1930harley Posted April 8, 2019 Report Share Posted April 8, 2019 I am wiring up my Jackalopee. I want to charge my RV batteries while going down the road but I don't understand the two options that are listed in the manual. Both options list bringing a 10g wire from the battery into the box. Option 1 is switched and uses the pin 7 (blue wire) to switch this power on and off. The other option is to bring a wire from the battery and hook it directly to the 12 v direct wire. In that case I unhook pin 7 . Why can't I just hook my pin 7 wire to the 12v switched pin? It's a 10ga wire? I know its running through the relay in the fuse box as I had to put a relay in to light this wire up. Just wan't to make sure I understand before I run a wire from the batteries to the Jackalopee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance A Lott Posted April 8, 2019 Report Share Posted April 8, 2019 I think it's so you don't drain your truck battery when parked. Don't expect a lot of charge to the house batteries with a number 10 wire it will help top off but if they are down a lot it will not bring them back up unless you go a long way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix2013 Posted April 8, 2019 Report Share Posted April 8, 2019 The relays in the Jackalopee operate in two modes NC and NO (Normally Closed and Normally Open). In Normally Closed mode the relay output pin is in contact with the input pin without any power being applied to the relay's magnetic coil. A mechanical spring holds the two contacts together. In that mode the relay can transmit as much as 60 Amps of current through the contacts, but as was pointed out 10 gauge wire will not carry that much current. That's the Direct option on the Jackalopee PCB. The Switched mode requires power "to switch". That power comes from the truck's harness blue wire +12V AUX. When you turn the truck's ignition key on, +12V appears on that pin and if you look carefully you'll notice that this pin is also connected to the fifth relay or actually it's magnetic coil. The magnet will flip the contacts from NC to NO, so now the truck battery is connected through the relay's NO pin (Switched) to the relay's output pin. This mode allows to disconnect truck battery from the trailer battery when the truck is turned off, like when you are taking and overnight snooze in a Walmart parking lot. It's a bitch to wake up in the morning and the Volvo batteries say, ah, ah, you drained us below 11.5V (the Volvo threshold), running that fifth's heater all night long, you ain't starting this truck. Easy to do if truck's batteries are old and marginal. How do I know, I heard from customer who did exactly that in a Walmart parking lot. In the switched mode the relay is good for 40 Amps but again that is limited by the 10 gauge wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1930harley Posted April 9, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 So how many amps are in the blue wire? It's a 10 ga wire so what is the point of coming off of the batteries versus using the blue wire to charge the rv batteries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moresmoke Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 I think mine is a 30a breaker. Works good enough for me. You need to check what is feeding the blue wire in your truck and decide if that is enough or you need more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix2013 Posted April 9, 2019 Report Share Posted April 9, 2019 38 minutes ago, 1930harley said: So how many amps are in the blue wire? It's a 10 ga wire so what is the point of coming off of the batteries versus using the blue wire to charge the rv batteries Depends on truck make, model and year. Some ECUs in newer trucks get really pissed off and start throwing codes when they see +12 Volts being back fed from the fifth batteries and appearing on the circuit that is supposed to be dead with the key off. It was OK to do that on older trucks not so on newer. Pissing off the ECU is a close second to pissing off your better half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgiaHybrid Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 LOL, a backfeed from the trailer on a KW will not allow you to shut off the truck unless you disconnect. I added a heavy duty diode in the circuit to allow us to stay connected. 2017 Kenworth T6802015 DRV 38RSSA Elite Suites2016 Smart Prime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrap Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 The circuit is 40 or 50A Maxi fused. TMC standards require it to be 12.5V at 10A at the trailer end connection. A battery powered trailer hooked to the trailer ABS center pin will backfeed the IGN circuit and keeps the truck running. Prior to 98 the truck didn't care about backfeed and used the old 30A circuit breaker in the header. 