No Power to 12 Volt Circuit on 7-Way Trailer Connector on a 2008 Chevy Silverado 1500

Question:

I read the post No 12 Volt Power At 7-Way on 2008 Chevrolet Silverado To Charge Trailer Breakaway Battery 2008 chevrolet 1500 z71. following those instructions.. I have hooked the wire up in the PDC. but still no power on the trailer plug. I am missing something. because I did the same thing on my 2007 suburban and got the same results. I tested the wire with my volt meter at the PDC and the wire is getting the 12v feed. i used a volt meter needle to check the wire , but nothing at the other end of the truck.

asked by: Martin

Expert Reply:

If the fuse associated with the 12 volt circuit is not present then it will need to be inserted. If it is there and there is still no power to the 12 volt circuit you may have to to a little hardwiring.

It is possible that the 12 volt wire does not extend all the way back to the trailer connector on your 2008 Chevy Silverado. If this is the case then I recommend using some 10 gauge wire, # 10-1-1, long enough to go from the 7-Way to the battery under the hood.

You would attach one end to the back of the 7-Way in the 11:00 position then route the wire under the truck, avoiding areas that can pinch or burn the wire such as suspension and exhaust. Use wire ties to hold the wire to the bottom of the truck. Then the other end of the wire will go up through the engine compartment.

Under the hood you will need to mount a 40 amp circuit breaker, # PK54540, to the metal of the engine compartment. Cut the wire you ran to length and attach it to the AUX post. Then with the left over wire go from the BAT post to the positive battery terminal.

expert reply by: Michael H