I have a 2018 Ford F350 that I pull my camper with. I noticed that I am not charging my camper when in Tow. Last night I tested my 7 Pin Adapter on the truck and I am only getting 7 Volts out of the 12 Volt pin. I am not sure where to go from here. Has anyone had this issue before
Unit Not Charging While Traveling
- Thread starter JfChoti
- Start date
taskswap
Well-known member
There is definitely something wrong on the truck side of your setup. Lots of folks have "charging while driving" issues and there are products out there to help, but they all still expect that you get 12V on the 12V pin. Sorry, this isn't a Heartland-forum issue. You either need to diagnose this yourself or get your vehicle to a mechanic or the dealer.
My totally uneducated, no-facts-included (working just with what you posted) guess is a short somewhere. Mice chewing through wiring - that sort of thing.
Before you go further, what exactly do you mean by 12V pin? There is a pin that's (normally) supposed to provide 12V for "charging" but it's usually called "AUX". I'm being hyper-specific because a very common mistake is to measure one of the lighting/brake pins instead. Vehicle manufacturers install these jacks all kinds of ways, including upside-down, and it's very common to have a lower voltage on a lighting or brake circuit. Your truck could even be mis-wired. If the voltage changes at all if someone steps on the brake pedal or turns on/off the lights (full ON/OFF vs AUTO) that's a clue.
My totally uneducated, no-facts-included (working just with what you posted) guess is a short somewhere. Mice chewing through wiring - that sort of thing.
Before you go further, what exactly do you mean by 12V pin? There is a pin that's (normally) supposed to provide 12V for "charging" but it's usually called "AUX". I'm being hyper-specific because a very common mistake is to measure one of the lighting/brake pins instead. Vehicle manufacturers install these jacks all kinds of ways, including upside-down, and it's very common to have a lower voltage on a lighting or brake circuit. Your truck could even be mis-wired. If the voltage changes at all if someone steps on the brake pedal or turns on/off the lights (full ON/OFF vs AUTO) that's a clue.
RoadJunkie
Well-known member
I would look at your ground wires on both vehicles. Where are you measuring to get your 7 Vdc? Truck side or camper side? There is a bunch of expertise on this forum and connecting to, and charging of, your camper certainly fits within the imaginary boundaries of a Heartland-Forum issue.
Thank you all the issue specifically is with the Aux 12V output. I have been doing a lot of research and apparently Fords have this crazy sequence of events that must be completed prior to delivering the power -- Truck must be on, Truck must be in drive, Brake peddle must be depressed some number of times, the truck must detect the presence of a trailer, and some even say it must be moving forward. All this leaves me at loss as to how I can possibly test and verify the 12 V output is actually working.
taskswap
Well-known member
I mean just a crazy idea, but why not hook up your trailer? These connectors don't have any modern/magic signaling in them - there's no communication. I'm guessing Ford is either introducing a safety or reliability measure to deal with things like shorts etc on the AUX pin. But rather than mess with trying to fool it by simulating lights that are hooked up, just plug in your trailer. You can still measure the voltage if you go back to the junction box where the cable breaks out into your trailer. With your vehicle off you should see 12.4V or so on the pin. Start your vehicle and when your alternator gets going you should see 13.6 or so (it can vary). If your truck truly needs to be in Drive (possible, though it's the first I've heard THAT one) obviously you'll want an assistant, but it should be a quick test.
It's really hard to imagine you have to actually be moving, though... I'd love to see a reference for that because that seems to me like it would just cause thousands of customer complaints. It would be a pretty weird way to operate a trailer connector...
Have you thought about trying one of these? It would be a cheap thing to try.
It's really hard to imagine you have to actually be moving, though... I'd love to see a reference for that because that seems to me like it would just cause thousands of customer complaints. It would be a pretty weird way to operate a trailer connector...
Have you thought about trying one of these? It would be a cheap thing to try.
