#Trailer breakaway wiring install#
#Trailer breakaway wiring full#
#Trailer breakaway wiring code#

The fuse blowing would disable the emergency application of the brakes. I don’t want a fuse to blow if it’s a slight over current situation, or a loose fuse holder or corroded fuse contacts that could affect the emergency braking function.

If that switch is activated in a trailer breakaway scenario, I want the trailer brakes to be applied no matter what. Like this one:ĭefinitely a good question. “To fuse or not to fuse?” I think the manufacturer logic is that you wouldn’t want to have a fuse that could even have a possibility of blowing in an emergency breakaway situation. Electrical fires are not to be taken lightly, use Google to look at some pics of “automotive electrical fire images”. Your stereo shorts out, the fuse blows, the wire is safe, you replace the stereo and replace the fuse. Most people do not understand, a fuse protects the wire, not the device at the end of it. You still have to find and fix the problem, you just don’t have other burned stuff also, or, the worst case ever, have your beautiful Ollie burn to the pavement. And your emergency brakes don’t work in either case. If the same thing happens without a fuse, the wire overheats and literally melts somewhere. The fuse is there to protect the wire if it should short out to ground, such as if a mouse chews through the insulation and the conductor touches the aluminum frame, and the wire suffers a severe current overload. With a good panel design like in your car they would be very trouble free.Ī fuse will not blow when the breakaway switch is activated when everything is working correctly, because the normal current flow is less than the fuse rating. If Oliver wants to skip a fuse they should instead install a fusible link, inside at the breaker, which have been used forever in cars for applications where a fuse might not be ideal.īTW, the big problem with the Ollie’s Progressive Dynamics fuse panel is not the fuses, but the way they are poorly held in place by junky, unsupported pot metal ears.

#Trailer breakaway wiring code#

I think the code requirement is due to utility trailers with the battery and wires out in the open, where a cheap fuse would corrode due to water exposure (and neglect) and block the current flow. It is pretty rare for a fuse in a good quality holder to just pop on its own, and if you check the BAW switch before each trip as you are supposed to, the system will be 100% fine. It needs constant 12v power while hooked to the TV. I would think it should not be fused.If the fuse popped and you needed the emergency break away it won’t do its job.

#Trailer breakaway wiring install#

Should I file a service request to alert them? It is dangerous to have an unprotected wire, it could cause a fire.īTW I have measured the brake current and with AGM batteries I have never seen over 3.0 amps per magnet, I was going to install a 15 amp fuse but that might be too small, however with my new lithium batteries’s higher voltage, the current will be a little less. Does anyone know why this wire was left unprotected? A factory mistake or some weird code reason? I added an inline fuse holder there and installed a 20 amp fuse.

#Trailer breakaway wiring full#

It goes to the emergency BAW switch under the tongue, when that is pulled the batteries give full power to all four brakes by way of the blue wires, about 16 amps max for four brakes, (8 amps max for the Elite) depending on battery voltage. I have long been puzzled by this light purple colored wire that comes directly off the battery (hot) side of the 40 amp circuit breaker under the rear street side bed.