Community Forums

Scottybdivin · 04-25-2017, 11:39 AM

FYI,the AUX charge wire usually comes from the chassis batteries.

l1v3fr33ord1 · 04-25-2017, 12:00 PM

volvik-

If I were you, I'd look in detail at the fuse panel (and hopefully it's labelled) for a fuse associated with a charge line. Just because a wire is not there at the back doesn't mean it's not there at the front. You can also look for a spare 15A ignition-switched fuse on the panel, at the same time. That would be a place to terminate a charge line that you install yourself.

There actually is a constant 12V source available from the trailer electric brake controller circuit, and it's possible to rig it such that it shows up on the brake controller wire at the rear of the coach. There are some reasons why I recommend not going that way, but it can be done.

My preference would be to find and use what Fleetwood provided, and if that turns out to be nothing, then to run a new charge line to the correct pin on the connector.

c_oneil · 04-26-2017, 08:20 AM

I owned an '01 Southwind on the F53 chassis where all the tow light wires were left taped up and unconnected inside the plastic wire conduit near the tow hitch. Maybe your 12v chassis wire is inside the bundle. My coach did not have a 12v wire in the bundle with the tow light wires. I tapped into a light switch box in the bedroom for 12v (shorter run than from the chassis battery) that was on a 20a fuse and the house batteries. If you tap into the house batteries just keep in mind that you may want to unplug the toad for an overnight stop without any shore power so as to not have a drain on the house batteries. Also any 12v charge line should probably be fused on both ends close to the battery because if you blow the fuse on one end the wire is still powered from the battery on the other end.

c_oneil · 04-26-2017, 08:36 AM

If you look at this link https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas...f5306mtrhm.pdf it should be the '06 (I'm guessing you may have an '06 chassis under your '07 southwind) Ford F53 bodybuilders layout book with lots of information about your chassis intended to be used by Fleetwood when they built the coach on the chassis. It shows a lot about the wire and fuse locations on the chassis and how to connect to them. There is also a Ford wiring supplement published that would give more info on tow wires.

Polyian · 04-26-2017, 08:41 AM

As noted by some others, my wiring harness had 2 wires (black and orange) taped inside the plastic loom less than a 1 foot forward of the 7 pin connector on the rear of the coach. The same 2 wires were taped to the wiring harness up under the steering wheel to the left side, not too far from the fuse box. I connected one of the 2 wires to the 7 pin (with a jumper) and the same wire under the dash to an empty fuse location (again with a jumper)...installed a 15 amp fuse and all tested good. It is a switched 12 volt feed only working with the ignition on. This is how Newmar's leave the factory, Fleetwood might do different.

volvik · 04-26-2017, 06:54 PM

All the relevant wires are in the 7 way plug at the back with the exception of the Battery Charge line. I followed the line back a ways towards the front and it is not there unfortunately so....

I took the plug apart and connected a 3' length of 10g wire to the Battery Charge spade terminal, enclosed it in the plastic protective coil and looped it up on the frame for now. The plan will be to put a 20a Auto Reset Breaker at the end of the 3' length and then continue it up to the positive terminal of the chassis battery.

I'll then add another length to the cable going from the 7 way plug to the toad and then from the toad to the positive terminal on it's battery again with another 20a Auto Reset Breaker in the line.

In my spare time I'll be pulling the bumper/grill off the car to install the base plate.......

CJ7365 · 04-26-2017, 07:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by volvik

All the relevant wires are in the 7 way plug at the back with the exception of the Battery Charge line. I followed the line back a ways towards the front and it is not there unfortunately so....

I took the plug apart and connected a 3' length of 10g wire to the Battery Charge spade terminal, enclosed it in the plastic protective coil and looped it up on the frame for now. The plan will be to put a 20a Auto Reset Breaker at the end of the 3' length and then continue it up to the positive terminal of the chassis battery.

I'll then add another length to the cable going from the 7 way plug to the toad and then from the toad to the positive terminal on it's battery again with another 20a Auto Reset Breaker in the line.

In my spare time I'll be pulling he bumper/grill off the car to install the base plate.......

Sounds like a good plan, verses tracing wires that might not exist.

Polyian · 04-27-2017, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by volvik

All the relevant wires are in the 7 way plug at the back with the exception of the Battery Charge line. I followed the line back a ways towards the front and it is not there unfortunately so....

I took the plug apart and connected a 3' length of 10g wire to the Battery Charge spade terminal, enclosed it in the plastic protective coil and looped it up on the frame for now. The plan will be to put a 20a Auto Reset Breaker at the end of the 3' length and then continue it up to the positive terminal of the chassis battery.

I'll then add another length to the cable going from the 7 way plug to the toad and then from the toad to the positive terminal on it's battery again with another 20a Auto Reset Breaker in the line.

