trailer breakaway box

RenegadeT

RenegadeT

no shirt,no shoes,no dice
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While towing my Kaufman trailer this w/e, I ran over a semi-tread straight down the centerline of my Ram/trailer. We heard it slapping the undercarriage as it went under, but everything seemed to be going fine so we trucked on. When we got to our destination, found the trailer breakway box MIA, just 2 blue wires sticking out of the trailer frame. The cable was still firmly attached to my truck, it was dragging on the ground for the rest of the ride.
My guess is the semi-tread knocked the breakaway box off, and the battery must be dead. If everything was functioning properly, shouldn't my trailer brakes have locked up once the breakaway box disappeared?
I know its not rocket science, will any replacement be fine?...for example this one that appears identical to the one I had...
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cht-52010?seid=google&gclid=CILo_7rImrYCFYdlOgodBx0Abg
 
Since you said it ripped the box completely off, and left the two blue wires hanging, I want to say it shouldn't have locked up... IIRC when you wire one up, the wire from the battery goes into the switch, then out to the brakes. When the plunger/cable is pulled out the switch makes contact. With the box completely gone there was nothing there to make contact and lock the brakes up.

Any replacement should be fine. I would splurge and get one of the ones with a built in battery condition tester. It would be good to check your battery while you are at it, is it rechargeable or a one time use battery? Do you have your wiring setup to keep it charged?
 
Doesn't the box keep a charge to actuate the breaks? If it ripped off instantaneously not sure how it could have done it's job. Just got my trailer (Kaufman also) with similar setup and am trying to learn all of this myself.
 
AX(J)15_tudor said:
Doesn't the box keep a charge to actuate the breaks? If it ripped off instantaneously not sure how it could have done it's job. Just got my trailer (Kaufman also) with similar setup and am trying to learn all of this myself.
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The switch he described doesn't keep a charge (unless the battery is self contained in the box), there is a separate battery that provides the charge. What he described was the switch was ripped off, but the battery remained, but since the switch was ripped off, there was nothing there to complete the circuit from the battery to the brakes.
 
yeah that makes sense, I was thinking it operating backwards from how you described. Thanks.
The battery is mounted separately, but I've never opened up the plastic box its in, so no idea if it gets recahrged from the truck or what. You're right, it would be good to do some investigation.
 
Don't some brake controllers warn of this and of battery charge? Could be worth the investment if so.
 
RenegadeT said:
yeah that makes sense, I was thinking it operating backwards from how you described. Thanks.
The battery is mounted separately, but I've never opened up the plastic box its in, so no idea if it gets recahrged from the truck or what. You're right, it would be good to do some investigation.
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Typically if you have a 7 way connection there is a +12v lead in that to keep the battery charged, (as well as camper 12v batteries, winch battery, etc) although some breakaway kits just use 12v non rechargeable batteries. Either way they should be checked periodically, if it is a rechargeable battery, check it with the trailer unhooked to make sure it is good, then connected and truck running to make sure it is charging. This is where the fancy boxes with a little led charge indicator comes in handy.

As far as brake controllers warning of that and the battery charge, I have the Tekonsha Prodigy P3, and I have seen no such diagnostics on it, although it does have several other trouble shooting/diagnostic outputs.
 
The breakaway battery is either completely isolated, or connected to the trucks 12v system for charging. Its not tied to the brake circuit until the breakaway cable gets pulled, so the prodigy has no way to monitor it.
 
That was helpful for me too even though it wasn't my question. I'm setting my trailer and truck up so another item is added to the checklist. I asked about brake controller because I glanced at the g2 brake boss controller material I just installed and saw battery voltage but I'll have to read further as to what that is for. I assume truck battery now.
 
AX(J)15_tudor said:
That was helpful for me too even though it wasn't my question. I'm setting my trailer and truck up so another item is added to the checklist. I asked about brake controller because I glanced at the g2 brake boss controller material I just installed and saw battery voltage but I'll have to read further as to what that is for. I assume truck battery now.
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That is just the battery voltage of the truck.
 
GCncsuHD said:
That is just the battery voltage of the truck.
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Thanks. I read up a little more last night and saw that. Checked my break away setup too. It doesn't have the fancy led, not sure how to test it's battery but I can see it's a tap product and newer replacement is $50 with led's. I'll try and test it but I may replace mine.
 
Just open it up, and test the battery with a volt meter. Should be ~12.6 volts, higher if it is connected to the vehicle and charging.
 
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