Warner Electric Safety Sentry Electronic Breakaway Switch - Manual (Page 6)

6 Warner Electric • 800-825-9050 P-616 • 819-0454
Your breakaway switch has four wires: white, blue,
black, and red. They should be connected as
follows:
1. Ground – White Wire
Attach the white wire to the trailer frame
adjacent to the switch using a 1/4-inch bolt,
nut, two washers, and one lockwasher. Be
sure the frame area is bare metal and free of
rust. (See Figure 5)
Figure 5 - Ground Connections
The wire must be long enough for the switch
to swivel freely after the connection to the
trailer frame has been made. Make sure the
final connection is tight.
Connect the trailer battery ground (-) to the
trailer frame, also using 1/4-inch bolt, nut, two
washers, and one lockwasher as shown in
Figure 5.
Make sure the final connection is tight. ( Note:
The white wire from the switch and the battery
ground terminal may be connected to one
common ground on the trailer frame if
convenient.)
A ground wire should be run from the towing
vehicle battery (-) to the socket at the rear of
the vehicle. From the socket, the ground wire
should be connected to the trailer frame.
(There should now be a total of 3 ground
connections: the breakaway switch white wire
to the trailer frame; the ground side of the
trailer battery to the trailer frame; the ground
side of the towing vehicle battery, through the
socket at the rear of the vehicle, to the trailer
frame.)
2. Brakes – Blue Wire
Connect the blue wire to the positive (+) wire
running to the trailer brakes. Be careful not to
connect to the ground (-) wire leading from the
brakes.
3. Trailer Battery Charging – Black Wire
Warner Electric recommends that a charging
circuit be used to maintain the trailer battery in
a fully-charged condition.
a. If a charging circuit is used, it must be
connected through the Safety Sentry switch
using the black wire as shown in Figure 4.
Connect the black wire from the switch,
through the polarized connector, to the output
side of the battery isolator. If a battery isolator
is not used, connect the wire directly to the
towing vehicle battery (+) terminal.
Failure to connect the
charging circuit through the switch will
result in incorrect operation of the switch.
b. If a charging circuit is not used, cut off the
black wire from the Safety Sentry close to the
switch's plastic housing. Insulate the exposed
end of the wire with a recognized electrical
insulating tape or equivalent. This will prevent
the exposed lead from grounding.
Failure to cut off and
insulate the black wire when no charging
circuit is used could cause an electrical
short circuit. This may deplete the trailer
battery and destroy the Safety Sentry,
completely immobilizing the breakaway
system.
4. Trailer Battery – Red Wire
Connect the red wire directly to the trailer
battery (+) terminal using an appropriate
battery connector.