Towing Electrical TROUBLES
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Junior User
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 63
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From: Elsinore,Utah
Towing Electrical TROUBLES
I have a 2006 F-350 Super duty with 6.0 I have had troubles towing trailers with batteries in them if the batteries are not charged up while driving the truck will stall and not start back up right away.
The truck runs fine while pulling anything with out a battery, And on our last trip into Nevada with my 26' enclosed bike trailer it reared its dirty head again coming home.
The time before that was pulling a dump bed trailer to the dump here locally and the battery on the dump trailer was dead truck died repeatedly on the way I had no idea what was going on at that time and place.
This trip I did in the back of my mind The truck kepted dieing I went in the trailer started the onboard generator and plug a battery charger up to the trailer battery and ran the rest of the way home with no issues.
Has anyone had this trouble FORD motor company needs to rectify this problem
The truck runs fine while pulling anything with out a battery, And on our last trip into Nevada with my 26' enclosed bike trailer it reared its dirty head again coming home.
The time before that was pulling a dump bed trailer to the dump here locally and the battery on the dump trailer was dead truck died repeatedly on the way I had no idea what was going on at that time and place.
This trip I did in the back of my mind The truck kepted dieing I went in the trailer started the onboard generator and plug a battery charger up to the trailer battery and ran the rest of the way home with no issues.
Has anyone had this trouble FORD motor company needs to rectify this problem
Lead Driver
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 8,463
Likes: 724
From: Calgary Canada
I hate to say this, but this isn`t a problem with Ford Motor Company, it`s a problem with one ten year old truck that needs some kind of repair.
Sounds to me like you have some kind of issue with your charging system on the truck, possibly the alternator. If the trailer battery is low, the truck is trying to charge it while you drive, and it isn`t leaving itself enough current to run properly.
Or maybe it`s making enough juice at the alternator, but sending too much to the trailer for some reason.
Not 100% sure how to troubleshoot this, but smarter folks will come along shortly, just hang tight.
Sounds to me like you have some kind of issue with your charging system on the truck, possibly the alternator. If the trailer battery is low, the truck is trying to charge it while you drive, and it isn`t leaving itself enough current to run properly.
Or maybe it`s making enough juice at the alternator, but sending too much to the trailer for some reason.
Not 100% sure how to troubleshoot this, but smarter folks will come along shortly, just hang tight.
Hotshot
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 10,060
Likes: 491
From: Bristol, TN.
No, that is not a common problem. Obviously the problem is the charge lead to the trailer battery is drawing down the truck batteries. Years ago this was a somewhat common problem when running RV refrigerators on DC in the old 3-way refrigerators as the lower output alternators could not keep up with the demand of the DC element in the refrigerator, but I have not heard of anyone having this problem for years.
I would suggest first of all verifying the alternator is not weak. If the alternator tests good, I would measure the amp draw on the charge lead to the trailer battery when your truck is running. You are simply running out of amps, which is why using the onboard generator resolved the problem. If it only happens with a trailer in tow, it is something to do with amp draw down the charge lead or a weak alternator.
My best guess without being there.
Steve
I would suggest first of all verifying the alternator is not weak. If the alternator tests good, I would measure the amp draw on the charge lead to the trailer battery when your truck is running. You are simply running out of amps, which is why using the onboard generator resolved the problem. If it only happens with a trailer in tow, it is something to do with amp draw down the charge lead or a weak alternator.
My best guess without being there.
Steve
Postmaster
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 4,392
Likes: 22
From: very South Texas
I would check the Fuse for trailer battery in your Truck.. most likely 25 amp..
someone could have replace it with a larger one.. or worse jumpered it
but YES, something is pulling down your 12 volts system...
bad alternator, bad connections .. other stuff attached to trailer battery line.
on your truck that Battery Line is only for trailer battery.. but someone may have change it.
someone could have replace it with a larger one.. or worse jumpered it
but YES, something is pulling down your 12 volts system...
bad alternator, bad connections .. other stuff attached to trailer battery line.
on your truck that Battery Line is only for trailer battery.. but someone may have change it.
Hotshot
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 10,060
Likes: 491
From: Bristol, TN.
Hooking up to a trailer with a dead battery will still not stop the tow vehicle from having sufficient power. The charge lead is fused at 30 amps (or should be) which is well within the ability of a good alternator and dual batteries to support.
Steve
Steve
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Lead Driver
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 7,782
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From: Huntington Indiana
While your at it. Check the age of the truck batteries. Also check to see if they are good. They might be on the edge.
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Junior User
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 63
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From: Elsinore,Utah
Well lets see I charged the battery in the trailer before we left on the trip.....hmmmm
Plan on checking the truck batteries out tomorrow oh and am replacing the battery in the trailer oh wait I did that today!!!
Plan on checking the truck batteries out tomorrow oh and am replacing the battery in the trailer oh wait I did that today!!!
New User
Joined: Dec 2015
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Running Lights don't work
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