I am planning on putting a toolbox on the tongue of my flatbed trailer and installing a warn winch I have. I want to put the bttery in the toolbox. My question is, how would I go about wireing the battery to the trailer, so when I am connected to the trailer, the battery will charge of the truck?
Is it 6 or 7 prong plug, or just a flat four?
The 6 or 7 prong have a hot wire for that.
Gonna have to look up my very first thread.........I think that was covered there.
Its a big plug, 6 or 7 I am not sure. Wired for brakes.
Forestry Forum Link (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=2852.msg37230#msg37230)
In other words, open the trailer plug, connect a wire to the center connection and the battery with a fuse.
Ground the battery and you should be good to go!
In this case you wouldn't need the isolator, but unplug the trailer plug when the truck is off and you are useing the winch.
Somebody correct me if I have any of that wrong.
Leave the plug connected to the trailer. You get better voltage and pulling power, while the truck is idling and charging the trailer mounted battery. That's how we have it on Big Red.
Be SURE to secure that winch. It will pull loose under load. ;) ;) ;D
The guys are right....center pole for battery hot from the towing vehicle. That is how the batteries for the breakaway electric brakes are wired on my trailers.
The SAFE way would be to unplug the trailer connection when using the winch, if the battery voltage in the trailer battery gets too low when the winch is used, the wiring can overheat and potentially cause damage. As Furby mentioned, it should also be fused appropriately. If the battery is fully charged AND the wiring from the vehicle is 10 Guage plus with good connections, you could get away with leaving it plugged in.
I've got 3 batteries from an electric Chevrolet S 10 to wire my winch with one of these days....
Captain
It depends on the pickup. Many of the newer pickups came with a trailer plug already installed. Either a seven conductor-flat blade or seven conductor-round pin. Those already have a hot wire built in that is fused and is only on when the ignition switch is on. On some the center pin is the electric brake feed so check the wiring diagram in your owners manual before using the center pin. They are now supposed to have a standard wiring diagram so any trailer can be pluged into any vehicle.
If you use your winch while connected to the pickup, many times it will blow even a thirty amp fuse. If you can, use a automatic reset circuit breaker. If you don't, the fuse will blow and you may not know it untill you find the battery is dead because it has not been charging. If you have a factory wiring setup and a built in fuse, it is best to unhook before using the winch.
There was a discussion about this (7-pin wiring) with pictures on the forum:
Forestry Forum Link (https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=11154.msg157060#msg157060)
-Doug
My input is that it may be quite helpful to run a heavier gauge wirer direct from your alternator charging output (Positive battery termial).
If you have 100 amp or better alternator.....it will help a bunch when running your winch.The downside to the electrics is the unreal amount of amps it draws from a single battery......it'll drain it pronto!As capt. said the more the marrier in regard to the heavy duty batteries you have available to run your winch. It keeps the winch in good condition also, by preventing burn out from heating :)
A self resetting breaker on your charging wire is nice also. Instead of burning out a fuse, you just trip a breaker.
Buzz, that's why I recommended running the truck while winching. ;) ;)
Right on Harold......
:D :D :DI just used 100 words to explain it :o :o :o
We've got heavy leads connected to our winch and just run them out and hook them to the truck battery with jumper cable clamps when we use the winch. Works for us ;D Saves having another battery around. The winch is Warn 12,000 lber
Jeff,
I use several winches and cranes running on electric. I have run #2 or #0 back along the frame rail all the way to the hitch for these purposes. I put a LARGE heavy amp disconnect switch on the core support to kill the hot wires when not in use. At the ends I use the big blue quick disconnetors from NAPA, it keeps everything in order and "booted" when not in use. The extra battery in the trailer tongue will give you less amp "drop" in the line but it is not totally necessary. STUDY your cable mechanical advantage charts and have several pulleys availible as well as other rigging, it helps if'in your out aways and dragging some monsters.
;)Reid
We use booster cables off the truck battery to operate the cable reel trailer at work.
The cables are wired directly to the trailer and are stored in a box on the trailer.
Here is a link to trailer wiring that stump jumper uses. For plug wiring.
http://www.etrailer.com/faq/wiring.asp
Here's another idea that works for me. I mounted a reciever on the front of my trailer, on the front of my tractor, on the front of my truck and I have a reciever adapter for the skidsteer. I then have a 20' long cable made of #4 welding cable withe quick connectors on each end. I then installed quick connectors on the batteries of the equipment so I can use the winch wherever I need it. Boy, does it come in handy.
