Winnebago View 7-pin power problems

[DaveU]

I'm towing a 2024 Ford Maverick behind our 2025 View. Had the roadmaster invisibrake system installed professionally. We've had huge problems with the Maverick battery completely draining after a 3 hour drive with pretty limited braking. I've found tons of postings about this but I thought I'd start at the source and test the 7-pin outlet on the RV first using a voltmeter.

This morning I couldn't detect any voltage at all. Ran out to get a cheap circuit tester to try and come at this from another angle. The tester indicated everything was working perfectly. Of course, my voltmeter now also showed a clear reading! I figured I'd leave things a few hours and try this again. Sure enough, I go back to the vehicle and the 7-pin is completely dead again!

Any thoughts as to what might be causing this? These intermittent problems are a bear to track down. I'm suspecting some type o computer glitch.

Cheers

Dave

 

[Morich]

Newer vehicles have some scary things that they do without us knowing it!
When testing, did you first start the engine? This might be a case of the electrical system on the RV shutting down after "X" amount of time? since the hitch connection is part of the chassis wiring, we are limited in how much info we can drag out from the Winnebago drawings but that might be my first thought.
It seems having an AGM start battery is part of the deal when we see this. Do you know what battery type you have?

 

[DaveU]

Newer vehicles have some scary things that they do without us knowing it!
When testing, did you first start the engine? This might be a case of the electrical system on the RV shutting down after "X" amount of time? since the hitch connection is part of the chassis wiring, we are limited in how much info we can drag out from the Winnebago drawings but that might be my first thought.
It seems having an AGM start battery is part of the deal when we see this. Do you know what battery type you have?

Hi Morich,
I started the engine. The one time I was able to detect power (second test) I also found that the power stayed on after the engine was shut off. When I went back to do another test, the power was off before I started the engine but it didn't come on when I started the engine. My initial interpretations was that the power stays on at the 7-pin for a few minutes after stopping the engine, but perhaps it's supposed to shut off immediately and the power I measured after shutting off the engine was another error! I don't know what type of battery I have but I can check it out.
Dave

 

[Sparky19053]

When wiring up my 03 Ford Ranger so the 7 pin would maintain the battery I discovered the 7 pin is off until the MB system detects a load. Therefore my digital VOM was showing zero volts. Try a old style filament lamp such as an 1157 lamp to see if when a load is applied the MB system detects and turns on. In 20K miles I have never had a low or dead battery in my Ranger while towing. We have a 21V.

 

[Morich]

Don't go to a lot of trouble on checking the battery type as that is just a thought that "might" be connected but really not the problem.
My first thought was an experience I had with a 2015 Ford and that was a ways back!
Camping led to me wanting to use this hatchback for sleeping as I was going solo and it had space to lay down. But I wanted to have a fan for cooling and in rigging it, I found my idea did not work because the electronics shut down after a certain amount of time!
To put a smaller AGM battery in, they cut power to most stuff in the car to keep as much power in the battery for starting!
I lost interest and never found out much more other than car guys telling me the limited amount I found.

If you have other items like lights that stay on for a bit after you get out, the trailer connection may also be tied into that timing??

I've done lots of voltage testing and one thing I know? When readings don't match, I suspect I messed it up!
Something really big like the probe lead falls out of the meter and you can't get any voltage anywhere! AARGH!

 

[powercat_ras]

The first thing I'd figure out is what is the power available on the 7 pin B+ pin on a 2025 View, and when. I'm not familiar. I know on my Vista on a Ford F53 the B+ pin on the 7 pin is 20 amp fused and powered when the ignition switch is in the ON position. Hopefully the View is similar. If it is less than 20 amps feed then adjust the auto reset circuit breaker I mention below to about 5 amps less than what it can feed.

I assume you are connecting your toad with a 7 to 6 cable, you might want to measure at the 6 pin end of that cable and confirm your B+ is getting all the way to the toad through the cable. In my Ford Escape, I connect B+ of the 6 pin to the Escape's battery thru a 15 amp auto reset circuit breaker, as well as a 10 amp fused lead to the Brake assist unit. It is also important to make sure that the RTN pin of the 6 pin gets a good connection to the chassis to complete the Battery maintainer functionality.

