Will Redarc Tow-Pro Elite Drain Vehicle Battery

Updated 01/08/2020 | Published 01/07/2020

Question:

I purchased this brake controller from you and installed in 2016 MB Sprinter van. I used green plug with proper wiring harness. After parking my van for a week or more my battery goes down and Im not able to start the engine. My local MB dealer checked the battery and said its good less than 3 years old, under 30K miles. My question is does this unit draw power when vehicle is parked and no trailer attached? Looking at the electrical diagram, it appears that its connected directly to the constant power, not accessory. Is it possible that this controller is draining my battery? Thank you,

asked by: Peter

Expert Reply:

Yes, the Redarc Tow-Pro Elite Trailer Brake Controller part # RED44FR draws milliamps of power while in sleep mode but it would take much longer, even several months of the vehicle sitting to completely drain the battery usually.

The Tow-Pro Elite will go into a sleep mode when there is no trailer connected to the tow vehicle. This sleep mode is displayed by a "breathing" blue light on the push control. In order to completely cut power to the device you would need to unplug the four pin harness to the main body. The sleep mode however will retain all of your saved settings. If power was completely cut to the brake controller then you would lose all your settings.

expert reply by: Patrick R