Journey with Confidence RV GPS App RV Trip Planner RV LIFE Campground Reviews RV Maintenance Take a Speed Test Free 7 Day Trial ×
RV Trip Planning Discussions

Go Back   iRV2 Forums > MOTORHOME FORUMS > Toads and Motorhome Related Towing
Click Here to Login
Join iRV2 Today

Mission Statement: Supporting thoughtful exchange of knowledge, values and experience among RV enthusiasts.
Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on iRV2
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 01-28-2017, 03:18 PM   #1
Junior Member
 
MtnBikerNM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 6
Puzzling voltage outputs at MH 7 pin connector

We're getting our 2014 Renegade Villagio ready for towing a 2017 Jeep Wrangler toad for the first time. I've finished wiring the Jeep side using the OEM wiring harness. In prepping to wire the toad connector, I ran down to the RV storage building with my voltmeter, just to check that the pinout of the MH side was standard. I was puzzled to find that without the keys in the ignition of the MH, I have ~12V on all pins except the center pin (as measured with a high impedance electronic volt meter using 7:00 pin as ground reference). With the key in the "on" position, this dropped to ~ 11.2V. I was limited on time, so I couldn't do any troubleshooting other than to verify the ground was good.
So, before I go back and start troubleshooting, I'm wondering, are the pins connected to open collector outputs of an electronic controller and thus floating to +12v? If so, I'm assuming if I were to load them with a test lamp they would work as expected but I've never encountered open collector outputs like that on a vehicle, perhaps it's standard on MH toad wiring? All of the posts I can find on troubleshooting 7 pin connectors lead me to believe that I should read 0 volts between any pin and ground (other than of course the +12V pin at 1:00) if it's not active, which implies the outputs are not typically open collector.
The most obvious problem which I will look for when I can go back to the RV and do some troubleshooting is that somehow, the +12v pin is shorted on the back side of the connector to all pins except the center. But that seems a bit far fetched. I suppose that somehow the connector itself could have become faulty and is somehow shorting the pins?
MtnBikerNM is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 RV Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

iRV2.com RV Community - Are you about to start a new improvement on your RV or need some help with some maintenance? Do you need advice on what products to buy? Or maybe you can give others some advice? No matter where you fit in you'll find that iRV2 is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with other RV owners, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create an RV blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 01-28-2017, 04:28 PM   #2
Senior Member


 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 6,909
MtnBikerNM-

Hmm. What you describe should not be.

I'd re-test using a known good frame ground.

What do the manual and the folks at Renegade tech support say?
__________________
Mark
2008 Holiday Rambler Admiral 30PDD (Ford F-53 chassis)
2009 Honda Fit Sport
l1v3fr33ord1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-28-2017, 04:38 PM   #3
Senior Member
 
Unplanned Tourist's Avatar
 
Winnebago Owners Club
Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: May 2016
Location: Kamloops, BC, 60 miles from the Center of the Universe according to the Rinpoche, of the SF monks.
Posts: 7,305
Put a load on them like a headlight bulb and see how that is. Maybe it's just feed-back from something like you suggested.
__________________
Happy Glamping, Norman & Elna. 2008 Winnebago Adventurer 38J, W24, dozens of small thirsty ponies. Retired after 40 years wrenching on trucks! 2010 Ford Ranger toad with bicycles or KLR 650 in the back. Easy to spot an RVer, they always walk around with a screwdriver or wrench in one hand!
Unplanned Tourist is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-29-2017, 10:15 AM   #4
Junior Member
 
Sanibelview's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2016
Posts: 22
I also had strange readings with multimeter from rv plug, wired the toad receptacle as diagramed and it worked as it should. May need some resistance or feed back to work properly.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_0518.JPG
Views:	90
Size:	86.1 KB
ID:	150313  
__________________
2016 Winnebago View 25J
Subaru Crosstrek toad
Sanibelview is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-29-2017, 12:43 PM   #5
Senior Member
 
wa8yxm's Avatar
 
Damon Owners Club
Workhorse Chassis Owner
Join Date: Mar 2009
Posts: 24,024
All pins would be odd, Very very ODD. In fact. It would lead me to believe there is an issue with the meter.. The center pin is named either AUX or "Reverse" (Back up) Lights and often is N/C (not connected)

Tail/Stop/Turn terminals should be zero volts, if there is voltage present, it is possible you have LED lights on the RV

Only two pins should be hot, Brakes (optional depends on the controller) and Battery (IF engine on vehicle is running) unless you have the lights on.
__________________
Home is where I park it!
wa8yxm is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-02-2017, 12:18 PM   #6
Junior Member
 
MtnBikerNM's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 6
Thanks for the responses from everyone. I still haven't heard back from Renegade, so I decided to plug the toad in a see what happened. Fortunately, all the lights worked as expected. So, it appears that the MH pins are coming from an electronic controller with open collector outputs that need a load on them to properly measure the voltage. I'm going to try one of the plug testers and see if it works, I suspect it will because its LEDs with current limiting resistors should provide sufficient load.
I did encounter something "dumb" when I attempted to plug the umbilical cord into the MH for the first time. The 7 pin connector is installed in a bracket that is part of the Reese hitch, and sort of tucked under the rear fiberglass cowling of the MH. The 7 pin connector is a Reese 85219 (like this https://www.walmart.com/ip/REESE-852...&wl13=&veh=sem ) with a spring loaded cover. When I raised the cover to insert the umbilical cord, I discovered that the thumb lift part of the cover hit the fiberglass cowling of the MH before I could raise it far enough for the locking post of the umbilical cord to clear the corresponding part of the cover that's supposed to prevent the connector from backing out once fully inserted. Dumb...
Since I'm the second owner of the MH, I don't know if this was factory installed (I think it is) or owner installed, but I do know the previous owner towed a toad. So, either Renegade installed and never plugged an umbilical cord in it to factory test it or the first owner had it installed and simply pushed the connector as far as it would go (which by the way wasn't far enough to engage any of the pins or lock in place). I "fixed" the problem by rotating the Reese connector 180 degrees, so the spring cover pulls down, allowing the cover to open completely and the connectors to properly mate. Since this is our first MH, I guess it's all part of the learning curve... Thanks again for your responses!
MtnBikerNM is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply



Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
7-pin connector question-left turn/stop pin wagonmaster2 Freightliner Motorhome Chassis Forum 12 01-01-2012 05:00 PM
7-pin connector question-turn/stop pin wagonmaster2 Winnebago Industries Owner's Forum 25 12-31-2011 07:27 PM
A Puzzling Question ???? DriVer Hobbies, Passions & Pastimes 6 07-22-2011 08:04 PM
Help-Need pin-out for Scottsdale 6 pin trailer connector park_ridge_dave Newmar Owner's Forum 2 09-07-2009 06:40 PM
Puzzling Basement A/C problem Snowwing Winnebago Industries Owner's Forum 13 08-07-2009 08:37 AM

» Featured Campgrounds

Reviews provided by


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 03:11 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.