I like using an auto reset automotive circuit breaker to make sure don't lose my charge line due to a blown fuse. I worry that my Ford Escape might do something catastrophic flat towing in Neutral Tow Mode if the battery depleted.

 

[Morich]

I'm really getting into thinking we are on a really slippery slope when it comes to making the world work. Just the simple things are not getting done and I see it more and more in many different sections.
Just the basic drawings of this sections of the wiring on this RV is so totally screwed up that it is obvious nobody who knew anything actually looked at it before they posted it online. If that sound hyper critical, take a look at this drawing of the exterior lighting on the RV!
Check views BA and CA and see if they make sense ! Did anybody bring the brain to work when they checked this or did they even look? AI is not going to get it done if the folks training it are not doing their duty!

https://www.winnebago.com/Files/Files/Winnebago/Resources/Diagram/2020/000158615.pdf

But that is not a problem we will get worked out in the short time we have. So we have to bear down and learn to watch if we want to get as much as we can out of what is left!

I suggest that there are several things involved and we might never get to the place we know what, so I drop back to trying the wiring as we would want it to work while we use it, not separated, but all plugs together as we would run down the road.
Likely awkward to do but that should rule out the funky new ideas that may or may not work together?
We don't know that what MB wants is the same as what Ford want, just like in our cell phone/computer world?

Does your RV trailer connector have a diagram in the lid for where to expect each power to show?

This is one which I have found worked on all my RV and trucks. Maybe go with hooking the toad turning on the engine and then while at idle, all things should be normal.
See that the pin used for charging is good and it should be connected to the toad battery. To tell the difference in the "float" voltage versus the charge coming in, try revving the RV engine and expect the charge voltage to jump higher?

 

[DaveU]

When wiring up my 03 Ford Ranger so the 7 pin would maintain the battery I discovered the 7 pin is off until the MB system detects a load. Therefore my digital VOM was showing zero volts. Try a old style filament lamp such as an 1157 lamp to see if when a load is applied the MB system detects and turns on. In 20K miles I have never had a low or dead battery in my Ranger while towing. We have a 21V.

Hi Sparky,
I don't have a filament lamp or anything that might create a decent load. Tried an LED light but it probably doesn't draw enough power.
Since I didn't have anything handy, I decided to simply hook up the Maverick and see if I could test the voltage immediately after disconnecting. I hooked up and confirmed that all the lights on the Maverick worked appropriately. However, as soon as I disconnect at the RV connector, all pins are completely dead! I've been going nuts trying to figure out how I actually go the 7-pin on the RV to be active at all yesterday!
One thing I do occasionally see is small fluctuations in voltage on some of the pins - it seems to be a very low voltage that's pulsing at a low frequency. I'd say it's just a dodgy meter but I have no problem getting solid zero readings most of the time.
I'm starting to wonder if there are ways to monitor the voltages at various places in the circuit that can be read remotely, while everything is hooked up and working.

 

[DaveU]

I'm really getting into thinking we are on a really slippery slope when it comes to making the world work. Just the simple things are not getting done and I see it more and more in many different sections.
Just the basic drawings of this sections of the wiring on this RV is so totally screwed up that it is obvious nobody who knew anything actually looked at it before they posted it online. If that sound hyper critical, take a look at this drawing of the exterior lighting on the RV!
Check views BA and CA and see if they make sense ! Did anybody bring the brain to work when they checked this or did they even look? AI is not going to get it done if the folks training it are not doing their duty!

https://www.winnebago.com/Files/Files/Winnebago/Resources/Diagram/2020/000158615.pdf

But that is not a problem we will get worked out in the short time we have. So we have to bear down and learn to watch if we want to get as much as we can out of what is left!

I suggest that there are several things involved and we might never get to the place we know what, so I drop back to trying the wiring as we would want it to work while we use it, not separated, but all plugs together as we would run down the road.
Likely awkward to do but that should rule out the funky new ideas that may or may not work together?
We don't know that what MB wants is the same as what Ford want, just like in our cell phone/computer world?

