Emergency Break away cable

Was it in storage or parked at a campsite for an extended period of time?

I ask as when I store my TT, I remove the batteries so I can keep them topped of so shouldn't be an issue in storage...at least if the batteries are removed.

But while camping... :(

Good thing you found it before serious damage happened.

I guess this is a very good reason to have a battery disconnect. I need to get "
a round tuit"

Be careful!! Recently, somehow, our emergency break away cable was removed and the brakes were activated until the battery died. The wires got so hot that they burnt a hole in the top of our water tank and almost caught the underside of the trailer on fire!

Yes, I was in a RV park and was getting ready to hook up when I noticed I had no emergency break away cable. Some one stole the cable!!!!:( I think it was probably some little kids in the park. Got lucky and found a replacement in a local RV shop:). No damage to the trailer. I bought 2 cables and have one as a backup. In storage, I use the battary disconnect switch.

I would have the brakes checked.. the magnets got very hot. and the wires should not have burned up (melted) under normal use. and this is normal use.

replace wires, maybe magnets. but check. something caused the excess amperage.

A properly wired disconnect in a travel trailer will NOT disconnect the breakaway switch. It is a safety issue in case the trailer is towed with the disconnect open.

beemerphile1 wrote:
A properly wired disconnect in a travel trailer will NOT disconnect the breakaway switch. It is a safety issue in case the trailer is towed with the disconnect open.

Where does the power come from if not the trailer battery????? You are wrong on this.

dbbls wrote:

beemerphile1 wrote:
A properly wired disconnect in a travel trailer will NOT disconnect the breakaway switch. It is a safety issue in case the trailer is towed with the disconnect open.

Where does the power come from if not the trailer battery????? You are wrong on this.

No. He is correct on this. The breakaway wires should be routed around the cutoff switch otherwise it would be possible to forget to turn off the switch and be running with no brakes.

powderman426 wrote:

dbbls wrote:

beemerphile1 wrote:
A properly wired disconnect in a travel trailer will NOT disconnect the breakaway switch. It is a safety issue in case the trailer is towed with the disconnect open.

Where does the power come from if not the trailer battery????? You are wrong on this.

No. He is correct on this. The breakaway wires should be routed around the cutoff switch otherwise it would be possible to forget to turn off the switch and be running with no brakes.

Correct. The disconnect is in the positive line and the breakaway is connected prior to the disconnect.

Chuck_thehammer wrote:
I would have the brakes checked.. the magnets got very hot. and the wires should not have burned up (melted) under normal use. and this is normal use.

replace wires, maybe magnets. but check. something caused the excess amperage.

X2

Full battery voltage was applied to the brake magnets.
Brakes are wired 'directly' to battery via Emergency Switch

Pull each drum and inspect.......something was shorted otherwise the wiring insulation would not have melted. Even with full battery voltage.

powderman426 wrote:

dbbls wrote:

beemerphile1 wrote:
A properly wired disconnect in a travel trailer will NOT disconnect the breakaway switch. It is a safety issue in case the trailer is towed with the disconnect open.

Where does the power come from if not the trailer battery????? You are wrong on this.

No. He is correct on this. The breakaway wires should be routed around the cutoff switch otherwise it would be possible to forget to turn off the switch and be running with no brakes.

While I agree it would be best if the breakaway switch is always hot...On my trailer it shuts off with everything else. I can't move my jacks to raise or lower it to hitch up so it doesn't really matter..

B.O.