Stumpy,
I do the same thing, even a receiver in the bulkhead of my one ton. There are never enough reese style receivers to weld on, I love that system. PUTT'UM EVERYWHERE!!!But boy my 8000/12000 pound winches are heavy!!! ;D ;D
With all due respect to FDH ;) :D ;) :D ;) :D, I would be real careful about running the winch with the plug connected and the engine running. As the trailer battery drains down, more of the current needed to run the winch will come from the truck battery/ alternators. If the cable feeding the female plug (truck side) isn't large enough you can burn it up. If you are going to use the truck battery to supplement the trailer battery, I would up-size the hot/battery cable to the plug – at least a #6 AWG.
Also, large starting surges have been known to damage/burnout the diodes inside alternators. That's why when I jump other people cars, I always try to start the other car with my truck turned off. Or try to charge their battery off my truck first.
Bruce/subsailor
Quote from: Buzz-sawyer on August 13, 2005, 12:18:09 PM
My input is that it may be quite helpful to run a heavier gauge wirer direct from your alternator charging output (Positive battery termial).
If you have 100 amp or better alternator.....it will help a bunch when running your winch.The downside to the electrics is the unreal amount of amps it draws from a single battery......it'll drain it pronto!As capt. said the more the marrier in regard to the heavy duty batteries you have available to run your winch. It keeps the winch in good condition also, by preventing burn out from heating :)
Several of us have said it also.............. :D :D 8) 8)
Ok folks... how would you do this if you were me?
I'm working on getting my winch on my trailer with multiple mounting locations. I am going to mount a seperate batt. for running the winch, on the winch mount. Now I want to charge this batt from the trucks charging system.
How would you tackle this situation? Would you use one of those switches like are used in boats to isolate one batt from the other or to charge both at the same time? I was thinking about having a disconect under the bumper so I'd only pug it up while using it.
I'm going to use the hot line in the trailer plug for lighting....
Don, I'm not sure whatcha mean by "I'm going to use the hot line in the trailer plug for lighting.... "
The charge wire in the trailer plug will be switched if ya gots a new'ish truck, no ignition, no power in that wire.
It will also be overload protected by an auto-reset breaker. Very many lights may open the circuit.
Regardless, if you hook the 12v in the trailer plug to the trailer's battery it will charge as you drive if nothing else. A simple switch to flip the 12v from the plug between charging the battery or powering the lights might be all you need to do both with just the one supply line.
Thanks Murf... its a newish truck, but the hot line in the pulg is not switched. I ran it that way so the wife can turn on the lights inside the horse trailer without starting the truck. It still charges the break away batt.
I really want to run a seperate line for this one... something I can turn on and off.
Ahh, clearer now.
So just put a relay in there like the kits they sell for high power drivings lights and such. Any NAPA, Wally World, etc, has them, real cheap to buy.
Wire it just as if the battery on the trailer is the lights in the diagram.
Then you have the option of either, a) using a switch to control it, or b) hooking it to the running lights, ignoition circuit, or whatever you want.
On my Ford the trailer battery charge circuit is controlled by a relay switched to the ignition, when the ignition is off the circuit is also dead.
If you don't anticipate a heavy charge load, you can do the down and dirty method, put a switch in between the trailer running lights and the trailer battery, when you flip the switch and turn on the lights, the battery charges, too much load will pop the fuse though. ;D
The wire in a trailer harness is meant for a trickle charge. To charge a run down battery from winching on the trailer you will need to run at least 6 guage wire from under the truck hood to the trailer. Plus, you can't just flip the switch while the truck is running. The best thing is to have a battery isolator.
I try to stay away from battery isolators because for me they always seem to go bad and drain both batteries with me finding out when I try to crank the truck. ;) On my big truck we use a ford starter silenoid to run the extra parking lights because they can handle a lot more amps than most of the relays you find and long term use is deffinately not a problem. For aux winch batteries, we use a starter silenoid activated off the ignition switch and 6 ga wire between batteries. This way if you run the battery down winching, with the truck off, you still have enough juice in the main batt to crank the truck. If your winching with the truck running, the starter silenoid can handle the amps and so will the 6ga wire. With the silenoid activated off the ignition I don't have to try and remember to turn it on or off. ;)
RocknH, excellent points and how to.
In my own Ford truck, I do have two starter relays under my hood. One for the starter itself and the second on the other side of the engine running my rear lamps and relays for the trailer lamps. The Ford starter relays do make excellent high current relays. Certainly cheaper then the $100 100 amp ones that always fail used on power tailgates and such.
Plus, if my starter relay does fail, all I have to do is grab my "spare" on the other side of the engine and drive without rear lamps. For $10 it sure is handy.