No power to the toad while towing

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sluggermike

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Sep 30, 2009
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I have a trickle charger to maintain the toad battery while I'm towing it.  The Even Brake system I use needs 12 vdc to power it which is provided by the toad battery.  The toad ignition switch is left on the " aux" position providing the 12 vdc while it is being towed.  The power wire which is attached to the house batteries provides about 12.5 vdc to the toad.  This wire is then plugged into what appears to be a switch on the toad that has three lights on it, power, charging and reverse polarity.  There is then another wire that is plugged into the switch that goes to the toad battery.  Recently I've noticed no power is getting to the toad battery from the switch.  I was wondering if, as a temporary fix. I could  avoid the switch and go directly to the battery?
 
Hopefully someone that really knows can answer, but I would think you could. I've heard that you should use a diode in line though.
 
It may have a diode where it is attached to the house battery.  I will check, but I don't think it will matter, because I will not be running the toad when it is connected. 
 
sluggermike said:
I have a trickle charger to maintain the toad battery while I'm towing it. 
Click to expand...

When you say "trickle charger" are you talking about a Toad-Charge? If yes, then first I would confirm voltage to the "switch" to confirm you at least have it connected to your coach. Then, start the coach and check voltage again. You should have charging voltage, something in the 13.5-15 volt range. The Toad-Charge does not "turn on" until it sees charging voltage, not just battery voltage. This is also confirmed by the "power" light being off when the coach is off, and on when the coach is running.
 
sluggermike said:
It is a toad charger.
Click to expand...

Not being picky, just confirming that you have a product called "Toad-Charge". If that's what you mean, then the steps I gave you should get you started.

1) If you have 12.5v at the Toad-Charge as you stated while the coach is running, the only thing I can think of is check all of your connections from the Toad-Charge back to the coach. Also, it's possible the wire size is too small, depending on where you're getting your 12v on the coach.
2) If you have 12.5v at the Toad-Charge as you stated, but also have 13.5-15ish when the coach is running but the Toad-Charge "Power" light is not on, you have a problem with the Toad-Charge and I'd suggest giving him a call.
 
Mike, we towed a Honda CRV and I found I did not even need any power to charge the battery. The only power the toad needed was to work the Brake Buddy occasionally, and the battery would still be good even after a long day of driving. Perhaps you do not even need a toad charger. I did run the Honda briefly in the mornings before driving that day.


Bill
 
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