Does your RV trailer connector have a diagram in the lid for where to expect each power to show?
View attachment 978540
This is one which I have found worked on all my RV and trucks. Maybe go with hooking the toad turning on the engine and then while at idle, all things should be normal.
See that the pin used for charging is good and it should be connected to the toad battery. To tell the difference in the "float" voltage versus the charge coming in, try revving the RV engine and expect the charge voltage to jump higher?

I completely agree! The Winnebago manual is also completely useless. I suppose there's so much tech in both the Mercedes and Ford components that it can't all be covered in a manual but a bit more information would be useful.

Your diagram matches what is on the 7-pin cover. The one time I was able to get a measurable voltage from the outlet, I was able to confirm that all of the pins are delivering what I measured as 13-14v at appropriate times. Turn signal pins were doing their thing, the 12V pin was a constant and the running light pin turned on when the rv lights were on. So I suspect its all wired correctly.

Since I can hook up the Maverick and get all of it's lights to operate when I operate the RV, I'm assuming all is well. But the power apparently shuts off as soon as I disconnect the cable from the rv 7-pin socket, so I can't confirm that the voltages being delivered are always correct.

I'm wondering if there's some sort of time-out situation going on where things are fine when I initially hook-up but then the two vehicles lose communication and the trickle charge to the Maverick is shut off. Having said that, the battery dies so quickly, I'm wondering if there's an additional power draw that isn't obvious. We've gone from a fully charged battery to one that reads 6.5v and won't even allow us to use the keyless entry after a 4-hour drive! Feels like this is more than a lack of a trickle charge.

I mentioned in one of my other responses above that I might look into ways of remotely monitoring some parts of the circuit while it's in operation. everything inside the Maverick is off, as far as I can tell, but perhaps something is automatically reactivating 30 minutes into each drive. Unfortunately, I'm no expert in electrical systems so the learning curve is steep.

The other thing I'm considering is whether I can add a second, deep cycle battery in the Maverick and have the braking system work off that, but I'm sure it's more complicated than that.

 

[DaveU]

The first thing I'd figure out is what is the power available on the 7 pin B+ pin on a 2025 View, and when. I'm not familiar. I know on my Vista on a Ford F53 the B+ pin on the 7 pin is 20 amp fused and powered when the ignition switch is in the ON position. Hopefully the View is similar. If it is less than 20 amps feed then adjust the auto reset circuit breaker I mention below to about 5 amps less than what it can feed.

I assume you are connecting your toad with a 7 to 6 cable, you might want to measure at the 6 pin end of that cable and confirm your B+ is getting all the way to the toad through the cable. In my Ford Escape, I connect B+ of the 6 pin to the Escape's battery thru a 15 amp auto reset circuit breaker, as well as a 10 amp fused lead to the Brake assist unit. It is also important to make sure that the RTN pin of the 6 pin gets a good connection to the chassis to complete the Battery maintainer functionality.

I like using an auto reset automotive circuit breaker to make sure don't lose my charge line due to a blown fuse. I worry that my Ford Escape might do something catastrophic flat towing in Neutral Tow Mode if the battery depleted.

The cable that came with my system is 7-pin to 7-pin as far as I can tell. Although it's possible only 6 are active at one end, perhaps? I can definitely do a continuity test on all of the pins. As I mentioned in some of my other replies, I can still hook up the Maverick and have all of the lights work perfectly, so I'm assuming it's all wired correctly. This doesn't eliminate some sort of loose connection that's breaking a circuit at some point as we're going down the road.

I was also worried about something bad happening to the Maverick in Flat Tow Mode as the battery died. So far, we've avoided any damage. Lots of warnings on the dash. The Maverick already throws up an insane number of messages to the driver anyway! Once the battery is charged and the Maverick is driven a couple of times, all of the warnings disappear.

Since I can still hook up and have all of the lights on the toad operate normally, I'm assuming there's no blown fuse or tripped breaker, unless there's an auto-reset already installed from the factory.

