Autotrail (mohawk) battery (1 Viewer)

[CaptBlack]

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum and hoping I'm posting to the right section.

I've just had to replace the vehicle battery as it was not holding any charge due to lack of use this year

When I lifted the cover off the passenger side, I noted there was a brown lead coming off the positive terminal but didn't note where it was connected to - its only about 10 inches long, so assume it was somewhere in the battery compartment....when I went to put the new battery in, the cable was not connected to anything I've put the new battery in and all is working but just don't know what I'm supposed to do with this cable - as its coming off the live terminal and the cable is bare at the end, i'm a little concerned of it just floating around not connected or covered. Are there any autotrail members who might have the same cable coming off the positive terminal that can advise what it should be connected to? I've uploaded a photo - hopefully that helps.

 

[Boringfrog]

Looks a bit home made to me, you definitely don't want it floating around though!

 

[MC 55 FUN]

& . . . your issue isn't our field of expertise but you'll find plenty of advise on here

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[pappajohn]

If everything is working as it should, Inc the 7 way bypass relay for trailer lighting, then disconnect it from the battery or as a minimum insulate the open end.
That is a fire waiting to happen.

 

[CaptBlack]

Yep, I've isolated the open end for now.

 

[autorouter]

I can't read the writing very well on the bypass relay (the black box with the green terminal block on it). I guess it is a TF2218/7E smart bypass relay from Ryder towing.

http://www.rydertowing.co.uk/downloads/instructions/TF2218-7H instructions.pdf

Its function is to read the state of the vehicle rear lights, and switch the trailer lights on to imitate the vehicle lights. On modern vehicles, if you just wire trailer lights directly to the vehicle lights as we did in the old days, the extra load is detected and registers as fault codes. This smart bypass relay avoids these problems.

The power for the trailer lights comes directly from the battery along the brown wire, to the terminal block at the top of the picture that joins the two orange wires together. It's split into two to avoid all the lights going out if a fuse blows.

So, to answer your original question, connect the brown wire to the terminal block on the two orange wires at the top of the picture.

Consider replacing the terminal block with a butt splice crimp connector. Terminal blocks are prone to vibrating loose in a vehicle environment.
Consider putting a 20A inline fuse at the battery end of the brown wire. As now wired, it goes directly to the battery terminal, with no fuse whatsoever. As pappajohn says, that's a fire waiting to happen.

Also, is the lid to cover those big fuses missing, or did you remove it while changing the battery?

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[TheBig1]

seen a few badly bodged wiring jobs in my time, that one is a classic. advice as above remake the connection in a safe and proper manner and fit a fuse by the battery

 

[CaptBlack]

Hi Autorouter - thanks the reply - by the looks of the instructions you posted - you're spot on. Big thank you. Even the instructions show that they should have inline fuses The guy I bought the MH off did have a towbar fitted, so must be linked with that). And yes, I did take the cover off - had to get at the 2 screws that are holding the terminal block to the battery.

A bit worrying that a few people have pointed out the poor workmanship. I'm not an electrician....electrics is always something I avoid. I'll take it to dealership and get them to take a look and resolve.

Many thanks again.

 

[Jaws]

If the previous owner has removed the tow bar and you do not intend towing, it might be an idea to simply remove the interface box completely ​

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