Breaking system doesn't charge toad battery

[dav7158]

I've had an Invisibrake system for a couple of years that has seldom if ever kept my Toad's battery charged with the trickle charge so had a "hot" wire set up to provide a full 12+ volts to the battery by the dealer, as I've seen mentioned here.

But when I got home - about 1.5 hours on the road - and disconnected from my RV, the car battery was completely dead. And I mean completely as it wouldn't even light up dashboard lights. I was able to start it with the InstaBoost system I've used the past couple of years then ran the car for a bit and parked ... but this morning it was completely dead again and would not jump at all. Called AAA and he had to connect directly to his truck as his hand-held systems wouldn't work either. After a bit it did start again but he suggested that the battery (5 yrs old) is on it's last legs so to start shopping around, keeping my Instaboost handy.

Here's my question, finally: Could that new higher voltage line have put my battery over the line or perhaps been installed incorrectly. Any other ideas?

[Bama Rambler]

Since the battery's five years old, I think it was just a coincidence that it failed shortly after the new wiring was installed.

[18CrewDually]

A 5 year old battery that now has been run down 2 or 3 times is junk and unreliable now anyways.
Running a direct charge line will not hurt the battery. The voltage is regulated by the RV alternator. Make sure you double check the charge line and verify that you do have 13-14.6 volts when the RV is running.
The charge line should be fused and if the fuse blew than it won't charge and the end result would be the dead battery.

[KyDan]

What they all said plus you are absolutely SURE the new charge line has
the correct polarity??? Right?!?!?

[PenJoe]

A 5 yr old battery is about ready for recycle. When you had the dead battery the first time, it should have been left to charge for at least a half hour with the motor running or/giving it a full battery charge. We just went through that a month ago with an older battery. But once charged, ours if fine. Note: a totally dead battery may not be recognized by a "automatic" battery charger because the battery is so low that it doesn't recognize it being connected. On the other hand, a "manual" battery charger will attempt to charge a battery regardless of how low the charge on the battery. The downside of the manual charger is that it doesn't know when to shut off. Consequently, left on too long, it can cook the battery.

We use a RVibrake battery tender. It charges the toad battery only when the TV is running and does not discharge when the TV ignition is turned off.

[pmsherman]

Your invisibrake system should not have drained the battery in an hour and a half trip, even if it was entirely in city traffic where you were using the brakes every block. As suggested, your battery is probably shot and needs to be replaced.

Don't forget that the invisibrake only charges the battery if you have your parking lights on. If your toad's tail lights aren't lit when the brakes aren't being applied, you're not charging the toad's battery through the invisibrake system.

Phil