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Old 10-14-2016, 04:24 PM   #1
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No 12 volt power on trailer

I have a 2016 26bhxl and when I plug it into the back of my 2013 Ford F-150 I dont have any power to my jack or anything. I have power going to the plug on my truck but when I plug the trailer into it I only have brakes and lights. I have checked all the fuses that I can see inside the converter box and on the power tongue jack and they are all good I checked the battery cables going to my box on the trailer and don't have any volts at all. What do I need to be looking for. Everything works when I am plugged into a landline though
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Old 10-14-2016, 04:33 PM   #2
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What you described is a dead battery or one that has not been charged for a long time.


With nothing hooked up to the trailer you need to see if you have 12 volts or more at the battery.



When you are plugged into the campground power you are getting power from your battery charger and not the batteries.


I still think you have a bad battery or you are missing something like a power switch that puts the battery into the system.


Good Luck
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Old 10-14-2016, 04:42 PM   #3
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If you have good voltage on the battery, check for a resettable breaker or a fuse in line near the tongue. Almost all new trailers have one - but they aren't always in the exact same spot. Should be under the tongue or just under the front of the trailer. Follow the positive back from the battery.
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Old 10-14-2016, 08:43 PM   #4
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I do not have a battery on it yet. But when I first got the trailer I was pulling it with a 05 Dodge Durango and the jack and everything worked without a battery in it and plugged into the Durango so could it be something else it worked while plugged into a Tahoe as well
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Old 10-14-2016, 09:06 PM   #5
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Search online for Ford towing connections. I believe you may have a fuse or something that needs to be done to get power to the charging line on the trailer connection. You may have power to everything but the charge line which would explain why you have lights but nothing else.

Regardless, get a battery on that thing so your breakaway switch will function.
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Old 10-14-2016, 09:48 PM   #6
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The fuse & relay on my 2013 F-150 that allow power to go to the trailer were not installed when I bought my truck. The fuse & relay were in a plastic bag in the door compartment. I don't recall which positions in the fuse box under the hood that the fuse & relay needed to be inserted but, check your owners manual for where they go and either in your glove box or door compartment for the for the fuse & relay. As someone else said "get a battery in that trailer so your breakaway switch is operating".
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Old 10-14-2016, 10:33 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jschmidt View Post
I do not have a battery on it yet.
Funny you left this important bit of information out in your original statement.


As you can see in this picture Terminal 4 from the truck should be 12 VDC + for charging.
Also if your Positive battery cable is touching the frame of the trailer (Ground) it would blow the fuse in the truck for that charging circuit.
Good luck.
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Old 10-14-2016, 11:25 PM   #8
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No 12 volt power on trailer

I have 12 volts at the plug on my truck when I checked it with my meter and the battery terminals are tapped so the won't short out if they hit the frame i plugged the trailer into my truck and checked for voltage where the battery cables are mounted underneath the front of the camper and have 0 volts with my meter when hooked up to positive and negative cables. I am waiting on the box to put a battery in to come in
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Old 10-14-2016, 11:46 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by jschmidt View Post
I have 12 volts at the plug on my truck when I checked it with my meter and the battery terminals are tapped so the won't short out if they hit the frame i plugged the trailer into my truck and checked for voltage where the battery cables are mounted underneath the front of the camper and have 0 volts with my meter when hooked up to positive and negative cables. I am waiting on the box to put a battery in to come in


That told me a lot. Thanks
Now what I would do is trace the #4 wire from the trailer plug back into the trailer and see where it is attached.
At this point I would think it attaches to obviously a Positive DC point in the trailer.
My guesses this wire can be attached someplace where the Positive battery cable is located on the trailer.
Or
It goes all the way back to your DC battery circuit breaker panel inside.

That is the best I can tell you at the moment.
I will do some more research and see if I can find out where it goes by searching the web.

Good luck
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Old 10-14-2016, 11:59 PM   #10
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BY any chance do you have any switch that may look like this in the battery compartment area?
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Old 10-15-2016, 12:01 AM   #11
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Here is a basic diagram how you get battery power from the truck to the Battery in the trailer to charge it while on the road towing.

