Toad wiring question...diode-related

[smlranger]

OK, I went a little crazy and traded my '04 Explorer on a shiney, new '08 Explorer with the Iron Man package. So, I'm gonna be installing a new base plate and moving my AF1 to the new toad.

I used the Add-a-bulbs in the '04 but want to just use diodes on this one so I can use the existing bulbs. Now the question...with my AF1 brake device, my toad brake lights come on when the AF1 presses the brake pedal in the toad. So, if I use a diode to wire the R/L turn signals from the coach (which will also send a 12V signal with the coach brake lights), will the diode be putting 24v to bulb filament?

Does this make any sense?

[smlranger]

OK, I went a little crazy and traded my '04 Explorer on a shiney, new '08 Explorer with the Iron Man package. So, I'm gonna be installing a new base plate and moving my AF1 to the new toad.

I used the Add-a-bulbs in the '04 but want to just use diodes on this one so I can use the existing bulbs. Now the question...with my AF1 brake device, my toad brake lights come on when the AF1 presses the brake pedal in the toad. So, if I use a diode to wire the R/L turn signals from the coach (which will also send a 12V signal with the coach brake lights), will the diode be putting 24v to bulb filament?

Does this make any sense?

[Hillbilly2]

No, because the batteries will be parallel not series. Also the diodes should block the flow back to either battery anyway. One problem though could be that if the toad uses the same bulb for brake and turn, the bulb will stop flashing during a turn when the AF1 applies the brake and the turn signal is on. That can be fixed by removing the brake light fuse on the toad. I'm not sure if the '08 Explorer has seperate bulbs or not.

[Petro]

Gary;

I had the same problem with my 02 La Sabre I used for a toad. Camping World installed a Brake Pro for me and they installed a relay in the brake light circuit that stopped the brake light from working on the toad when the ignition switch is off. Roadmaster has or had a kit for this. Hillbilly2 is correct that if the toad uses same bulb for brake & turn you will lose your toad signal light unless you interrupt the brake light feed on the toad.

Congratulations on your new 08 Explorer. Let us know the outcome.

Don

[Pusherman]

Gary, another modification to Petro's recommendation is to pull the brake light fuse when towing, and then use the diodes in the install as you would normally. This will fix the problem with the turn signal working when the AF1 applies the toad brakes.

To make life easy, you can install a fuse switch for the brake light fuse, and just turn the switch when you tow.

This is essentially how my HHR is hooked up. The fuse switch shuts off accessory circuits along with the brake lights. Therefore I did not have to use the relay that Roadmaster supplied with the Even Brake (which will apply brake lights when operated if the fuse is not removed, or in my case, turned off. If you don't remove the fuse or shut off the circuit, then you need the relay Petro refers to).

Nice ride, by the way! I'm still driving my '03 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer as my daily driver, and I love it.

[smlranger]

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I will probably just do the add-a-bulb which worked fine in my '04. Actually, Blue Ox recommends the add-a-bulb kit for the Explorer.

Spent most of today removing the base plate and AF1 from my '04 for the trade-out on Monday. I feel especially old and creaky tonite.

On a positive note, the Blue Ox base plate for the '08 has the removeable tabs which almost hides the attachment points. The '02-'05 baseplate did not have those and the attachment tabs stuck out pretty good.