Breakaway kits are designed to bring trailers safely to a stop by activating the electric brakes should a trailer disconnect from the tow vehicle during transit. Ideally, the safety chains will prevent a trailer from disconnecting if the coupler comes off the ball. However, if the safety chains fail, the breakaway kit acts as a last line of defense against a runaway trailer. This type of safety system is required in most states for trailers weighing more than 3,000 lbs.
1. Splice one of the two wires coming out of the breakaway switch into the trailer brake wire running from the trailer connector to the brakes.
2. Open the battery box and connect the second wire coming out of the switch to the positive post (red) on the battery.
3. Connect the red wire on the charger to the positive post (red) on the battery.
4. Splice the white wire on the charger into the existing ground wire (usually white) running from the trailer connector to the trailer, or screw the white wire directly to the trailer frame.
5. Splice or run the 12 volt hot lead (black for Tekonsha, yellow for Tow Ready) on the charger into the 12 volt hot lead running from the trailer connector to the trailer.
The breakaway switch cable needs to be secured to the vehicle bumper or frame. The cable can be attached in many different ways. The two most common methods are:
Route the pin through the safety chain loops on the hitch or bumper, then through the cable loop
or
Route the pin through a tow hook, then through the cable loop
Notes:
I have separate wires coming from my brakes... white, black and blue. I know u need to ground the white to the trailer frame. I know I need to run 1 of the 2 breakaway wires to the battery power. My question is, I still have 2 wires, blue and black, coming from my brakes and 1 wire from my breakaway switch. What do I do? Also, in my breakaway switch there is a blue and a black. Which one goes to the battery?
I would think that white is for ground, black might go to another brake(?) and the blue would go to your breakaway battery. You will want to confirm this on your end though because not all wiring colors are the same. If you check out the diagram we have for the breakaway battery kit we have the white going to ground, the black going to the 12V power wire to charge it, and the blue going to the brake circuit for when the breakaway battery needs to activate the brakes.
Necesito conseguir la rabiza que VA en ei camion ford f150 98para conectar freno trailer I need to get the tail that VA in the truck ford f150 98 to connect the trailer brake
¿Necesita el cable flexible para el controlador de freno o el cableado en la parte trasera de su camión que se conecta a su remolque? Are you needing the pigtail for the brake controller or the wiring at the back of your truck that connects to your trailer?
I installed as instructed but my rear two wheels remain locked up. Has anyone had this problem. The battery is charged and the yellow light shows charging.
Have you checked the wiring or the adjustment for your trailer brakes? If something isn't wired correctly or you have some damaged wiring then that could explain why your brakes are still activated. If your brakes are adjusted to be really aggressive then that could also be a contributing factor as well.
I have a boat trailer that does not have a breakaway switch. I would like to install one, but none of them I've seen seem to be submersible. On a boat trailer, the switch will spend time underwater, as the boat is being launched or recovered. Are any of these switches, batteries, and chargers submersible?
I'm not aware of any breakaway kits that have a submergible battery. The closest thing to what you're looking for is a kit like part # 20400 which has the box opening at the top instead of at the side. With that being said, your breakaway battery should be mounted on the tongue of your trailer so the only way that it would be submerged is if you're backing pretty much your whole trailer into the water.
@JonG Thinking about it, I'm pretty sure that any breakaway kit with a submersible battery compartment would be explosive. You pretty much have to have a way for the hydrogen to vent. A top-opening box may be my best choice.
@JeffreyD Yes you would need a vent. Be sure to unplug your trailer prior to backing into the water as well.
@JeffreyD You could mount it on your winch tower and extend wiring. you could also mount trigger switch there and extend gable.
Sent you new email, didnt work. Wired like new curt diagram it sets the brakes with the breakawy battery.Something is wrong.tks
Yeah that's not good. The only time that should be happening is when the pin is pulled from the breakaway switch. Start by making sure the pin is fully seated and if it is then you'll want to check your ground connection for the breakaway switch. Make sure that it's securely connected to a clean, bare-metal surface.
@JonG I rewired it back so it works, but the only question I have is where does the integral battery charger get its power.I belive its the red wire from the battery box. Hooked it to AUX. Have yet to test that part.thanks
@WilliamK You are correct that it gets it's power from the 12V power at the vehicle/trailer 7-Way connector so you definitely want to make sure that is hot. Depending on your tow vehicle it might not get hot unless the ignition is on so you want to keep that in mind when you do your testing.
@JonG Thank you for your help, I am satified its ok.
@WilliamK Happy to help!
well,the Curt kit 52042 I just installed has a totally inaccurate manual,wiring diagram.It shows black,red,white from battery box,they are red white blue.Shows push to test and battery as 2 units they are one.Shows yellow wire from ptt there is none.Shows black as bat + its blue.Unknown what to do with red wire from bat - not shown assume grounded.Unknown how built in battery charger works as wiring is not accurate and confusing. Brake controller output from trailer connector is black diagram shows its blue.Diagram does NOT integrate well with 6 pin connector i used.All purchased from etrailer.
It sounds like Curt gave you the instructions for the older version of this kit with the updated box and wiring for this kit. If you look at the PDF instructions linked to the Breakaway Kit # C52042 product page you'll see the correct wiring. Red goes to 12V positive, blue goes to brake controller output, and white is ground. The black wire from the breakaway switch ties into the red wire from the battery while the blue ties into the blue. The 6-Way # H20036 that you purchased carries the brakes on the red wire and the 12V power on the black wire.
@JonG That looks a lot better. Will rewire as it shows. Sent Curt notification also. thanks for your help.
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