The Maverick is going back to the place that installed the invisibrake for a check-up. I used a local shop that's recommended on the RoadMaster website, so I'm hoping they know their stuff and have enough diagnostic tools to troubleshoot. My biggest fear is that this is just a software issue in one of the vehicles - almost impossible to figure out - but I can at least get the hardware tested.

 

[powercat_ras]

Nothing wrong with a flat tow installer doing a 7 to 7 rather than 7 to 6 interconnect. The 6 pin flat towing connector omits the backup lamps wire. Which is fine since we can't back up more than about 1 or 2 feet without binding the flat towing equipment and causing damage.

 

[powercat_ras]

One other suggestion - you may have space for a larger 12V battery. At least in the Escape the premium version with lots of additional gadgets used a bigger size battery than the standard edition did. I upsized the battery in my former escape, 2020, that I flat towed. That said, I still ended up needing the charge line in the long run.

 

[DaveU]

One other suggestion - you may have space for a larger 12V battery. At least in the Escape the premium version with lots of additional gadgets used a bigger size battery than the standard edition did. I upsized the battery in my former escape, 2020, that I flat towed. That said, I still ended up needing the charge line in the long run.

Definitely a possibility as there's plenty of space under the back seat, where the battery is located. There's a ton of online discussion about the factory battery in the Maverick being weak. Mostly related to a recall that was issued for batteries with manufacturing defects. The newer batteries aren't supposed to be defective, and mine has been tested twice, but there's so much going on electronically in the Maverick that an upgrade might be a good idea anyway.

 

[Morich]

But it really looks like there is a problem on getting charge voltage to the battery and then it also is going down way too fast for anything I've seen!
I might put off the second battery and all that involves and look first at the basic charge.
does that charge voltage at any point you've been able to find it, go up and down as you rev the RV?
I expect that in what I've seen, so can you see that same action at the battery to show the charge getting there?
If all is connected together, a voltage reading at one point should be the same as another except for any resistance between the two points!

 

[DaveU]

But it really looks like there is a problem on getting charge voltage to the battery and then it also is going down way too fast for anything I've seen!
I might put off the second battery and all that involves and look first at the basic charge.
does that charge voltage at any point you've been able to find it, go up and down as you rev the RV?
I expect that in what I've seen, so can you see that same action at the battery to show the charge getting there?
If all is connected together, a voltage reading at one point should be the same as another except for any resistance between the two points!

That's definitely the main question I'm going to have when i take this back to the installer. I can verify that the lights on the Maverick are being controlled appropriately. However, it's more tricky to prove I've got a trickle charge, and that there's nothing else draining the battery. I want them to provide some evidence of that.

 

[Morich]

Yes, some good experienced folks may spot something really easily! You've mentioned 7 pin at times. You are meaning the connector, 7 pin, not using the pin 7 as charge? I see the number 4 pin as the charge, so wanted to make sure we were speaking the same!
Confusion is common!
But if wanting to take a look before getting into the shop, I might want to connect toad and RV all together and start the RV to take a look at the battery voltage right there at the posts!
A little guessing due to different vehicles but I have found the number four pin is almost a straight shot from the alternator charging the RV battery. Tying on a toad is just piggie backing a send battery system to the first.
So if the system is turning on to charge the RV, I would expect it to show on the toad as if it is just an added battery!
Do you know how and where they tied the connector on the toad to the battery?
My last toad wiring had a nice fancy box with an LED to show when it was charging. Very impressive until I accidentally slammed it in the hood!
Once it was broken open, I had to think I had been scammed a bit at the price I paid for a box that had nothing in it except wires in and out and an LED! The nice box was just on a set of wires from the connector to the battery but with an LED!
Since I could not see the LED with the hood closed and I do use a meter, I cut out the LED and soldered the wires straight through without the box!
I might work it from finding what the battery voltage does when tied together and engine running. If I see engine voltage up and down as The engine is revved, I have to think about the battery maybe being bad?
But if I don't see that voltage and changing, I have to look back up the line toward the RV.
Maybe you have to leave the RV running to get a good test but it could be as simple as a broken/loose wire in one of the connectors?
With a digital meter we have to be a bit careful on how much we believe on tiny volta readings.
To close a ok and you may be seeing " induced voltage".
When power moves on one wire, it can induce a smaller voltage on another wire if the situation is right. A turn signal using one wire may show a small voltage on another and if we are too concerned we can get tied up in chasing spooks and never find them!

