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Old 11-28-2017, 07:19 AM   #61
ChuckS
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Figured there had to be something else drawing on these batteries.. there is no way an entertsinment system turned off is drawing enough current to kill those batteries in a few days and the CO detector would not either unless defective...

But the rigs brakes on will kill batteries quickly.. hopefully he inspects the brake magnets and wiring going to each for overheat indications.

A simple x chock or two good pieces of 4x4 would work well t9 block the tires in the future.
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Old 11-28-2017, 07:27 AM   #62
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I never would have thought to use it as a parking brake. Is there a specific warning in the owners manual not to do this ?

.
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Old 11-28-2017, 07:58 AM   #63
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Bill I don't know how long you had the pin pulled but you can burn those magnets up using the breakaway pin while stopped for a couple of reasons. When your brake controller activates the trailer brakes it modulates the voltage according to the inertia. Typically it will apply full or near full voltage and taper it off to zero or near zero when stopped. With the trailer moving the air circulation helps to cool the brake components inside the drums. When you pull the breakaway pin it connects the brake magnets directly to the trailer battery sending full available battery voltage. The intent is if the trailer breaks away from the TV the pin should pull out applying full brakes to stop the trailer. Obviously, burning up a brake magnet is better than having the trailer rolling lose. I hope this helps explain what happened. I would suggest at the minimum check the braking with the TV before traveling at speed anywhere. You could also check each magnet with an ohm meter but If it were my trailer I would would pull the drums and visually inspect as well.
When I started asking about the batteries we had it at the house to load up for departure on Wed. I had pulled the pin on Sunday night. Monday evening when I got home the trailer batteries were dead. Obviously, since then I have travelled and returned.
If I had this information before I left it may have postponed our trip to the local Rv park about (10 miles). But because my main issue was the charging of these batteries I just didn't realize it. The fact that I had pulled the pin (breakaway) didn't occur to me until Sat night at the park.
Just to be clear I aways check my bakes when I hook up and start down the road. I get up to about 10 mph and use trailer brake to stop my TV. When I tested my brakes Wed upon departure the trailer brakes functioned normally and away we went. If they hadn't operated as expected you can be assured I would not have left my house and would have been asking the question on here as to what happened Our trip was roughly 23 miles round trip and thankfully was uneventful.
To the comments about wheel chocks I had already stated that I used them, I just pulled the pin because I thought hey why not be extra careful...:face palm:

Flybouy when I pull my drums off this Sat. and look at the magnets what should I be looking for? Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
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Old 11-28-2017, 10:12 AM   #64
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When I started asking about the batteries we had it at the house to load up for departure on Wed. I had pulled the pin on Sunday night. Monday evening when I got home the trailer batteries were dead. Obviously, since then I have travelled and returned.
If I had this information before I left it may have postponed our trip to the local Rv park about (10 miles). But because my main issue was the charging of these batteries I just didn't realize it. The fact that I had pulled the pin (breakaway) didn't occur to me until Sat night at the park.
Just to be clear I aways check my bakes when I hook up and start down the road. I get up to about 10 mph and use trailer brake to stop my TV. When I tested my brakes Wed upon departure the trailer brakes functioned normally and away we went. If they hadn't operated as expected you can be assured I would not have left my house and would have been asking the question on here as to what happened Our trip was roughly 23 miles round trip and thankfully was uneventful.
To the comments about wheel chocks I had already stated that I used them, I just pulled the pin because I thought hey why not be extra careful...:face palm:

Flybouy when I pull my drums off this Sat. and look at the magnets what should I be looking for? Thank you for sharing your knowledge!
I would disconnect the wires and check resistance, they should each be close in value. Visually check the wires for any obvious signs of heat. Overheating of the wires can cause the wire insulation to appear discolored and the insulation may feel loose on the wires. The bare ends of the wire can appear discolored as well Check the magnets for any signs of the insulation bubbling or looking burned or appearing like black flaking paint. If in doubt replace,they aren't that expensive. My driveway also is pitched towards the road. I use 2 rubber chucks tied together with nylon rope. I place the chocks back to back in between the tires ( tandem axels) then put the truck in drive and drift forward to "set" the tires against the down hill chocks. This makes disconnecting and jacking the tongue as safe as possible. Hope this helps. Let us know how the inspection goes.
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Old 11-28-2017, 10:45 AM   #65
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Thank you for that. I will post my findings.
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Old 11-28-2017, 11:17 AM   #66
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IRV2,