The only other thing we have to make sure is that the Ground wire from the truck is hooked up to the ground wire on the trailer frame. Wire #1
It is possible you don't have a ground wire but using the actual hitch to the truck frame as a ground.
Just thinking out loud.
Let us know what else you find.
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Old 10-15-2016, 10:43 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jschmidt View Post
I have 12 volts at the plug on my truck when I checked it with my meter and the battery terminals are tapped so the won't short out if they hit the frame i plugged the trailer into my truck and checked for voltage where the battery cables are mounted underneath the front of the camper and have 0 volts with my meter when hooked up to positive and negative cables. I am waiting on the box to put a battery in to come in
Did you check for voltage at your battery terminals with the key on or off in the truck. The fuse & relay I mentioned earlier disconnect the battery/terminals in the trailer when the key is turned off. This prevents the trailer from running your trucks battery down when the truck is not running. The relay goes in position #9 & the 30amp fuse goes in position #21 in your fuse box. Check them out.
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Old 10-15-2016, 10:57 AM   #13
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Originally Posted by Wayne Joan View Post
Did you check for voltage at your battery terminals with the key on or off in the truck. The fuse & relay I mentioned earlier disconnect the battery/terminals in the trailer when the key is turned off. This prevents the trailer from running your trucks battery down when the truck is not running. The relay goes in position #9 & the 30amp fuse goes in position #21 in your fuse box. Check them out.
Good call. Worth checking.
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Old 10-15-2016, 02:26 PM   #14
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How to energize pin #4?

I have a similar issue. I have never had power going from the harness to the trailer, only tail and running lights. I just went out ( 10 minutes ago) and tested pin 4, no voltage. Do I need to go to an electrical shop to get additional wiring to power pin4? This is 2006 Isuzu Ascender TV with factory harness for towing. This would be valuable to allow me to run Dometic fridge while we are driving to keep it cool between home and campground.
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Old 10-15-2016, 05:57 PM   #15
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The measurements I took were with the truck running
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Old 10-15-2016, 06:10 PM   #16
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Originally Posted by Fuzzy53 View Post
I have a similar issue. I have never had power going from the harness to the trailer, only tail and running lights. I just went out ( 10 minutes ago) and tested pin 4, no voltage. Do I need to go to an electrical shop to get additional wiring to power pin4? This is 2006 Isuzu Ascender TV with factory harness for towing. This would be valuable to allow me to run Dometic fridge while we are driving to keep it cool between home and campground.
I would first check the fuse block (likely under the hood) to see if there is a fuse and make sure it is good.
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Old 10-15-2016, 10:20 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jschmidt View Post
The measurements I took were with the truck running
What terminal are checking? Have you checked for the fuse & relay?
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Old 10-15-2016, 10:47 PM   #18
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Originally Posted by Fuzzy53 View Post
I have a similar issue. I have never had power going from the harness to the trailer, only tail and running lights. I just went out ( 10 minutes ago) and tested pin 4, no voltage. Do I need to go to an electrical shop to get additional wiring to power pin4? This is 2006 Isuzu Ascender TV with factory harness for towing. This would be valuable to allow me to run Dometic fridge while we are driving to keep it cool between home and campground.
You will need to read your owners manual. MOST trucks, especially older ones, do not come with the fuses/relays that are required to get power to pin #4 installed. The owner has to install them. Your owners manual should tell you about this and where to install them. (If you no longer have them, a trip to the dealer is probably in your future.)

I did some digging and it appears that your TV is a re-badged GMC Envoy. Looking up the Owner's manual, it doesn't tell you a lot (neither did my 2009 Silverado's). But looking at all the fuses in the pics of the fuse boxes, I'm thinking your aux power fuse is #38 in the under hood fuse box or fuse #46 in the rear underseat fuse block. You'll need a 20 or 30 amp fuse. (I paid about $12 for mine at the Chevy dealer.) Since it's basically a GM, be aware that the aux power wire is not always hooked up, either. Here's a 2008 Silverado example:
https://www.etrailer.com/question-21543.html
You may need to hook this up, too.)

Further, once the fuses/relays are installed, some trucks will supply power to pin #4 all the time and some will only do it if the ignition is turned on. You need to check to see which way your truck operates.
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Old 10-16-2016, 10:55 AM   #19
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I do not have a battery on it yet. But when I first got the trailer I was pulling it with a 05 Dodge Durango and the jack and everything worked without a battery in it ...
Towing without a trailer battery means you have no power for the breakaway switch to apply the brakes if the trailer separates from the tow vehicle. That is ILLEGAL and could be catastrophic.
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Old 10-16-2016, 03:54 PM   #20
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Towing without a trailer battery means you have no power for the breakaway switch to apply the brakes if the trailer separates from the tow vehicle. That is ILLEGAL and could be catastrophic.
EXACTLY!
Please post what dealer let you leave the lot without a battery or informing you of this.
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