20' Series BreakAway Battery

[jazzeddie1234]

So you are saying I need a diode to stop it from back feeding into the house battery. ???

I think it will be fine if you plan on using the DC plug connection and swapping manually but I used a 1 amp diode in mine . I would not simply intercept the black wire without disconnecting it back to the 12 pin. The esc and other stuff will get powered from your new connection. Maybe insert a 5 amp fuse in the new feed to be safe.

 

[jazzeddie1234]

I had another think and drew a schematic for the options

Option 1: Fused wire from battery to a dc plug that the plug pack uses. Manual changeover. Simple. Safe.
Option 2 (not shown): Disconnect the black breakaway wire and connect it to a fused wire from the battery, leaving the plug pack in place. Auto change over with 240, no charging from tug when traveling
Option 3: Disconnect the black wire and insert a diode in to prevent backflow to esc/tug/etc, connect a fused wire from battery via a second diode .Leave plug pack connected. Fully auto between tug, battery and 240v. Some losses across diodes.

 

[Drover]

I know my Breakaway the black was dead when I tested it with van battery disconnected so wasn't any need for a diode, it never went flat when connected to tug so couldn't see why hooking to van would be any different but then I was connecting to the 12v input which would have been from tug, the 240 charger connection is a different spot altogether, so then I just plumbed the black wire into the van 12v system and have never had a need for a 240v back up as I'm rarely on 240 anyway................, if the battery goes flat its either the van batteries are flat, not ever likely or the breakaway is cactus.

 

[jazzeddie1234]

So this version?

 

[Drover]

Yep and to make sure "Oldtimers" wasn't kicking in I went and put the meter on it, testing the feed from the unit itself pos and neg, zero reading so have to assume theres a diode or something there, on mine the screw terminals for fitting an external charger are also dead but if you hook current to them the charge light comes on......

 

[Boots in Action]

Yep and to make sure "Oldtimers" wasn't kicking in I went and put the meter on it, testing the feed from the unit itself pos and neg, zero reading so have to assume theres a diode or something there, on mine the screw terminals for fitting an external charger are also dead but if you hook current to them the charge light comes on......

Hi @facemir , @jazzeddie1234 , and @Drover , after reading all the comments on Break Away battery and wiring, I decided to do a bit of investigation myself, even though my set up does not need such a system. The link below helped sort out my old brain a bit, and I note that when unit is connected to house (van) battery, there is a warning that line must be disconnected when parked up as van brakes will run down house battery - hence a good reason for @Drover's inline switch when van not in use. May be of interest to some??

Guide: Breakaway brakes - everything you wanted to know and more!

In this guide we look at everything you ever wanted to know about breakaway brakes. From capacities and requirements to exactly how they work...

rvdaily.com.au

 

[Drover]

there is a warning that line must be disconnected when parked up as van brakes will run down house battery - hence a good reason for @Drover's inline switch when van not in use. May be of interest to some??

I took that as something that should be obvious but then !!!!! as its on charge all the time it certainly will drain the house battery, I should have pointed it out in BOLD so if parked up in a shed with no charging of house battery then a switch is certainly a must, mine outside is always charged but even then I will turn it off for awhile even though the drain shows up as miniscule but well pointed out @Boots in Action ................... any additions I do, I like to have a switch or some sort of breaker inline, makes things a lot easier if needed to isolate for maintenance or stuff....
I admit while I knew the battery monitor regs for NSW had been dropped I wasn't aware that the breakaway system could run from the house battery legally now..........not something I would be keen on, prefer the thing to be a contained system...

I wonder if anyone ever did a real world testing of the operation of these units ? ones I have seen the bar digs in and everything goes turtle with the only skidding when the van bounces from side to side before the hitch lets go.................. no chassis on vehicle I think the occurence of tow bars leaving the vehicle is heightened, having discovered on one of my vehicles the tow bar mounts tearing away from the body because the experts didn't fit it properly, my mandatory walk around at a smoko stop saved something horrible from happening and lightened my wallet quite a bit.... Not an ideal situation I assure you..

 

[jazzeddie1234]

This is turning out to be a great group project

I just took out the battery in mine and did a few measurements. The house battery draw via the dc plug is 20mA at 13V - so a pretty small float current. The test button was 10 amps as expected. The break away battery draw was 0 when idle - I recall they updated the design to prevent the battery going flat when unused.

My one has an option to not have the internal battery

Tow Secure TS2000 Breakaway System Includes..Remote Monitor

Delivered Fast | 350-01406 | Breakaway kits are required on all Caravans or Trailers that exceed 2000kg that use electric brakes. The...more info.

www.caravansplus.com.au

But the issue of a disconnected breakaway plug on the A frame is worth considering - although it's a bit like turning off the water pump in case someone deliberately opens the tap on the A frame?

 

[Drover]

But the issue of a disconnected breakaway plug on the A frame is worth considering -

Youv'e lost me with that one ?????? Or meaning someone can sabotage by pulling the lead in camp so thusly fitting a switch there to isolate the brake switch ???

 

[mikerezny]

But the issue of a disconnected breakaway plug on the A frame is worth considering - although it's a bit like turning off the water pump in case someone deliberately opens the tap on the A frame?

Hi,
I would be extremely worried about this. There is a strong likelihood that, in the process of packing up, the switch is forgotten and the rig takes off with the breakaway unit completely isolated and possibly voiding your insurance in the event that the van becomes disconnected.

take care
Mike

 

[Drover]

If one has a look aorund the park at the length of the creakaway strap most the draw bar has already dug intot he ground before the strap has pulled the plug out, they all seem to be connected wrong, the cable is too long or too flexible................... Fitting to the bumper might have been ideal years back, today with plastic bumpers would require more than just a hook screwed on....

Mine is a heavy wire trace which I shortened considerably when I got Big Mal, while I remain skeptical as to the actual effectivness of the system I think every little bit helps.

 

[jazzeddie1234]

Youv'e lost me with that one ?????? Or meaning someone can sabotage by pulling the lead in camp so thusly fitting a switch there to isolate the brake switch ???

Sorry I was referring to the breakaway switch/plug thing, not a separate switch to disable it. I was only thinking about that someone might pull the cable deliberately and drain your house battery. Probably very unlikely compared to someone forgetting to unhook the cable and driving off - based on the number of times I have flagged down someone with the hitch pin sitting on their rear step!

I also re read the ts1000/2000 install manual and it appears the black wire does 2 things - charge the internal battery as expected, but also triggers a self test function on connection and every 30 minutes. There is minimal info on the unit so I can't tell if the test button does the same thing (logically it would)

https://www.coastrv.com.au/images/product_blochures_new/Tow%20Secure%20Break-Away%20Kit%20Brochure.pdf

 

[Drover]

Yeah I get you now, it would only activate the brakes and drain the power from the breaksafe battery which would still be drawing power from the house battery at the same rate as normal as its a trickle charger, so the breaksafe battery would in the end say 30 mins be near flat but should start buzzing to let you know ..... This I do know as somehow someone forgot to put the plug back in when doing a brake adjust, it wasn't long till I heard this buzzing sound, can't recall if the charger was turned on or not, a quick check soon found the cable and clip hanging from tow hitch ............ if its really quiet you can hear the magnets hum as well.

So source of supply for charging is academic as pulling the plug will flatten the breaksafe battery, don't really hear it happen much and in fact I imagine there would be plenty running around inoperative, of course if the van battery was used as the breaksafe supply direct to brakes, then it would get flattened but you would realise that well before you hooked up to tug or if not flat then when you drove off the wheels would drag... be certainly a good test for your solar charging system...