In my spare time I'll be pulling the bumper/grill off the car to install the base plate.......

Good plan but I would suggest locating the breaker up by the battery terminal rather than 3 ft from the rear 7 pin...easier future access. Auto reset breakers can fail and you don't need to be unnecessarily climbing under the coach to troubleshoot.

Good luck with the baseplate... I did my own, supposedly a 3-4 hour job took me the better part of 2 days...but well worth doing myself as I know how to fix any problems with it or the wiring.

twinboat · 04-27-2017, 01:01 AM

The idea is to put the breaker near the power source ( battery ) to protect against an overload or short to ground along the whole lenght of the wire.

Putting the breaker near the back leaves the front section of the wire unprotected. If it gets chafed and shorts, it melts its way to the battery.

volvik · 04-27-2017, 06:56 AM

Will do fellas...near the battery it is thanks!

Now the base plate, dealer wanted 6 hours at 124 per hr (cdn) to install. After watching a video (god bless the people who take the time to make these how to things) it appears it will take much less, in fact, the Demco sheet says the time is 2 hr. No drilling, cutting just bumper/grill off, remove two items and attached the bp.

We will see though....

Polyian · 04-27-2017, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by volvik

Will do fellas...near the battery it is thanks!

Now the base plate, dealer wanted 6 hours at 124 per hr (cdn) to install. After watching a video (god bless the people who take the time to make these how to things) it appears it will take much less, in fact, the Demco sheet says the time is 2 hr. No drilling, cutting just bumper/grill off, remove two items and attached the bp.

We will see though....

What kind of vehicle is it? I watched videos for my Acura MDX and it looked simple and the instructions looked simple. But they missed the power steering cooler brackets that were in the way of drilling and mounting the base plate bracket bolts ( I think the cooler was an option on the touring model)...that added a bit of work removing and replacing the cooler. Then when I was reinstalling the front fascia it wouldn't fit back on as some of the plastic on the back of the fog light housing was hitting the base plate mount. After sleeping on it, I finally figured out what was hitting and I had to trim some of the plastic housing on the back of the fog lights. After that it all went back together easily. In fairness the instructions said some trimming of the plastic may be required, too bad they did not indicate specifically where.

The wiring was straight forward, I drilled the tail lights and installed the bulb kit so they lights are separate from the vehicle lights.

After I was done I figured I could do it again in half the time knowing the pitfalls.

volvik · 04-27-2017, 05:02 PM

The toad is an '05 Honda Element AWD automatic. The manual provides clear instructions how to flat tow.

The base plate arrived today as well as additional safety cables that I'll install to the frame before the bumper and grill go on. Demco doesn't have that additional safety feature however I don't think it's a 'bad' idea so I picked a couple up and will incorporate them into the install.

In all candor it does look very straight forward and as you mentioned, it's shame that after you go thru the first install/service procedure you can't carry on and do someone else's as you'd be able to do it in half the time.

It's not so much a money saving issue as it is wanting to do it yourself and understanding how it works.

I've put 150K miles on my BMW GS motorcycle and never had it to a dealer from the benefit of the internet. If something goes wrong on the road it hopefully will allow me to troubleshoot the issue better.

evofxdwg · 05-03-2017, 07:40 PM

My 2006 Ford F53 chassis didn't have a charging wire so I ran awg10 automotive grade wire myself. I picked off 12v at the starting battery + terminal, through a 30A self resetting breaker, then thru a 40A relay energized when motorhome key switch is in run position. Picked a "hot in run" fuse, added a fuse tap and smaller wire from cockpit over to the relay for control. Breaker and relay mounted in battery compartment. All wires run in corrugated plastic sheathing. Also have a 30 A self resetting breaker in Toad near battery that it connects to. We have been on a couple of trips with Toad using this for battery charge with park lights on and running braking system with no problems. And the Toad, a 2016 Ford F-150 has a battery management system that is sensitive to external charging. It had no abnormal indications.

I put the Blue Ox base plates on the F150. E-trailer dot com has a good video on this particular install. Not a bad job. Had to drill one hole in frame on each side. If you have to drill hard steel , drill a small hole first (like 3/32) then drill two or three successively larger holes till you get to desired size.

For lighting, I researched tail light wiring and broke into the two wires running the stop/turn filaments of the F150 and added two spdt relays. I ran a relay control wire from the aux braking system so the two relays are energized, and switched to "motorhome" control when the aux braking system is on. When aux braking system is off, relays connect normal F150 stop/turn wires. I turn on F150 park lights for night running and license illumination. The truck center brake light runs from its brake switch control Independently so it is functional during towing. Since battery is charging from motorhome while towing, there is no problem doing it this way. Relays are in a sealed electrical box (small Home Depot NEMA box) mounted under the truck bed and all wire splices are soldered an sealed with heat shrink.