17' Series Break Away unit

[23chris]

Hi all

I just tested by break away battery by pushing the test button and it said the (red light) was low
so I put the unit on charge for a couple of hours and I just went out again and pressed the test button again and now the unit is making a slight buzz sound and the low light is still on

Any advice would be great

Cheers

 

[chartrock]

I have just had a similar problem with mine. It would not even light the LED's so I removed the battery and put it on my charger. In 10 minutes the charger was saying it was fully charged but when I put it back in, under test it showed "low battery" so I removed it again and left it on charge overnight. When I refitted it and hit the test button it still indicated "low charge". My next step was to hard wire it to the house battery, it now shows charging all the time and tests OK.

 

[Drover]

I think I might do that @chartrock , while mine still shows a green, I've been wondering for how long as it can only charge off the tug. So you just wired 12v up to those terminals and all is good then ????

 

[NoWorries]

Thanks for the reminder, I have just taken mine out and put it on the charger :faint:

 

[chartrock]

I think I might do that @chartrock , while mine still shows a green, I've been wondering for how long as it can only charge off the tug. So you just wired 12v up to those terminals and all is good then ????

G'day @Drover, I have set up a terminal block with multiple 12v connectors just ready to wire in any wanted 12v device. I have already wired in my fridge fans to one set and have just connected the breakaway battery to another set of connectors. My breakaway unit has a female connector as in the pic and I had a cable with a male mating connector which I wired in.

 

[bessie]

Had the same problem breakaway battery went flat wouldn't recharge so with new one, connected a 10amp solar panel with own regulator using a dc plug in socket, cable wired to a male connector to connect to battery. Keeps battery fully charged when van not in use, works well.

 

[Bellbirdweb]

I had the same problem. Tired plugging a 240v charger into the dc plug on the breakaway and replaced the battery as well, but it would still always seem to show low battery if I pushed the test button or connected the remote.

I fitted a DC-DC charger from the house battery to the breakaway battery so that it is always charged from the solar/240v and not just via the 12 pin when the tug is connected.

Have had no issues since I did this mod.

 

[Drover]

Mine's a Breaksafe Unit, I will have to have a better look at it, haven't noticed any plugs hanging off but it does have a set of terminals on the front for direct power, at least Jayco run a lot of cables thru cupboards where the Coromal it's all in the walls so makes it harder to just tap in.

 

[DWWood]

Had van serviced recently and they notified me that the break away battery was dead. They re-wired it into the main battery in the van.

Anyone else done this?

 

[SkinnyBuddah]

Without actually doing any research into this want there some law about it having to be on a separate battery? Can't remember where I read that as I had the same thought of wiring it to the house battery

 

[DWWood]

The shop that did the work do everything pretty much by the book so I trusted their judgement.

In actual fact, not only was the little break away battery dead, there was a split in the wiring so lucky they were thorough in their servicing.

 

[chartrock]

I have wired mine to the house battery 12 months ago, it seems to be working OK although the house battery seems to drop its level quicker than it used to. My van is under cover so the roof solar doesn't get any light and I have to sometimes put my portable panels out.

 

[DWWood]

I have wired mine to the house battery 12 months ago, it seems to be working OK although the house battery seems to drop its level quicker than it used to. My van is under cover so the roof solar doesn't get any light and I have to sometimes put my portable panels out.

Nice, mines outside so aside from the solar charging I always have mine plugged into 240v

 

[chartrock]

The "scrooge" in me says you have the solar panel, why pay for power, but there are too many trees to allow full sunlight on it so it just keeps up with the battery.

 

[geedub]

I just got my Basestation and need to connect a monitor for the breakaway battery to comply with NSW requirements. I rang RV Electronics who manufacture the Breaksafe that is installed. They advised it is best to use the separate 7 AH battery for the breakaway as it will run the electric brakes for the required 15 minutes but won't last for much more than 20 minutes. If you use the house battery you risk burning out your brake magnets and destroying your house battery if someone removes the tether or you have a problem with the breakaway switch and you don't notice.
The breakaway battery is relatively cheap at between $30-60 and they recommend changing it every 2 years. I'll set up a charger so the Breaksafe battery is charged when I'm connected to 240.

 

[Drover]

Running the breaksafe from the house battery is actually illegal, my breaksafe charges from the tug when plugged in but when Big Mal is unplugged from power for 4 mths or so it still retains a good charge, unless there has been some hidden charging from my panels keeping it topped up I don't know....since it is only a NSW requirement to have a monitor in the cab I therefore don't, I find it hard to believe that breaksafe unit are anything but a feel good system as the vans I have seen uncoupled, breaks don't play at all, the drawbar digs in and everything flys about.

 

[Crusty181]

Running the breaksafe from the house battery is actually illegal, my breaksafe charges from the tug when plugged in but when Big Mal is unplugged from power for 4 mths or so it still retains a good charge, unless there has been some hidden charging from my panels keeping it topped up I don't know....since it is only a NSW requirement to have a monitor in the cab I therefore don't, I find it hard to believe that breaksafe unit are anything but a feel good system as the vans I have seen uncoupled, breaks don't play at all, the drawbar digs in and everything flys about.

Im with you @Drover on this one. The breakaway has to comply but there's no requirement to have maintained, or effective and evenly applying brakes. Is there a benefit in a van randomly flipping with its brakes on, or randomly flipping with its brakes off.

Seems like another well intention-ed, but ill thought out idea. Much like buying a Holden

The double GPO that the Setec is plugged into under our couch is just on the other side of the front boot wall where the Breakaway is mounted in the front boot. A little hole in the wall and a 12v adapter permanently plugged into that GPO keeps the battery popping away whenever the van is plugged into 240v

 

[mfexpanda]

I just got my Basestation and need to connect a monitor for the breakaway battery to comply with NSW requirements. I rang RV Electronics who manufacture the Breaksafe that is installed. They advised it is best to use the separate 7 AH battery for the breakaway as it will run the electric brakes for the required 15 minutes but won't last for much more than 20 minutes. If you use the house battery you risk burning out your brake magnets and destroying your house battery if someone removes the tether or you have a problem with the breakaway switch and you don't notice.
The breakaway battery is relatively cheap at between $30-60 and they recommend changing it every 2 years. I'll set up a charger so the Breaksafe battery is charged when I'm connected to 240.

Good luck with that ours never seem to be charged and we are on the second battery .
I have the charger plugged in all the time that came with it .
The remote head goes off in the car sometimes and is an all round pain in the butt .
I don't even bother plugging it in anymore many others on here have had the same

 

[mfexpanda]

Im with you @Drover on this one. The breakaway has to comply but there's no requirement to have maintained, or effective and evenly applying brakes. Is there a benefit in a van randomly flipping with its brakes on, or randomly flipping with its brakes off.

Seems like another well intention-ed, but ill thought out idea. Much like buying a Holden

Like buy a Holden hey ? You'll keep

 

[geedub]

Unfortunately I have to have the remote setup to get through the registration inspection in NSW. I'm tempted to wire it so it appears to work just for the inspection as I don't see a lot of merit in it.