Break Away switch has Red LED

[Xcessive Carts]

Today i purchased a used 2003 Dutchman 26QB from a dealer. After it got dark, I noticed that the BrakeAway swith on the tongue has a small LED light that is glowing Red. Dealer is closed till Monday, and it is bugging me, not knowing what the light means. Any help? I dont know what brand the unit is, but it looks like it is brand new.

[wahoonc]

Most of the ones I have seen that means the switch is activated! Try pushing the pin back in. It could be something else. Hope it is, because having the pin pulled means the brakes are applied and you are going to have a dead battery.

What brand is the switch?

Aaron

[Xcessive Carts]

The switch is a Hopkins. According to info I received yesterday, it may have been wired wrong. The blue and the black wires may be reversed. Will work on it tonight.

[sundancer 87]

I find it hard to believe the switch to be wired reversed because the LED is working. LEDs are polarized so unless they have some sort of reverse polarity circuit for the LED to be in the indicator mode then being wired wrong is hard to believe.
Probably the contacts inside the switch are corroded or stuck.

[MartyG]

Originally Posted by sundancer 87

I find it hard to believe the switch to be wired reversed because the LED is working. LEDs are polarized so unless they have some sort of reverse polarity circuit for the LED to be in the indicator mode then being wired wrong is hard to believe.
Probably the contacts inside the switch are corroded or stuck.

No, not that kind of reversed, as polarity. One side of the switch has an LED wired to it and ground. The brakes should be on this side of the switch; the battery on the other. That way, when the pin is pulled, and continuity is made, voltage goes not only to the brakes, but to the LED.

[sundancer 87]

Originally Posted by MartyG

No, not that kind of reversed, as polarity. One side of the switch has an LED wired to it and ground. The brakes should be on this side of the switch; the battery on the other. That way, when the pin is pulled, and continuity is made, voltage goes not only to the brakes, but to the LED.

Got it, the LED is in series with the brakes. So then, the way I see it, the LED is connected to the power side of the switch rather than the open side of the switch. That's strange this could happen since I would think the LED circuitry would be contained inside the switch box and not user serviceable but who knows.
Mine doesn't have an LED and just has two black wires coming from the switch enclosure.

[MartyG]

Maybe I'm not explaining it well. Think of a single pole, single throw, switch. Two wires. An open switch. Just like a wall switch. Power could come in and go out either way. But this switch has an LED wired from one of the two contacts, and then to ground, on one side of the simple switch. You could wire the switch either way, i.e. forwards or backwards. It is only two wires. But if you put the battery side on the side without the LED, then the LED doesn't light, and the brakes don't energize, unless the pin is pulled, contact is made, and voltage becomes available on the other side of the switch. That is how it should be. But if you reverse the two switch wires, the LED is on all the time. Power then, is still interrupted, and doesn't get to the brakes, unless the pin is pulled. But the light is on. BTW, the LED is not in series with the brakes, but rather, is in parallel with them.

[RVNevada]

beside the RV, I have a Car Trailer, and the red light on mind, just states that the battery is low, after you drive it for a while, it will turn green, or on some move to the green light.

[sundancer 87]

Originally Posted by MartyG

Maybe I'm not explaining it well. Think of a single pole, single throw, switch. Two wires. An open switch. Just like a wall switch. Power could come in and go out either way. But this switch has an LED wired from one of the two contacts, and then to ground, on one side of the simple switch. You could wire the switch either way, i.e. forwards or backwards. It is only two wires. But if you put the battery side on the side without the LED, then the LED doesn't light, and the brakes don't energize, unless the pin is pulled, contact is made, and voltage becomes available on the other side of the switch. That is how it should be. But if you reverse the two switch wires, the LED is on all the time. Power then, is still interrupted, and doesn't get to the brakes, unless the pin is pulled. But the light is on. BTW, the LED is not in series with the brakes, but rather, is in parallel with them.

We are saying the same thing, just the wording is different. I've never had this switch apart so I'm just running it through my old head.