I've installed a hitch on my car for towing a boat. I bought one of those expensive Tekonsha wiring harnesses and attached it to the 12v supply in the penthouse (it wants a constant 12v supply). Worked fine. Next day I come out and it's not working. So I go to the store and grab another one. I hook it up and it works. It makes me think the other one burnt out for some reason. It seem strange that the harness is so particular, but I'd rather not loose another one. Is the penthouse supply cycling on and off? I don't want to take off the rear fascia etc to run a line to the front of the car to the battery if I can help it.
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Penthouse 12v supply. Is it constant?
- Thread starter RyanT
- Start date
I guess I'll just bite the bullet and run a line under the car sometime. We rigged up a little battery in the trunk for now. It needs to share a common ground with the car to work for some reason. Otherwise I was getting all kinds of strange behavior. These trailer lights harnesses seem very picky, wanting a constant 12v (even when the car is off) 
Interesting. I guess in most applications 12 volt would be always on, but I wonder why they are picky like that? In a ice car they would probably see 12.5 to 13 with car off and around 14 volts with car on.I guess I'll just bite the bullet and run a line under the car sometime. We rigged up a little battery in the trunk for now. It needs to share a common ground with the car to work for some reason. Otherwise I was getting all kinds of strange behavior. These trailer lights harnesses seem very picky, wanting a constant 12v (even when the car is off)
In the 2022 versions, replacing the lead battery with a Lithium battery will probably improve things.
The voltage curve of a lithium battery is flat throughout the discharge. This means that a 20% charged battery will provide almost the same voltage as an 80% charged battery.
This avoids the voltage drop problems specific to lead batteries and allows constant energy to be delivered to the application it powers.
The voltage curve of a lithium battery is flat throughout the discharge. This means that a 20% charged battery will provide almost the same voltage as an 80% charged battery.
This avoids the voltage drop problems specific to lead batteries and allows constant energy to be delivered to the application it powers.
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