Will Installing the ETBC7 Universal Trailer Brake Connector Cause Vehicle Battery to Drain

Question:

I recently bought a 7pin harness to upgrade my 4 pin set up. I will be towing a 30a small trailer and am adding the 12v wire, not the brake. My thought is that if I connect it to the battery directly it would always be hot at the connector and cause drain. Is there a diagram for the 2022 Jeep Wrangler 4xe rubicon that would show how to wire the hot to a switched with the ignition 12v power supply? Is that even necessary? I haven’t started the job yet so I was hoping to get your expertise on the matter. Thank you!

asked by: David M

Expert Reply:

So for something like the Universal Installation Kit for Trailer Brake Controller # ETBC7 the 12V hot lead would get connected to a 40a circuit breaker # PK54540 and then to the battery from there.

This means that it'll be hot all the time, but if it's not connected to anything it won't draw any power which in turn, won't drain your battery.

If you did want that circuit to only be on when the vehicle is on, then you'd want to add a solenoid # PK5231201. The center pin on the solenoid would get run to a circuit that only sees voltage when the vehicle is running like the radio or ignition circuit, another side would run to the positive terminal of your battery, and the last post would connect to the power wire.

expert reply by: Bryce D