I have a United Enclosed trailer that is draining my pickup battery if i leave it hooked up to the pickup even with everything off. It has a deep cycle battery in it for the lights and electric jack which are the only thing hooked up to it. It also has a battery shut off switch, fuse panel, and a charger for the battery if you hook it up to 110. The previous owners never had a problem with it draining the battery and was always pulled by various years Chevy Duramaxes. I think they added the charger right before I got it. I have it hooked up to a 07 F150. Any ideas to check. Also I just rewired the trailer brakes all the way to the junction box cause they were chewed up if there is anything there i could have messed up. Thanks for any help.
Trailer drains pickup battery
- Thread starter ndmtnsledder
- Start date
The 7 way plug has an auxliary power lead that is supposed to charge the trailer battery when the engine is running. In the old days you would use a battery isolate, lets power go out when the engine is running only. That 07 should shut off battery power via relay. Look at the truck plug, it should show you what terminal is for what, find the accessorie power lead and with a test light see if it has power when the key is off and out of the ignition, if it is, its in the truck. if not make sure the plug wiring is correct.
One reason why it was not a problem on the D-max is that the D-max has a much larger reserve capacity on the battery[it being a deisel] . Your f150 has a much smaller battery, maybe just upgrade the battery.
It was pulled with a 2004 1500 Ram for a trip and never had a problem with the battery draining. Not sure if a bigger battery would accually help. I know Ford Puts in crappy Batteries but I doubt the 1/2 ton Dodge is much better.
I already have a 1100cca battery in the pickup so thats not the problem. I'll check the aux plug and see if its turning power off to the trailer when the keys off.
Some trucks have a relay as pointed out, this prevents the truck from charging the through the 7way plug when the truck is off. If I remember the Duramaxes charge all the time and the 8.0l gas truck shut off. You can add a relay if your truck doesn't have one or you can chase the problem down by using a DMM and make sure everything was done correctly. look for a Cole Hersee 24106 or 24612 Continuous Duty Solenoid JMHO
Any kind of battery drain is caused by a draw from somewhere. Get a test light and with the ign. shut off start looking for the live wires. Start at the truck plug find which ones are live then find out where they go from the corresponding trailer plug. I would start with the brakes since that was the most recent work performed. A pinched wire will also cause a draw so look real close at all spots that could have one.
If you can't find anything this way write up what you have done on this thread and I will try to walk you through other possabilities.I do a lot of wiring and have for years so I am not likley to steer you wrong.
If you can't find anything this way write up what you have done on this thread and I will try to walk you through other possabilities.I do a lot of wiring and have for years so I am not likley to steer you wrong.
Thanks for the help. Brakes are working and were leaving in the morning so i'm just gonna unplug the trailer when we are sitting still tell we get back and I can check it out more. I'll PM you if I run into more problems.
