Breakaway device on caravan - advice requested please
peter1 said
09:58 PM Dec 11, 2014
We arrived home today after 10 great days away in our van. Unfortunately, after unhooking the van from my vehicle, unbeknown to me, the wire that activates the "breakaway" system became tangled around the towhitch when I moved the vehicle. The pin was pulled from the small black activator and the wire was also broken. Obviously I will need to get it fixed but what I am not sure of is whether the breaks are permanently activated now given the breakaway device has been activated which could possibly prevent me from towing the van to have it repaired. Does anyone have any knowledge on "breakaway" systems and how they work.
Thank you in advance.
Peter
Treecrest14 said
12:12 AM Dec 12, 2014
Hi Peter
The breakaway battery is designed to last for 1 to 2 hours, must last at least 15min by law. All you have to do is re-insert the pin into the black activator! This breaks the brake circuit and the brakes are off. So hopefully the pin is not broken and it can be used. If not then you may have to cut one of the wires to/from the black box as the breakaway battery will be getting charged when you plug your van into your tug - which will cause the brakes to come on (if the pin is not inserted). I'm surprised that the wire broke as it is usually high tensile or stainless steel.
Get your battery charged as quickly as possible. Stick the pin back in or cut one of the wires as Glen suggested. Do this before the battery is buggered (hopefully it is not already buggered.)
The breakaway units usually consist of control unit mounted in the van somewhere. It has connections to the electric brake circuit, a charge line to charge its battery and wires to the switch on your drawbar. It contains a small lead acid battery (generally of the GEL type) to power the vans brakes when things go wrong. When the van becomes detached from your tug the wire connected to the tug pulls spacer out of the switch, this in turn triggers the logic circuitry on the controller which in turn connects the battery to the brakes.By law the brakes must be operated for at least 15 minutes.
Some manufacturers do not use the controller.They simply use the switch on the drawbar to connect your house battery to the brakes. I'm not sure that this is totally satisfactory. The drawbar switch is only a light current device designed to trigger a logic circuit, I suspect that it might be challenged by the current the brakes operate to stop the van.
peter1 said
02:56 PM Dec 12, 2014
Thanks Glen - much appreciated
peter1 said
08:22 PM Dec 12, 2014
Thanks Peter. Have now severed one of the wires.
Stl said
07:52 AM Dec 22, 2014
Hi Peter,
For peace of mind I pull the pin just to make sure the unit works before I take off on a trip, it only takes a minute.
We arrived home today after 10 great days away in our van. Unfortunately, after unhooking the van from my vehicle, unbeknown to me, the wire that activates the "breakaway" system became tangled around the towhitch when I moved the vehicle. The pin was pulled from the small black activator and the wire was also broken. Obviously I will need to get it fixed but what I am not sure of is whether the breaks are permanently activated now given the breakaway device has been activated which could possibly prevent me from towing the van to have it repaired. Does anyone have any knowledge on "breakaway" systems and how they work.
Thank you in advance.
Peter
The breakaway battery is designed to last for 1 to 2 hours, must last at least 15min by law. All you have to do is re-insert the pin into the black activator! This breaks the brake circuit and the brakes are off. So hopefully the pin is not broken and it can be used. If not then you may have to cut one of the wires to/from the black box as the breakaway battery will be getting charged when you plug your van into your tug - which will cause the brakes to come on (if the pin is not inserted). I'm surprised that the wire broke as it is usually high tensile or stainless steel.
Trust this helps.
Glen
The switch has a pair of contacts in it that trigger you breakaway controller. It will look like http://caravansplus.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=2113 or this http://caravansplus.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=14612 You can get one of those if you have buggered your mechanism when driving off.
Get your battery charged as quickly as possible. Stick the pin back in or cut one of the wires as Glen suggested. Do this before the battery is buggered (hopefully it is not already buggered.)
The breakaway units usually consist of control unit mounted in the van somewhere. It has connections to the electric brake circuit, a charge line to charge its battery and wires to the switch on your drawbar. It contains a small lead acid battery (generally of the GEL type) to power the vans brakes when things go wrong. When the van becomes detached from your tug the wire connected to the tug pulls spacer out of the switch, this in turn triggers the logic circuitry on the controller which in turn connects the battery to the brakes.By law the brakes must be operated for at least 15 minutes.
Some manufacturers do not use the controller.They simply use the switch on the drawbar to connect your house battery to the brakes. I'm not sure that this is totally satisfactory. The drawbar switch is only a light current device designed to trigger a logic circuit, I suspect that it might be challenged by the current the brakes operate to stop the van.
Thanks Glen - much appreciated
Thanks Peter. Have now severed one of the wires.
For peace of mind I pull the pin just to make sure the unit works before I take off on a trip, it only takes a minute.
Len 😀