bought a nice wiring troubleshooter today

[jeffsw6]

Had another wiring issue to fix today on my 6x12 trailer and Dodge. Almost done with that. I wanted some alligator clips to help me figure out where a problem was, so I went to Radio Shack. While there I got a small 12V battery and this turned out to be very helpful since I can carry it around with the alligator clips & wires and find all my problems on the trailer quickly.

I am not sure how to charge it, though. The battery specifically says not to use an automotive battery charger. Apparently it is meant to be used with home alarm systems or something? I wish I had noticed that before I purchased it. I might try to return it to Radio Shack tomorrow but I don't know if they will allow me to return a battery even though it is not the use-and-toss kind.

 

[Willl]

I'd use a 'battery-tender-junior'

Battery Tender Junior 12V @ 0.75A - Batterytender.com

 

[jeffsw6]

Fixed "all" the remaining wiring problems on my Dodge yesterday. The real head-scratcher was it would light everything up on my 8.5x20 with LED lights but on my 6x12 with regular lights, no marker lights. Turned out to be two different things. First the 6x12 has a 4-wire to 7-wire coiled adapter and the marker light pin had worn in its molded socket and was not making very good contact. When bypassing that, though, I found the marker light wire on the Dodge had corroded so badly at a skotchlok that it would not carry enough current to illuminate the non-LED lamps on the 6x12.

The ground wire on the Dodge was similarly corroded at a skotchlok. I did not notice this until I tried to use a ball mount that has a lot of painted surfaces, which turned out not to be a very good conductor between the vehicles. Whoever originally installed the trailer wiring on this truck sure didn't intend for it to last a long time.

I ended up yanking all the skotchloks off the Dodge, replacing its 7-wire receptacle, and connecting them together with a bunch of these connectors I picked up at Radio Shack 1/4" Fully Insulated Quick Disconnects (10-Pack) - RadioShack.com various sizes for the different sized wires, with some tape hopefully keeping them from separating on the road. This is not my permanent fix, but soldering underneath the truck on a 90F day was not in my plans yesterday.

 

[Egon]

RadioShack should have a charger unit for it or just hook up to a car battery in parallel.:thumbsup:

Hobby shops with electrical driven components should also have a charger.:thumbsup:

 

[k0ua]

Had another wiring issue to fix today on my 6x12 trailer and Dodge. Almost done with that. I wanted some alligator clips to help me figure out where a problem was, so I went to Radio Shack. While there I got a small 12V battery and this turned out to be very helpful since I can carry it around with the alligator clips & wires and find all my problems on the trailer quickly.

I am not sure how to charge it, though. The battery specifically says not to use an automotive battery charger. Apparently it is meant to be used with home alarm systems or something? I wish I had noticed that before I purchased it. I might try to return it to Radio Shack tomorrow but I don't know if they will allow me to return a battery even though it is not the use-and-toss kind.

Jeff what kind of battery is your little 12 volt.?. you do not want to be hooking up lithium cells up to a standard lead acid charger. Kablowie.. be careful. If you could give me a link to see the battery, I perhaps could help.

James K0UA

 

[jeffsw6]

It says it is a sealed lead acid battery. I thought this was the same chemistry as maintenance-free automotive battery. I took a picture of the label. If you can't read what it says, it indicates charging voltage for "normal charge" 14.5 - 14.9 V and "trickle" 13.6 - 13.8 V.


My battery charger is a Schmacher XC103 that has several settings. The instructions say it charges at 16.0 V for "normal" mode at 3, 5, or 12-30 amps depending on the charge speed selected. It also has two other battery type settings, which are "gel cell" 14.7V and "AGM" 15.4V. It seems to me I could charge this with the gel mode on the slow setting without damaging it. Or I could buy a more appropriate type of charger.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I would use your Gel Cell Mode. That battery looks very similar to the ones I install on Trailer Brake-Away systems. I don't think you will hurt it.

Chris

 

[k0ua]

I would use your Gel Cell Mode. That battery looks very similar to the ones I install on Trailer Brake-Away systems. I don't think you will hurt it.

Chris

Yep gel cell.. use that setting. you should be fine.. I just did not want you to blow up a Lithium or something and cause a fire
By the way AGM is Absorptive Glass Mat and here is a little info about them:

AGM battery technology has continued to develop and offer improvements over other sealed battery technologies. AGM technology has become the next step in the evolution of both starting and deep cycle sealed batteries for marine, RV, and aviation applications. This "next generation" technology delivers increased safety, performance, and service life over all other existing sealed battery types, including gel technology.

In AGM sealed batteries, the acid is absorbed between the plates and immobilized by a very fine fiberglass mat. No silica gel is necessary. This glass mat absorbs and immobilizes the acid while still keeping the acid available to the plates. This allows a fast reaction between acid and plate material.

The AGM battery has an extremely low internal electrical resistance. This, combined with faster acid migration, allows the AGM batteries to deliver and absorb higher rates of amperage than other sealed batteries during discharging and charging. In addition, AGM technology batteries can be charged at normal lead-acid regulated charging voltages, therefore, it is not necessary to recalibrate charging systems or purchase special chargers.

James K0UA

 

[chad22]

That's a great idea. I need to trouble shoot some wiring problems on my dads trailer.

Chad

 

[podagrower]

Serious over kill for most of our needs, but i know a guy who built a test rig for trailer lights using a 12v battery, 5 gallon bucket, and several toggle switches. 4 pin, 6 pin, 7 pin connectors all included, just plug and play.