You might also want to check the breakaway switch and plunger on the tongue of your trailer. Essentially it is nothing more than a plastic box with two spring loaded contact strips connected to two black wires. The plastic plunger is inserted in the hole to force the contact strips apart. Often times there is enough heat generated to melt the box or to melt the structure within the box that holds the contact strips. Damage to that box may cause it to fail the next time it's needed (in an emergency) so check it carefully and if there's any question about condition, replace it. They are typically less than $5 at any store selling trailer supplies. Tractor Supply is one such store and is substantially cheaper than an RV parts store for the same device.
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Old 11-28-2017, 11:59 AM   #67
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I gotta ask a stupid question guys please bare with me. Would this breakaway pin still be functional even if the batteries were "turned off" with the battery disconnect switch? Because I did have the batteries switched off when I parked it at home.
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Old 11-28-2017, 12:06 PM   #68
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There are NO stupid questions, so ask away....

Yes, it is functional with/without the battery cutoff switch. For safety purposes, the brakes are directly wired through the breakaway switch to the battery positive terminal. That way, there will ALWAYS be power to the brakes regardless of what the owner might do or forget to do. There is no "switch" to control brake power other than that plastic pin that inserts into the breakaway switch. The only way to turn the brakes off is to disconnect the battery cables or insert the pin.

Next time you're at your trailer, take a look at the breakaway switch wires and you'll see that one goes to the trailer brakes and the other goes directly to the battery (possibly connected at a 30 amp circuit breaker "INPUT" terminal).
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Old 12-01-2017, 12:19 PM   #69
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I gotta ask a stupid question guys please bare with me. Would this breakaway pin still be functional even if the batteries were "turned off" with the battery disconnect switch? Because I did have the batteries switched off when I parked it at home.
As indicated above - there are likely "other" things connected upstream of the disconnect switch, such as C02 and smoke detectors. My battery still had a draw on it with the factory disconnect in the off position.

I like to call it a "sorta battery disconnect". I installed a real one.
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Old 12-01-2017, 04:09 PM   #70
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I never would have thought to use it as a parking brake. Is there a specific warning in the owners manual not to do this ?

.
Just read everything above your question. There will probably be more after that too, but I haven't read that far yet!

You'll burn out your magnets and may set fire to your unit. Both are bad things.

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Old 12-01-2017, 04:23 PM   #71
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Think about how your electric brakes operate. When the magnets are energized, they attach themselves to the machined armature surface of the drum. As the wheel rotates, the actuator lever is pulled, expanding the brake shoes against the drum. If the magnets are energized with the trailer stationary, the magnets attach themselves to the drums, but there is no braking action.

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Old 12-05-2017, 11:00 AM   #72
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I had the coach running on generator last night just to charge batteries. Brought it up to 13.4 and then turned off batteries. Our coach is about a month old since we have taken ownership I see that we have Interstate batteries and the dealer had to wire up a second battery when we took delivery. Since these batteries have been completely dead for two days now after charging and discharging do I need new ones?
When you see 13.4, that is the rate of charge, not the state of the batteries. Read the battery voltage an hour after charging to see the real state. Chances are they are in the low 12 range and 12.0 is considered dead. Fully charged batteries are 12.6 volts.
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Old 12-05-2017, 12:20 PM   #73
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When you see 13.4, that is the rate of charge, not the state of the batteries. Read the battery voltage an hour after charging to see the real state. Chances are they are in the low 12 range and 12.0 is considered dead. Fully charged batteries are 12.6 volts.
I don't consider 12 volts "dead", maybe a typo? Anyway, great advice on waiting an hour before checking voltage. I don't know what battery or charger you have but for simple math think of a 110 amp hour battery charging at 10 amps. It's going to take a lot longer than an hour to charge.
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Old 12-05-2017, 12:52 PM   #74
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There may be some confusion between "don't discharge beyond" and "consider your battery "dead" at".... As a general rule, most battery companies recommend not to discharge beyond 12 VDC on a regular basis in order to preserve the "lead acid battery lifespan"....

There's a lot of good information at this website: https://www.solar-electric.com/learn...%20electrolyte

Given the "recommendation" not to discharge deep cycle batteries beyond 50% (on a regular basis) and that voltage being 11.96 at 40% and 12.10 at 50%, the "generally accepted term" of 12 volts being "dead" makes sense. In other words, never discharge below 12 volts if possible.

Here's a voltage chart that is "good to have on hand" information.
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Old 12-05-2017, 01:03 PM   #75
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If you have not read it already read it download
The 12 Volt Side of Life

On several occasions when I have discharged my batteries more than I ought to have I have had good luck performing a desulfate charge followed by an equalize charge. This was with Interstate RV/Marine 12 volt batteries. My charger is a Black and Decker VEC1095, which is no longer made.
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