# Wiring Trouble & Break Away Battery ?



## Phly (Nov 14, 2012)

The break away battery is seperate of the brakes. Usually intermittent issues tend to be ground wiring.
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## waresbear (Jun 18, 2011)

The break away brakes are your emergency brakes if your trailer becomes unhooked from the the tow vehicle. The pin pops out and the brakes engage. You have separate battery on the trailer that controls this. Trailer wiring is a nightmare, so my hubby tells me, he takes any wiring problems to the RV place, he says it's not worth the headache.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Wiring problems are usually do to poor ground connections. I think trailers should have wiring similar to house wire, not that dinky little stuff that corrodes and cracks and lets us down. I applied some wiring goo to the end of the wires in the lamps. It keeps moisture off the connections.


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

Definately a ground issue. Here's the problem, usually wiring is run through the frame and if it's rubbed a hole in the insulation good luck finding the problem area. It's often less painful just to run all new wiring to your lights.


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## Phura (Dec 4, 2012)

Thanks so much everyone...I will have my hubby double check the ground. 

Regarding the break away & battery...is there a way to tell if its working properly? Also, there's a clip that I'm not sure where it should properly attach to...does yours have this as well & if so where should it go? Thanks again!


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

Phura said:


> Thanks so much everyone...I will have my hubby double check the ground.
> 
> Regarding the break away & battery...is there a way to tell if its working properly? Also, there's a clip that I'm not sure where it should properly attach to...does yours have this as well & if so where should it go? Thanks again!


You clip the break away cable to your tow vehicle, that way the brakes only get applied if your trailer detaches from your tow rig. You can test if it's working by attaching to the trailer, pulling the pin then trying to move the trailer.


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## tim62988 (Aug 30, 2012)

also check truck fuses, you might have blown the trailer running light fuse while trying to fix another issue with the trailer

also if you have a newer chevy/gm your auxilary power might need to be connected (up under the hood, guy at the local trailer place hooked mine up in 2 min, everything was there they just don't do it from factory) and that will control the tack room lights


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## Phura (Dec 4, 2012)

tim62988 said:


> also check truck fuses, you might have blown the trailer running light fuse while trying to fix another issue with the trailer
> 
> also if you have a newer chevy/gm your auxilary power might need to be connected (up under the hood, guy at the local trailer place hooked mine up in 2 min, everything was there they just don't do it from factory) and that will control the tack room lights


My hubby checked the fuse and we were hoping that was the answer after everything else. It did need a new fuse and we replaced it but unfortunately still no running lights...the ones on the side have never worked.

We actually have a 2003 For Expedition...the tack room light was working but the one in the trailer wasn't...bought a new bulb though as the other looks bad.


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## Phura (Dec 4, 2012)

Darrin said:


> You clip the break away cable to your tow vehicle, that way the brakes only get applied if your trailer detaches from your tow rig. You can test if it's working by attaching to the trailer, pulling the pin then trying to move the trailer.


That's what I thought but I can't get the clip to fit...


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## Phura (Dec 4, 2012)

*Wiring Trouble--Help Please!!*

The trailer running lights fuse in the truck keeps blowing...all the lights work now except those which have never worked...they redid the ground and that didn't work. Since it keeps blowing the fuse they think its the wire for the running lights that is short circuiting somewhere. Any other suggestions or experience with this? He tried rerunning the wire in all the visible places but to no avail...the rest of the wiring is behind the frame so it will have to be rewired if we can't come up with anything else and will be a pain. Thoughts???


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## NorthernMama (Mar 12, 2008)

When you say he "checked the ground," where is the ground? I have a ground at every light. I hate, just HATE messing around with grounds.

Easier in the long run just to re-wire it. If you just fix-it-up without knowing what actually caused the problem you will be right back here again 15 - 30 days from now. Or maybe 45... or whenever. When wiring is messed, a re-do is the best fix.

Tip: when rewiring, use all stainless screws and washers for your lights and grounds, leave extra wire behind the lights (about 6 - 8"), just loop it tightly and tighten with a plastic tie.


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## Phura (Dec 4, 2012)

Thanks for the response! I know him & his Dad checked the ground wires more than once, I assume all of them as they have a fair amount of experience with wiring. The horse trailer part is new to my hubby though. They ended up going ahead and rewiring and he sent me a picture of it all lit up in the dark...such a beautiful sight!!! I'm not sure how many hours he's put into it but considering the sellers advertisement its way too many! I will pass the tip along to him too, thanks again!


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

Your hot wire is shorting out inside the frame if you are still blowing fuses after replacing the visible wires. Hate to tell you this, but you guys are in for a bit of pain rewiring the trailer.


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## Sereno (Apr 21, 2013)

Bought a used trailer and re-wired the whole thing including the electrical junction box. Hacked wires, different colors twisted together with no tape. When the trailer was moving you could hear the buzzing and popping inside and endless changing of fuses while we worked on this.

Emergency brakes.



Very simple to install. The small black box (located to the right) has a pull out pin attached to a wire that attaches to the car. IF the trailer unhooks from the car, the pull out pin gets yanked out and the trailer brakes lock up. To test: Pull the pin and try driving. The trailer brakes should be locked so it should not move. The box is wired to a small battery inside my manager and wired into the electrical junction box and another wire goes to the trailer brake wire. Most come with directions and easy to do. (IF your wiring is correct that is.)



The battery and junction box are to the right. I installed a padded 2X6 to protect them and secure some smaller items.
Good luck.


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