Does Breakaway Battery of a Dexter Electric Over Hydraulic Actuator Have to Be Charged to Function

Published 11/05/2015

Question:

Reading through the Q/A, I see two different expert responses for this topic: Does the breakaway battery need to be installed and fully charged for dexter E/H actuator to work for normal braking operation meaning normal towing where the breakaway would never be activated. Two reasons Im asking- 1. I dont need a breakaway system to be legal in my state, as my trailer is not required to even have brakes smallish trailer, and I am thinking of just skipping the hassle of breakaway system all together. 2. If I installed the breakaway system anyway, and my breakaway battery went dead, would the whole system be inoperable meaning I would have no braking at all for normal driving? That seems like an unsafe design if so? Thanks very much

asked by: Sean

Expert Reply:

With the use of the Dexter Electric Over Hydraulic Actuator part # K71-651 the breakaway battery has to be charged otherwise it won't work.

With standard electric drum brakes the brake controller would still control the brakes of your trailer like normal with a dead breakaway battery. This setup is very different that with and electric over hydraulic setup but that may be where the confusion is.

When wired up properly (see diagram), the tow vehicle will put a maintenance charge on the battery so that it stays charged and allows the unit to still function.

expert reply by: Jameson C