2019_V22
Well-known member
It's a common point of discussion, do you have the factory brake controller? There is a charging module that needs to understand that there is a trailer in tow, and apparently a fuse that needs to be in place. My Ford is older and I use a Tekonsha controller. Here is the start of your rabbit hole. Check your owners manual too.
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f44/2018-f350-charge-to-trailer-452368.html
https://www.powerstroke.org/threads/trailer-brake-battery-not-charging.1220473/
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f44/2018-f350-charge-to-trailer-452368.html
https://www.powerstroke.org/threads/trailer-brake-battery-not-charging.1220473/
wdk450
Well-known member
This looks from a websearch that I did, that Ford decided to add all sorts of qualifications to the computer programming that evidently controls the relay that sends good power to the charging pin, as you related. I don't think you can conquer this conventionally. I haven't heard of any other brand of truck that has all these computer driven "safeguards" on their towed vehicle battery charging pin. WE SHOULD ALL REMEMBER THAT THE ORIGINAL, PRIMARY PURPOSE, OF THE TOWED VEHICLE CHARGIING PIN IS TO KEEP THE BATTERY IN THE TOWED VEHICLE CONTINUALLY CHARGED UP. SO THAT IF THERE IS A TRAILER DISCONNECT DURING TOWING THE ELECTRIC BRAKES ON THE TRAILER WILL ACTIVATE AND STOP THE RUNAWAY TRAILER!!! Anything (including towing vehicle software) that prevents the trailer battery from being kept at a charge level where it can do its "EMERGENCY JOB", is a highway safety hazard.
What I HAVE read about (I believe on this forum) posted by people who were running inverters, or other higher power devices in their trailers that needed a reliable source of power from the truck's alternator/battery system) was clipping off the factory wiring to the charging pin, wiring their own medium to large current cable in the truck from the battery to the rear of the truck (including appropriate fusing), wiring a separate higher current male/female connector to the umbilical cable and the trailer (thus eliminating the smaller current restrictions of the smaller 7 pin connector charging pin/socket).
I had problems with my Dodge rig for some unknown reason causing the truck 25 amp towing charging fuse to blow intermittently, and me not finding out until the trailer battery had discharged. I installed a 20 amp self resetting circuit breaker inside the umbilical connections box in the pinbox area. If one of my mystery charging system overloads now happens (I haven't had this problem since I made the modification years ago), the self resetting breaker with the lower rating trips BEFORE the truck charging fuse blows, resets when overload is gone, and the truck fuse (with no indicators to tell you it has blown) never blows.
What I HAVE read about (I believe on this forum) posted by people who were running inverters, or other higher power devices in their trailers that needed a reliable source of power from the truck's alternator/battery system) was clipping off the factory wiring to the charging pin, wiring their own medium to large current cable in the truck from the battery to the rear of the truck (including appropriate fusing), wiring a separate higher current male/female connector to the umbilical cable and the trailer (thus eliminating the smaller current restrictions of the smaller 7 pin connector charging pin/socket).
I had problems with my Dodge rig for some unknown reason causing the truck 25 amp towing charging fuse to blow intermittently, and me not finding out until the trailer battery had discharged. I installed a 20 amp self resetting circuit breaker inside the umbilical connections box in the pinbox area. If one of my mystery charging system overloads now happens (I haven't had this problem since I made the modification years ago), the self resetting breaker with the lower rating trips BEFORE the truck charging fuse blows, resets when overload is gone, and the truck fuse (with no indicators to tell you it has blown) never blows.
2019_V22
Well-known member
Are you referring to the Dc to DC charger (inverter)? A viable option for sure.
Most likely you have a bad ground in the plug on the truck. These plugs are known to get water inside and corrode the wiring in the plug. Take the plug out of the bumper and check it for water and dirt. The water flies back on them when driving. I had this issue and it was a dirty plug. With only 7 volts at the plug. Really sounds like a poor ground.
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