Community Forums

Hugh Jass · 01-01-2017, 03:58 PM

The particulars: 2012 Ventana LE. Blue Or towbar. Brake Buddy Stealth braking system. 2016 Ford Edge, V6, not supposed to have to disconnect battery etc. Supposed to be plug and go.

First day, went through 4 10 amp fuses on the line that goes from stealth to battery. After talking to the guys at Stealth, I Think I figured that one out. We kept leaving the climate control on. Result is very very dead battery.

Second day. Successfully drove from Baton Rouge to Pensacola beach. Fully charged battery, unhooked and voila, we were set. Thought I had it licked.

Return trip: Pensacola to Baton Rouge, all good. No blown fuses, battery charge on arrival.

Baton Rouge to Houston. Good for 1st half, then hit a massive rain storm. Freeway speeds down to about 40mph. Then started getting "CU" (Check unit) errors on the stealth and soon after "BA" (break away) errors. I stopped, checked everything, battery was down to 10 volts. All connections were tight, but for good measure I reconnected the cable while getting soaked in a rest area.

I'm really not convinced Holiday World installed things right....very bad experience with them. But I'm also wondering if the rain had anything to do with it the last day. If it was installed/wired right and sealed up the way it's supposed to be, I should be able to drive in the rain.

Any thoughts before I go down a path with the idiots who installed it? Or know of anyone in the Houston area that is competent to look at the install to give me some peace of mind?

Oh, and I've ordered a set of 25 ft jumper cables. They get here tomorrow.

D Lindy · 01-01-2017, 04:01 PM

When wiring up the light didn't you run a wire from the HOT terminal of the trailer plug to the battery to keep the battery charged by the motor home?

Hugh Jass · 01-01-2017, 04:53 PM

There is a hot that comes off the Stealth brake controller that goes to the positive side of battery. That's the line that kept blowing the 10 amp fuse that is inline.

YC1 · 01-01-2017, 05:11 PM

Longer driving time during the rain storm and you had your lights on so the voltage to charge the toad was probably not up to par and the Ford Edge is an absolute power pig. I have a 2012 Limited with the keyless ignition etc.

I am a highly qualified ET and have been frustrated by a similiar issue several times. So much that after lasts years Summer trip I have built a new heavy duty charge line that can handle much more current without as much loss as was designed into the charging line that is used on the Invisibrake. I have it set up to charge even without the ignition of the RV on. I want it to charge at night during stopovers.

D Lindy · 01-02-2017, 05:52 AM

Why run your battery charging line off your braking unit when you can run a dedicated charging line right off the light plug on the back of the coach?

Hugh Jass · 01-02-2017, 08:23 AM

At this point I tend to agree with you and based on what was said above about the edge being a power pig, I'll probably abandon the Stealth charger and go dedicated. To answer your question though, here is how it's supposed to work and what I paid a lot of money for....which ain't working. See attachment

YC1 · 01-02-2017, 10:26 AM

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Conne...ower+connector

These are available at most parts stores and E-Bay has plenty of them. I bought a couple of cheap jumper cables for the wires and cut the alligator clips off. I installed an inline automatic circuit breaker you can get from the parts store too. I installed one on the RV and one on the Toad near the battery. It is protected both ways and with the auto reset you won't need to chase fuses.

The heavy cable will handle plenty of power and not lose much along the way. Connecting it so it is hot all the time and not controlled by the ignition of the RV works fine for me. The car gets charged day or night.

As for having to jump start the car I have connected two jumper cables in series so they can reach the positive post of the battery.

DO NOT try to start the car with this setup. Just let it charge for 30 minutes or so and then disconnect before starting. If you do not disconnect you risk burning your light weight negative wires going through your umbilical.

I know the tow bar should be making contact but I they don't always make the best contact for use as a ground.