Question about Factory installed trailer wiring

This is normal. The truck has a system that prevents lights/accessories to completely drain your battery. Has the battery died before because of this?

Sean

Thanks for your answer. The truck battery has not died because of this.

For the past 3 years we have been camping with a 24' travel trailer. We are almost always connected to "shore power" at night so I have never had a problem with the trailer draining the truck battery. This year we may have some multi-day periods where we are camping without being connected to "shore power". I was simply trying to determine if I needed to make sure the trailer was disconnected from the truck during these times to prevent draining the truck battery, or if the truck would "take care of itself".

I agree that the interior lights are automatically turned off after a certain time to prevent draining the truck battery. My understanding is that this mechanism is based strictly on time, ie, after 30 minutes (or some other pre-set time) cut power to the interior lights. It had not occurred to me that this same system might also cut power to the attached trailer. For an attached trailer it is probably not time related. Is it based on the battery voltage dropping below a certain level?

I thought I remembered reading that there was protection built into the truck to prevent an attached trailer from draining the car battery (if it exists I suppose that this protection would be part of the factory installed tow package). However, I have been unable to find the reference and when I asked a mechanic at the Chevrolet dealer he said he did not think there was any built-in protection for this. Could you possibly provide me with some "official" GM reference that describes this protection?

Thanks for your help.

I have looked everywhere! I really can't find anything. I know its a time delay module of some sort, and it is based off of either time or system voltage. The trailer wouldn't be a parasitic draw if the truck was turned off. I also put the image of the connector on here. The system does charge the trailer while in tow/haul mode but shuts off after the ignition is shut off.

My advice would be to buy a battery pack jump starter either way. I don't believe the trailer would kill your battery but just to be on the safe side and to have a back up in case you leave your headlights on, it may be an investment for around $50.

Sean