure where my grammar was so poor, but this may be because my first language (written and speaking) if French and probably end up having some bad translation! Mel > Austin Thanks for the help, both of you thank you for educating me....especially I wanted to test the brakes using a 12V battery charger because I have not purchased a controller yet. By the way, I am leaning towards a Tekonsha Prodigy unless someone has a better sugestion. I wanted to test the brakes so I can buy the controller and any brake parts I needed at the same time. Could someone answer my other question? If I connect the positive clamp on the battery charger to the blue brake wire via 7 way trailer connector, what do I do with the negative connector on the battery charger. The battery charger has two leads; postive and negative. Doesnt the negative lead on the battery charger have to be connected to something...this is my important question. Second, will I damage my trailer brakes if I use the 12V battery charger? I plan to jack up the trailer and spin the tires. I want to use the 12volt battery charger to see if the brake clamps work. If they don't then I will take the drums off and do further evaluation. I just want a way to a.ses the condition of the trailer brake. My whole objective is to purchase all the parts in one shot so I am trying to assess the condition of the brakes. I have a Toyota 4Runner. I am fairly sure this is a negative ground - not that I am familiar with the term. Do I have to worry about this when I hook up my controller and breakaway switch? Can someone verify? Tekonsha is the way to go! as for the positive and using teh charger... I am really not sure... that's why I was proposing alternate solutions. 12V to the brakes will not damage them, but from the charger...don't know (technically, if connected properly (which is the main issue here), should not!) There is probably a way to use the 7pin connector to bring 12V to the brakes, if the pop-up is plugged in 120V, usually the converter sends 12V to the 7Pin. that's how I able to run the running lights at night by jumping with a fuse Pin 4 and 3 (I think it's 4 and 3...black and green) would the same apply to black and blue?? to run the brakes?? Mel arielbanzon@yahoo.com a écrit: > Thanks for the help, both of you > [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > not that I am familiar with the term. Do I have to worry about this > when I hook up my controller and breakaway switch? Can someone verify? >Tekonsha is the way to go! Prodigy is a much better controller, while more expensive, it's the closest you can get to a true proportional brake controller without going bankrupt trying to buy it.  SignatureFrank Tabor > >Tekonsha is the way to go! > > Prodigy is a much better controller, while more expensive, it's the > closest you can get to a true proportional brake controller without > going bankrupt trying to buy it. Prodigy is a Tekonsha. >> >Tekonsha is the way to go! >> [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >Prodigy is a Tekonsha. You're correct, I wasn't paying attention. SignatureFrank Tabor > >> >Tekonsha is the way to go! > >> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > You're correct, I wasn't paying attention. So I am not the only one with that problem? Actually for a small trailer any of their units would be good. I have an Envoy and it is a very good control but presently I have the Prodigy. More important now as the trailer is rather heavy and I make use of the boost setting. My thought is that the cost difference is only about $40 so might as well go with the Prodigy. The Jordan Ultima is an excellent control. I think a bit more complicated to install. http://www.jordanbrake.com/ Not much you can determine by testing the brakes when sitting still. Your charger might not be able to deliver enough current. Anyway, the negative of the charger would have to go to ground. Pin 1 of the connector or just the chassis. You didn't answer the question as to if you have a trailer battery. If you do you should have a break away switch. You really need a controller to test the brakes. Then pulling it at a slow speed and using the manual lever you should be able to lock up the wheels. Trailer brakes are usually not a problem. Better still, you should pack your wheel bearings. Then you will get a look at the condition of the brake pads. It is recommended at they be packed every year. > Thanks for the help, both of you > [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > not that I am familiar with the term. Do I have to worry about this > when I hook up my controller and breakaway switch? Can someone verify? > Thanks for the help, both of you Not sure I helped...but I'll try now. > I wanted to test the brakes using a 12V battery charger because I have > not purchased a controller yet. By the way, I am leaning towards a > Tekonsha Prodigy unless someone has a better sugestion. The Tekonsha Prodigy is by far one of the best. The only thing I know of that might be better is the Jordan Ultima. But the Ultima is definitely more expensive and more involved to install. > I wanted to > test the brakes so I can buy the controller and any brake parts I > needed at the same time. More important than testing them with 12V would be inspecting them. Someone suggested repacking the bearings. This gives you direct visual access to the magnets, so you can see if they need replacing, which may be the case even if they function normally. The magnets wear, just like the shoes, but not as fast. Eventually, they reach the point that they will short out. You can't tell if they are near that point just by testing. > Could someone answer my other question? If I connect the positive > clamp on the battery charger to the blue brake wire via 7 way trailer > connector, what do I do with the negative connector on the battery > charger. The battery charger has two leads; postive and negative. > Doesnt the negative lead on the battery charger have to be connected to > something...this is my important question. Connect the negative lead to any bare metal part of the frame, but first make sure the trailer isn't connected to anything. In other words, make sure the trailer is unplugged. > Second, will I damage my trailer brakes if I use the 12V battery > charger? Not unless you leave it on for a long time, whatever that is (15 minutes or more?). If one of the magnets is badly shorted, that could cause wires to melt or overload the charger. You will be doing the test without a fuse (unless you rig something). A 10 or 15 amp fuse would do. > I plan to jack up the trailer and spin the tires. I want to > use the 12volt battery charger to see if the brake clamps work. If > they don't then I will take the drums off and do further evaluation. I > just want a way to a.ses the condition of the trailer brake. All you will really be assesing is the circuit. Excess or uneven wear can still exist even if the magnets and activator arms work the way you expect them to. > My whole objective is to purchase all the parts in one shot so I am > trying to assess the condition of the brakes. I understand. There is nothing like having to make 5 trips to the parts store for a stupid 1-hour job. Not that I've ever done that. > I have a Toyota 4Runner. I am fairly sure this is a negative ground - > not that I am familiar with the term. Do I have to worry about this > when I hook up my controller and breakaway switch? Can someone verify? Most, and maybe all, American-made vehicles are negative ground. Most imports are now, too. Positive ground is the exception to the rule, and is extremely rare nowdays. What I'd like to know is what we are all going to do when GM goes to 42 volt electrical systems. Austin > This so cool! I am excited being a new trailer owner. > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > have read in many post how to test my brakes with a 12 v battery > charger. Your trailer should have an on board battery. If it does, it should have a break-a-way switch on the tongue. This switch has a cable extending from the front that fastens to the tow vehicle when towing and locks the brakes if it becomes separated form your tow vehicle. If you have this setup, jack up 1 wheel at the time, get wheel spinning and pull the cable until it pops out of the switch. If the brakes on that wheel are working, it will stop at once. Then do the same on the other side. This assumes the trailer battery is charged. If you don't have this break-a-way switch, just plug the electrical cable into the tow vehicle and follow the same routine except put on tow vehicle brakes instead of pulling the cable from the break-a-way switch. For your information, most state's highway regulations require the break-a-way switch. SignatureTom J http://www.fleetwoodclub.org/ |
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