 

[PoppyJoe]

I'm towing a 2024 Ford Maverick behind our 2025 View. Had the roadmaster invisibrake system installed professionally. We've had huge problems with the Maverick battery completely draining after a 3 hour drive with pretty limited braking. I've found tons of postings about this but I thought I'd start at the source and test the 7-pin outlet on the RV first using a voltmeter.

This morning I couldn't detect any voltage at all. Ran out to get a cheap circuit tester to try and come at this from another angle. The tester indicated everything was working perfectly. Of course, my voltmeter now also showed a clear reading! I figured I'd leave things a few hours and try this again. Sure enough, I go back to the vehicle and the 7-pin is completely dead again!

Any thoughts as to what might be causing this? These intermittent problems are a bear to track down. I'm suspecting some type o computer glitch.

Cheers

Dave

We have a 2023 View on a 2022 MB chassis.
We have a BlueOx tow system installed by an rv dealership on a 2024 Equinox. The electrical connection is 7 pin to 6 pin. A battery disconnect was installed in the Equinox and a separate wire was installed to power the braking system. The battery disconnect was installed in accordance with the equinox owners manual to prevent the discharge of the equinox battery while being towed.
I know this doesn’t answer your question, but may provide a work around.

 

[bgilly]

There's a ton of online discussion about the factory battery in the Maverick being weak. Mostly related to a recall that was issued for batteries with manufacturing defects. The newer batteries aren't supposed to be defective, and mine has been tested twice, but there's so much going on electronically in the Maverick that an upgrade might be a good idea anyway.

Bingo!
I'm reading your comments and you fail to mention which Maverick you have; this confirms you have the hybrid.
True, the hybrid has a faulty chassis battery (lead acid battery under the rear seat). The Maverick hybrid has quite a bit of parasitic idle battery draw.
I have a 2024 Maverick hybrid; my truck started disabling "features" when idle when it was 4 months old (notices received via Ford app). The frequency of the notices increased; nearly every day and coming right from a trip. I finally took it to the dealer and they put the chassis battery on an analyzer and determined the battery was faulty.
I pleaded with the dealer to install an AGM (that's supposedly what is going into the hybrid Mavericks now) but they couldn't get approval from Ford. So far (2 months) the replaced lead-acid battery is holding up.

That said, I seriously doubt your chassis battery is able to handle the additional load of the invisibrake and the Maverick lighting. The Maverick hybrid has a sophisticated voltage control module. I would ask the installer where did they terminate the AUX wire from the View RV plug. It is likely the power module of the Maverick is preventing any power getting to the chassis battery.

I use a tow dolly for my Maverick even though it too can be flat towed. The dolly I use has surge brakes so this eliminates any need for in-cab brake system. My rear signal lights are a set of trailer lights that I mounted to a piece of channel that slides into my trailer hitch. I just hook/unhook at a quick wire plug at the front and rear bumper of the Maverick.
I still get all the dash alerts after taking the Maverick off the dolly, but like yours, they all clear within a minute of driving. It has to do with the wheel pick up sensors (the rear set in my case).

Again, my advice is to investigate where the AUX power wire is landed on the Maverick.

B~

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

I didn't read all the responses but a while back when I was towing a Buick Enclave I had the battery go flat if I drove for more than about 5-6 hours straight, the fix was to pull one of the fuses that turned off all auxillary power while towing, the brake lights still worked and turn signals and I didn't have any issues with flat batteries after that, maybe you could try pulling fuses on the Maverick till you get what you need.

Good luck.
David.

 

[ldfeat]

The #4 pin shown above in the receptical attached to the back of your RV needs to be connected to the positive post on your TOAD battery. This will keep your TOAD battery charged will going down the road. Larry, 2014 Reyo P