Van house battery as a breakaway battery wiring change
Fozzee said
10:24 AM Jul 10, 2021
Has anyone done this mod? using the breakaway box without the small battery, deleting the charge system and hooking up the system to work off the caravan house battery?. Have you any Pictures or wiring diagram of your alterations. I have checked this out and it is leagal to do, it needs to be active for 15 minutes after the pin has been pulled, sick of this battery because it only ment to be charged for 5 hour max per trip and not monitired as regular as the caravan house battery.
Possum3 said
01:21 PM Jul 10, 2021
Welcome to GN's Fozzee, I won't offer wiring details as unfamiliar with existing loom - Perhaps if you put up a mud map of existing loom one of the sparky's on here may be able to assist.
Just be aware that if you are powering the brakes from the house battery, that if the pin is accidently (or maliciously) pulled that the brakes will be activated until the house battery is completely flat and also the brake magnets may overheat and cause damage.
Ken
iana said
10:03 AM Jul 22, 2021
I was thinking the same, maybe a 15 minute timer that cuts the power to the breakaway unit. Our van need to loose fixed weight, and I am eyeing that battery off.
Mike Harding said
12:32 PM Jul 22, 2021
I have serious doubts that such braking systems are of any use whatsoever in the real world.
Dick0 said
01:19 PM Jul 23, 2021
Perhaps this may assist.
My Breakaway/Breaksafe has external positive & negative poles to connect to an external charger. So I have a low cost solar charger feeding the breakaway during daily light hours.
The battery, therefore, is always fully charged and ready to activate in time of emergency.
Mike Harding said
08:26 AM Jul 24, 2021
Dick0 wrote:
The battery, therefore, is always fully charged and ready to activate in time of emergency.
How often do you do a full discharge test on the battery to establish its actual capacity?
In fire control panels (and much other safety equipment) it is an Australians Standards requirement that standby batteries are given a monitored load test daily and if their rate of discharge is too high a fault is flagged and the battery replaced.
I'll wager no one on this forum (including me) has ever done that which means we have *no idea* of whether our emergency brakes will work.
kgarnett said
09:28 AM Jul 24, 2021
My Breakaway system is checked at least annually during the annual rego inspection. The inspector pulls the pin and checks that the wheels (all 4) are still locked after 15 mins.
Ken
Mike Harding said
10:38 AM Jul 24, 2021
kgarnett wrote:
My Breakaway system is checked at least annually during the annual rego inspection. The inspector pulls the pin and checks that the wheels (all 4) are still locked after 15 mins.
OK, I lost my bet.
However I suspect NSW is the only state which puts caravans through an annual inspection and then only for caravans over five years old.
I think it's fair to say that the vast majority of caravans on Australian roads will never have the effective working capacity of the emergency brake battery tested.
Dick0 said
01:11 PM Jul 24, 2021
Mike Harding wrote:
Dick0 wrote:
The battery, therefore, is always fully charged and ready to activate in time of emergency.
How often do you do a full discharge test on the battery to establish its actual capacity?
In fire control panels (and much other safety equipment) it is an Australians Standards requirement that standby batteries are given a monitored load test daily and if their rate of discharge is too high a fault is flagged and the battery replaced.
I'll wager no one on this forum (including me) has ever done that which means we have *no idea* of whether our emergency brakes will work.
I check my van emergency system several times a year and it is a simple check.
Pull out the safety breakaway pin which in turn activates the brakes and the van brake lights.
Has anyone done this mod?
using the breakaway box without the small battery, deleting the charge system and hooking up the system to work off the caravan house battery?. Have you any Pictures or wiring diagram of your alterations. I have checked this out and it is leagal to do, it needs to be active for 15 minutes after the pin has been pulled, sick of this battery because it only ment to be charged for 5 hour max per trip and not monitired as regular as the caravan house battery.
Hi mate, this might be of interest!
https://teambmpro.com/products/break-away-safety-system-trailsafe/
This may be of interest
www.caravanersforum.com/viewtopic.php
Ken
I have serious doubts that such braking systems are of any use whatsoever in the real world.
Perhaps this may assist.
My Breakaway/Breaksafe has external positive & negative poles to connect to an external charger. So I have a low cost solar charger feeding the breakaway during daily light hours.
The battery, therefore, is always fully charged and ready to activate in time of emergency.
How often do you do a full discharge test on the battery to establish its actual capacity?
In fire control panels (and much other safety equipment) it is an Australians Standards requirement that standby batteries are given a monitored load test daily and if their rate of discharge is too high a fault is flagged and the battery replaced.
I'll wager no one on this forum (including me) has ever done that which means we have *no idea* of whether our emergency brakes will work.
Ken
OK, I lost my bet.
However I suspect NSW is the only state which puts caravans through an annual inspection and then only for caravans over five years old.
I think it's fair to say that the vast majority of caravans on Australian roads will never have the effective working capacity of the emergency brake battery tested.
I check my van emergency system several times a year and it is a simple check.
Pull out the safety breakaway pin which in turn activates the brakes and the van brake lights.
Leave for 10-15mins.
Maybe other brands work and test differently?