Breakaway Trailer Brake System

[GooseHunter]

I have a 12K rated deck over trailer I haul farm tractors on. I bought it new five years ago from a local dealer that has since gone out of business. My tow vehicle is a 1998 Dodge Ram with factory installed tow package.

Recently I was having trouble with my electric brakes on the trailer so I started the process of isolating the problem. During that search I found that the hot wire in the six-pin plug from the trailer was not connected and the sixth wire in the cable was cut back from the rest of the wires. The manufacturer of the trailer never connected this wire. As a result the small battery that sets the electric brakes in the event of a breakaway, was dead.

I called the manufacturer, Paiute Trailers, and the representative told me that during that time of manufacture, they did not intend for that battery to be maintained charged. I should have recharged the battery as needed with an external charger, or replaced it when it died. I was never told this upon purchase and I could not find this information is the sale documents, or trailer documents. I assumed that the battery was in the charging system.

Does this sound right to any of you?

Now, if I connect the hot wire in the six-pin plug at the trailer hitch, direct to the positive wire into the breakaway system battery on the trailer, will this maintain the battery without over-charging the battery during long hauls? My concern is, does the dodge on-board computer have the ability to sense the state of charge in the trailer battery and only charge it to 12 volts, as needed? When I tow my 5th wheel RV the four batteries are never overcharged so I have a feeling that this is correct, but I do not know.

Thanks for any and all thoughts and comments.

BTW, the electric brake problem was due to corrosion on the pin in the plug on the tow vehicle. This corrosion was due to the spring loaded door being missing. I replaced this part with a new one from NAPA. Problem solved.

Dean