Can Roadmaster Diode Be Installed to Prevent Curt Breakaway Battery From Draining Onboard Battery

Updated 03/28/2023 | Published 03/27/2023

Products Featured in This Question

Curt Trailer Breakaway Kit with Trickle Charger, LED Tester, and 5 Ah Lead Acid Battery - Side Load

(242)

$66.82

Roadmaster Single Park Light Diode

(141)

$21.40

Question:

I have a car hauler with camper which has an onboard battery to run equipment in the camper. It also had a separate breakaway battery that had no charging circuit connected to it. The battery was dead so I removed that system and replaced it with I a Curt push-to-test breakaway kit C52042. I tied the red wire of the kit to the trailer’s 7 pin connector’s 12+ volt charging lead. Since the onboard battery is also connected to the 7 pin connector’s 12+ volt charging lead, when the trailer is not connected to the truck, whether the camper is on shore power or not, there is always power to the Curt push-to-test charging circuit from on-board battery feedback. The charger always shows the yellow light “charging”. My questions are: 1. Will this overcharge the breakaway battery if on charge all the time either through shore power charge or on-board battery feedback? 2. I plan to put an RM-690 diode in the feed line for each battery charging circuit. Is this a good plan to prevent feedback to each battery and still allow them to do their own independent jobs? 3. Is there anything else I should be aware of in this setup?

asked by: Jeff T

Helpful Expert Reply:

Thanks for all of the information about what you're experiencing with the Curt Push-To-Test Trailer Breakaway Kit # C52042. I'll address your questions in the order you asked them:

1 - The built-in battery charger that comes with the breakaway kit will prevent it from overcharging.

2 - Using the Roadmaster Single Park Light Diode # RM-690 is an excellent way to prevent back feeding like that you mentioned.

3 - The application is pretty simple and effective so there isn't anything else to know!

expert reply by: Jon G