Charging battery from tow vehicle

danemayer

Well-known member
I moved your post to its own thread.

The 7 pin connector does connect to the trailer battery and will provide some charging while towing. But there are a few things to note: first, the wire only allows a relatively low current to pass, so you won't get all that much charging. Second, it's a fused circuit in the tow vehicle and the fuse may not be installed at the factory. Third, on some tow vehicles, the wire is hot all the time. On others, it's only hot when the engine is running.
 
I have checked the tow vehicle plug and the 12V power is there. I do not have any power from the trailer plug. Tried to find the connection in the battery area but the wires are a jumble. Have 12V on bus bar and circuits breakers and fuses are all good. Might be something left undone. I have a 2018 Road Warrior 428 if that helps.
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
download.pngHere is a picture that shows pin designations. You should have only one +12 volt pin and one neutral (-).
36eII8wfhbTk0DydEBDI6m1JUyb8XL5NjCFzrvhJ5xeMPXKpj DytmPStDtj6JAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC


Peace
Dave
 

cookie

Administrator
Staff member
Oops, sorry about the poor quality pic. I'll update later today.

Peace
Dave
 

Gary521

Well-known member
I have checked the tow vehicle plug and the 12V power is there. I do not have any power from the trailer plug. Tried to find the connection in the battery area but the wires are a jumble. Have 12V on bus bar and circuits breakers and fuses are all good. Might be something left undone. I have a 2018 Road Warrior 428 if that helps.
There is a junction box behind the pin box. This is where the connection is made between the plug cable and the rest of the 12 volt system ( brakes, battery, break away cable, lights ). Start here with the checking and the diagram provided.
 

centerline

Well-known member
in addition to what has already beensaid..... some vehicles are set up differently, and so some wont allow power to pass unless the vehicle is running, where others may just need the keyswitch on... and this is providing the circuit is active, as some vehicles dont have the fuse in it....

and then.... some vehicles will disconnect this circuit when the keyswitch is shut off, and others will allow it to be active ALL the time, which WILL drain your vehicle battery if you over use the power in the trailer....

but as for charging, the wire in this circuit will allow very little power back into the batteries of the trailer, because by the time the voltage and current gets all the way back to the trailer batteries thru the SMALL wire, the current and voltage loss will be such that there will be little force left in it to trickle itself into the trailer batteries...

having a "custom" circuit from the vehicle to the trailer plug is a much better option if you want to put a few more amps into the trailer batteries when traveling..

depending on how the "hot" wire from the tow vehicle is set up to operate, if the circuit goes dead when the keyswitch is off, you probable wont get as many amps replaced in the batteries when traveling, than you use in the evening... UNLESS you plug into shorepower...

if the circuit remains active all the time, as you use power out of the trailer batteries in the evening, the vehicle batts will suppliment the trailer batteries... then once you go to bed and shut out the lights, the vehicle battery will continue to drain into the trailer battery until they are nearly equalized... this is good if you are traveling everyday, but not so good if you are set up and connected for a few days, as it can discharge the vehicle battery to the point your truck wont start....

its my opinion that an added circuit with a #8 wire is a better choice for the hot wire from the vehicle to the trailer plug, which comes from a solenoid so its only active when the keyswitch is on, or the engine is running...
 
What a great group. Was originally trying to find out why the trailer 7 pin did not have 12V. Now I will need to run a wire from the box at the pin back to the battery. Also the team was correct. My truck equipped with a factory 5th/Gooseneck connection, need to have a fuse and wire installed to Stud 1. Thanks for all the support.

Truck is a 2017 GMC 3500 Sierra. Never would have thought the battery would not connect to the 7 pin given the configuration.
 
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