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Check Your Breakaway Brake Switches
As part of your pre-season maintenance routine, I suggest checking the operation of your breakaway brake switch. This is easy to do, but also easy to overlook.
With the battery connected, pull the pin from the switch box. There should be a notable voltage drop, and the wheels should lock up.
When I tested mine this year, I got nada. Sometimes I could get it to engage by banging on the switch housing with a wrench. I'm guessing the internal contacts are corroded.
Replacement switches are easy to come by for as low as $10. The biggest challenge to installation would be splicing in the new switch wires.
Re: Battleborn safety issue per Will Prowse?
We have had some unexplained and unable to diagnose issues with Battleborn battery setups in the trailers just completely shutting down with little or no explanation. After checking every possible item that could cause this (fuses, breakers, battery switches, etc) the battery (s) suddenly just "came back on" with no explanation, and the Victrons showing normal voltages, etc. Of course, these sorts of things are impossible to explain, and my thoughts here are anecdotal.
This is not just Will Prowse raising this issue. If you go back to the DIY Solar Forum original post on this situation, the first reports of battery failures of the positive post going back to 2023.
It is hard to say how this sort of issue effects the smaller battery setups in most of our trailers. Many owners with 100 amp hour batteries who rarely drive them to low levels and then charge at high levels will "probably" never have an issue. But there are owners out there with the larger 400 amp hour setups (and probably larger) who are pushing the AC with their inverters, etc, and then using higher capacity chargers that "might" be pushing this odd "safety feature". Or maybe it can happen with even smaller setups with inverters and an unfortunate choice of hair dryer.
It isn't enough to put our head in the sand and say "Will Prowse is just a You Tuber"……..if you have a large battery setup from Battleborn, or any Battleborn, for that matter, you should inspect the battery for the discoloration of the positive terminal that indicates the overheating problem. This is the message a Battleborn owner should take from this controversy.
Re: Battleborn safety issue per Will Prowse?
Re: Reinforced toilet flange
Sounds great. Please tell us about the solution!
Re: Water Intrusion Tab400
With water in the fresh water tank, have you used the pump to pressurize the system, until the pump shuts off, left it over night, then checked to see that the pressure held in the morning (the pump stayed off)? If the system doesn’t hold pressure it is probably leaking. Have you looked for water on both sides of the pan the Alde sits in? The water tank might leak. Have you checked all exterior seals outside, on the side, especially around the Alde propane exhaust and the bottom trailer seal? Did you check closely around the mixing valve?
Re: Battleborn safety issue per Will Prowse?
I was disappointed that the interview did not address the specific issues that Will Prowse documented on his video where he bought a new intact 100aH BB battery and tested it according to the specs sheet and the battery failed. Only then was the battery cut open. That battery was not attached to an RV, only to a cycle machine that measures discharge and charge cycles. And the battery failed.
So they sued him instead of responding to the issues he raised, saying all the problems as far as they know were due to user mistakes.
Re: How do you protect yourself when travelling?
Re: Another Moving Battery Inside Thread
This is one Forum thread from a couple of years ago that shows the extra negative as an Alde ground.
Re: NEW FORMATTING FOR THE FORUM IS LIVE!
I for one do not find the expanded 'tool bar' an improvement over the default standard as very few if any additional editing features are available - - while "it" does provide duplicates or quick-links to some drop-down menu features.
For myself the older (not maintained) editor called 'Advanced' editor was more powerful if not very new-user-friendly.
The current (newer & maintained) Rich Text Editor lacks key features as implemented by HighLevel/Vanilla. Those 'features' are available in the open-source Quill Editor HighLevel is using. For some unknown reason HighLevel/Vanilla has not activated those features.
I request Forum Admins to challenge Vanilla to 'unlock' the additional Quill Rich Text Editor Features.
What is requested (in order of priority)
- Ability to 'edit context' of "quoted posts" . . . many long posts only have one or two real questions. Being able to isolate those questions in a reply both helps sharing information and reduces blocks of 'data/text/noise'.
- Allow HTML Code entry/editing. This is very helpful to providing easier to read technical answers with the use of Underline or degrees symbol or just nuCamp " ü " . . . there are dozens of helpful to the reader examples.
- If Vanilla won't provide HTML access, then adding in Underline and Degrees would be helpful.
end
Re: Why you decided not to purchase awing ?
I've got two of the 'Ball Cap Style' Visors.
Only seem to use them on longer stays in the real hot months.
These visors haven't worked very well in the rain and don't like wind at all, part of the reason I don't use one very frequently.