Help on trailer battery connection....
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 6,692
Likes: 56
From: Troutman, NC
Help on trailer battery connection....
I know this isn't C5 specific, but some of you guys probably know the answer.
I have a trailer with a battery powered winch in it. The battery has to be charged periodically and that's a PITA because sometimes I forget. The 7 pin connection from my Yukon to the trailer has a hot line coming from it so I'd like to use that to charge the trailer battery.
Now to the question: What's required for the connection from the hot line to the battery? Is it ok to connect the hot wire directly to the battery? Is there some other method of making the connection, i.e. voltage regulator, etc.?
Thanks in advance.
I have a trailer with a battery powered winch in it. The battery has to be charged periodically and that's a PITA because sometimes I forget. The 7 pin connection from my Yukon to the trailer has a hot line coming from it so I'd like to use that to charge the trailer battery.
Now to the question: What's required for the connection from the hot line to the battery? Is it ok to connect the hot wire directly to the battery? Is there some other method of making the connection, i.e. voltage regulator, etc.?
Thanks in advance.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 16,477
Likes: 26
From: Gone
CI 6-7-8-9-10 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '03
You will literally burn your truck's trailer wiring to nothing in a matter of seconds of you try connecting it directly to the trailer battery.
Here's what happens....anytime you connect 2 batteries together in parallel (what you are thinking of doing), those batteries will always attempt to share the load equally. One will compensate for the other.If one is fully charged, they both are...if one goes dead, they both go dead.
A winch draws LOTS of current, up to several hundred amps when working under a full load. As that trailer battery discharges, the other (truck battery) will also discharge just as fast, feeding the other battery with almost as much current flowing. Your trailer wiring is certainly not made to handle this amount of current flow.
As I see it, there are only two good solutions to this...
1, (The cheap easy way): Buy a normal battery charger to keep the trailer battery charged up and use it everytime you have access to a 120v power source.
2. (The more expensive, but more convenient way): Buy a battery isolator, and run a (minimum) 4 ga wire from the isolator to the trailer battery.
What this will do it allow the truck's alternator to charge the both the truck and trailer battery (while the truck is running), yet the trailer battery will not allow the truck battery to drain when using the winch. You could run the trailer battery completely dead, but the truck will still start up no problem.
Here's what happens....anytime you connect 2 batteries together in parallel (what you are thinking of doing), those batteries will always attempt to share the load equally. One will compensate for the other.If one is fully charged, they both are...if one goes dead, they both go dead.
A winch draws LOTS of current, up to several hundred amps when working under a full load. As that trailer battery discharges, the other (truck battery) will also discharge just as fast, feeding the other battery with almost as much current flowing. Your trailer wiring is certainly not made to handle this amount of current flow.
As I see it, there are only two good solutions to this...
1, (The cheap easy way): Buy a normal battery charger to keep the trailer battery charged up and use it everytime you have access to a 120v power source.
2. (The more expensive, but more convenient way): Buy a battery isolator, and run a (minimum) 4 ga wire from the isolator to the trailer battery.
What this will do it allow the truck's alternator to charge the both the truck and trailer battery (while the truck is running), yet the trailer battery will not allow the truck battery to drain when using the winch. You could run the trailer battery completely dead, but the truck will still start up no problem.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 6,692
Likes: 56
From: Troutman, NC
You will literally burn your truck's trailer wiring to nothing in a matter of seconds of you try connecting it directly to the trailer battery.
Here's what happens....anytime you connect 2 batteries together in parallel (what you are thinking of doing), those batteries will always attempt to share the load equally. One will compensate for the other.If one is fully charged, they both are...if one goes dead, they both go dead.
A winch draws LOTS of current, up to several hundred amps when working under a full load. As that trailer battery discharges, the other (truck battery) will also discharge just as fast, feeding the other battery with almost as much current flowing. Your trailer wiring is certainly not made to handle this amount of current flow.
As I see it, there are only two good solutions to this...
1, (The cheap easy way): Buy a normal battery charger to keep the trailer battery charged up and use it everytime you have access to a 120v power source.
2. (The more expensive, but more convenient way): Buy a battery isolator, and run a (minimum) 4 ga wire from the isolator to the trailer battery.
What this will do it allow the truck's alternator to charge the both the truck and trailer battery (while the truck is running), yet the trailer battery will not allow the truck battery to drain when using the winch. You could run the trailer battery completely dead, but the truck will still start up no problem.
Here's what happens....anytime you connect 2 batteries together in parallel (what you are thinking of doing), those batteries will always attempt to share the load equally. One will compensate for the other.If one is fully charged, they both are...if one goes dead, they both go dead.
A winch draws LOTS of current, up to several hundred amps when working under a full load. As that trailer battery discharges, the other (truck battery) will also discharge just as fast, feeding the other battery with almost as much current flowing. Your trailer wiring is certainly not made to handle this amount of current flow.
As I see it, there are only two good solutions to this...
1, (The cheap easy way): Buy a normal battery charger to keep the trailer battery charged up and use it everytime you have access to a 120v power source.
2. (The more expensive, but more convenient way): Buy a battery isolator, and run a (minimum) 4 ga wire from the isolator to the trailer battery.
What this will do it allow the truck's alternator to charge the both the truck and trailer battery (while the truck is running), yet the trailer battery will not allow the truck battery to drain when using the winch. You could run the trailer battery completely dead, but the truck will still start up no problem.
# 2 is exactly what I want to do. Are battery isolators Auto Zone kind of things?
