How to Power Blue Ox Patriot Braking System When Vehicles Negative Battery Cable Is Unhooked

Updated 03/19/2024 | Published 05/03/2016

Question:

I had a Blue Ox tow bar installed on my RV and will be towing a fiesta automatic, now the manual explains to shift into neutral wait for the screen to display transmission ready then remove your foot from the brake and turn the ignition to off. Then disconnect the negative battery cable. But l have a Patriot braking device that needs to be plugged in to 12volts. No voltage if the ignition is in the off position? help....

asked by: Robert A

Helpful Expert Reply:

No sweat! You'll just need to install a 12-volt outlet kit, part # RM-9332. The socket would be located under the dash, so you can easily locate it to plug in the Patriot. The outlet would wire directly to the vehicle's battery. Each time you stop during the day, you'll want to start the motor of the Fiesta for a few minutes to ensure the battery remains charged. The installation procedure is pretty simple as you can see in the video I've linked for you.

expert reply by: Mike L

David T.

3/18/2024

If you connect the outlet wire from the new 12-volt kit won't that also drain the battery???

Mike L.

3/18/2024

@DavidT It can, which is why you'll want to run the engine of the towed vehicle for several minutes every few hours to keep the battery charged up.

David T.

3/18/2024

@MikeL Can the additional 12-volt kit be wired to the six pin plug on the truck that runs from the RV for power?

Mike L.

3/19/2024

@DavidT There's a lot that could go wrong between the battery on the RV to the trailer connector on the RV to the umbilical to the braking system. That's a lot of distance and several connections between the two. Due to the crucial nature of having a functional braking system on the towed vehicle, we recommend attaching the # RM-9332 Outlet kit to the towed vehicle's battery due to its close proximity to the Patriot braking system and using a charge line kit like # RM-156-25 which will help keep the tow vehicle battery topped off. Even with that in place though, we still recommend running that towed vehicle for several minutes a few times a day. Hope that helps!