98-01 you just needed to swap the ABS power and trailer hotline connectors that are side by side and interchangeable and you are set. 01+ with PLC the connectors had to be separated and truck had to come factory with ABS power but it could still be switchable to trailer hotline with a chop and a butt splice. Somewhere around 2013 or RSD brakes timeframe standards changed again and ABS power is the only thing that could be on the center pin and trailer hotline had to be removed. Trailer hotline has to be spec'd to be in the 2nd yellow 3731 connector. Long story short, I can't imagine a used truck not having a working trailer ABS center pin, so if you had to add a relay it may be powering trailer 'aux' or hotline? So it should work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1930harley Posted April 10, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 wow great information. The truck had 4000 miles on it in the last 2 years. I only have the service records from Ryder to 296K miles truck has 300k on it now. There were several relays missing in regards to the trailer fuse panel. right turn and trailer brakes and then the relay that powers the blue wire. I will let me mechanics read the above and advise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenandjon Posted April 10, 2019 Report Share Posted April 10, 2019 This is what I am going to do. I am going to bypass the jackalopee all together. Run a hot wire from the battery with a fuse link and diode to prevent back feeding. Farmer, Trucker, Equipment operator, Mechanic Quando omni flunkus moritati-When all else fails, play dead I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrap Posted April 11, 2019 Report Share Posted April 11, 2019 Can you guys put a TrailCharger in your RV trailers? That is the unit they designed to charge trailer batteries off of the center pin ABS circuit after the trailer hotline got taken out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenandjon Posted April 12, 2019 Report Share Posted April 12, 2019 Never mind what I said before. This is what I did. I got on the website and called the tech support number. I'm colorblind so my brother does all my wiring for me. They talked on the phone for 10 minutes. He changed a couple wires around then we ran a hot wire from the switch and now everything works. https://ethitch.com/et-products/jackalopee/ Farmer, Trucker, Equipment operator, Mechanic Quando omni flunkus moritati-When all else fails, play dead I'm a man, but I can change, if I have to, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix2013 Posted April 12, 2019 Report Share Posted April 12, 2019 4 hours ago, jenandjon said: Never mind what I said before. This is what I did. I got on the website and called the tech support number. I'm colorblind so my brother does all my wiring for me. They talked on the phone for 10 minutes. He changed a couple wires around then we ran a hot wire from the switch and now everything works. https://ethitch.com/et-products/jackalopee/ Yes, the "tech support" is available anytime and they are going to modify the installation manual to "discourage" certain unique wiring methods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HERO Maker Posted April 12, 2019 Report Share Posted April 12, 2019 That "tech support" guy is pretty special!!! Rocky & Sheri Rhoades '01 Volvo 770 2016 DRV Mobile Suites, HoustonHERO Makers Ministry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moresmoke Posted April 12, 2019 Report Share Posted April 12, 2019 38 minutes ago, phoenix2013 said: They are going to modify the installation manual to "discourage" certain unique wiring methods. You mean like this? Unique would be a mild name for some of my work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickeieio Posted April 12, 2019 Report Share Posted April 12, 2019 Hmmm. Perhaps it be beneficial for some folks to have the optional "Large Box". Seriously Henry, I would pay a little more for the option of having more room for my "Shrek" hands. KW T-680, POPEMOBILE Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer. contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix2013 Posted April 12, 2019 Report Share Posted April 12, 2019 5 hours ago, rickeieio said: Hmmm. Perhaps it be beneficial for some folks to have the optional "Large Box". Seriously Henry, I would pay a little more for the option of having more room for my "Shrek" hands. Yes, that option is indeed available if you want to forgo the nice transparent cover. As far as the " rogues gallery" of the electronic cluster............. I've collected few over the years. And dealt with few of them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickeieio Posted April 12, 2019 Report Share Posted April 12, 2019 I really like the clear lid. It's great for diagnosing issues at a glance. Purs is mounted on the back of the cab where I can look into it when standing behind the truck. For instance, we had several of the relays fail. I could see what circuits were working, and by putting my fingers on the relays, determine the issue. My suggestion for a larger box is to make it an inch or so longer, and wider. Height is fine. Sometimes it's hard to improve on perfection.👍 KW T-680, POPEMOBILE Newmar X-Aire, VATICAN Lots of old motorcycles, Moto Guzzi Griso and Spyder F3 currently in the front row Young enough to play in the dirt as a retired farmer. contact me at rickeieio1@comcast.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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