RoadToad Update

Realized hadn't updated this - for a Year!

Well, there really isn't a reason, most of our posts are done on RoadAbode's Blog.

Only real issue with RoadToad was her Evenbrake. Toward the end of season the part that connects EvenBrake to RoadToad's brake pedal started slipping. The notch that holds them tight together was slipping. My temp fix - duct tape - worked pretty well, and only added a minute or two to setup time. I contacted the company, RoadMaster, and they sent a new "improved" brake pedal clap - for a price, of course. Works better than ever. The camping season is done for now, but looking to start back up in March or so. Can't wait!

Happy New Year! - Not!

New Years Day, early evening, heard a rap at the door during dinner. Seems a little old lady backed into RoadToad while visiting a friend. (The driveway she was aiming for was a good 20 feet away!) Guess she got conflustered by the dark, Christmas lights, and misty drizzle.

Took a look at the damage, yep, she hit it. From the looks of it, the tow bar brackets and the breakaway switch are intact - we'll see. At least she was upfront, knocked, and has offered to pay - we already have an ok from collision place that she has oked any work - thankful no one hurt - and hopefully everything will be back to 'normal' soon.

Shredded the Umbilical

The RPC Family camping trip was this past weekend, so I figured that even if I had to work, I could at least enjoy the fun for a day(only an hour one way). So I drove up RoadAbode with RoadToad in tow. Apparently though, I did not clip in the Umbilical tight enough between the two, and when I got to Lake in Wood Campground and went to unhook, saw that the Electric Umbilical came loose from RoadAbode, and was dragging under RoadToad. Bare wire is showing thru, and the end is all worn to a stubby nub.
Went on line, and saw the exact replacement is over $50!!!







Did a little research, and found a replacement that's less by about $25 at Eastern Marine
It's not as heavy duty as the original, so I may not recommend for a "full timer", but for me, who only tows occasionally, and not even everytime we go camping, it should work out fine. We'll see....

Last of RoadToad's Wiring

Was a rainy day today, which made the Easter egg hunt @ RPC an indoor event. The kids all still had fun though, singing, dancing, doing crafts, and of course searching for candy-filled eggs. My only responsibility was to get the music videos used for singing up and running. Afterwards, I headed home. The rain held up long enough for me to complete the last phase of the EvenBrake install - wiring the monitor/sending unit and testing.
The install was simple, just used the fuse tap that was included to get power to the unit, and attach the ground wire. The fuse had to be one that was "hot" even when RoadToad was off - and I found the perfect fuse for this - the one that controls the power locks. Only issue is that in the Honda there are three fuse boxes, under the hood, in panels by the driver & passenger doors. All the fuses that are "hot" when the car is off were located in the passenger fuse area, so I had to work the wires under the dash, and splice in a piece to stretch all the way over.
Once this done, tucked everthing away, cleaned up, everything connected - now time to test!
Since RoadAbode is in storage, I plugged the receiving unit into our Town & Country. EvenBrake needs this to function properly. It continually is doing self-diagnostic testing, automatic low battery and brake protection, and constant braking information and system status for extra safety. I followed the connection procedure for the EvenBrake itself. The arm that presses against the brake pedal is driven by an air compressor, which was quite loud as it pressured up. I kept walking back and forth between RoadToad and the van to check what messages were being sent. First message was a self-diagnostic test, then it requested that the usual manual test be run, so I pressed the test button. The arm jolted to life and pressed against the pedal 2 or 3 times - and I got a green light!
Checked the readout in the van - Everything reads Ready! Pretty Cool. Celebrated with a Mountain Dew!
Next up - Adding the 4 prong wiring connector to RoadAbode's 7 Blade connector.

Cut that Wire!

It is a beautiful afternoon! It's Friday night, so on the way home from work picked up our traditional 'Friday Night 'Za' Pizza and Coke - one of my 'comfort food combinations'. After dinner, it was still light enough, and warm enough, to continue on the EvenBrake install. For a "big boned" boy like myself, getting under the drivers side dash makes me claustrophobic. But I was able to see how the brake switch is connected to the actuator, and disconnected the connecter. After peeling back some tape, I was able to test which was the hot and cold sides of the connector. I needed to cut the cold side, so I tested it three more times, removed the brake switch fuse as suggested in the install guide, and made the cut. I connected the special relay. (4 different wires!) The relay makes sure the brake lights do not get activated by the Evenbrake while in tow, but still works when driving.
First time I tested - No Brakelights! I followed directions - what did I do wrong? Figured, I'd move RoadToad to the driveway. She'll start - but won't shift! The electronics think that I'm not using the brakepedal while shifting. What Now? Well after looking again - by flashlight, it's getting dark - I connected all the wires, but forgot the connect the wired connector to the Brake Switch! Did that, everything is working as it should be!
Next is wiring the monitor/sending unit.

Start of Evenbrake Install

Next up is installing the supplemental braking system for RoadToad.
The system we selected is EvenBrake. The main portion of the system sits on the drivers floor and operates the brake pedal, like a robotic driver. We chose EvenBrake because it is a "proportional" towed car braking system. It automatically increases or decreases braking pressure in direct proportion to RoadAbode.
Of course, what's in the promo advertisements is a lot easier to install than real life. The ads state, "Setup in three Easy Steps", but to get to that point there's a lot of work involved.
The system also has an emergency breakaway switch, a brakeswitch relay sensor, and a monitor and transmitting unit - all which need to be wired in and have the wiring routed.
First up, according to the directions, was the breakaway switch. This needed to be installed in the front grill of RoadToad, and is a mechanical switch that is attached to RoadAbode by a safety cable. It needs a clear 'line of site' so that the pin would be pulled out in case somehow the towbar would separate from RoadToad. I found the perfect spot to mount the switch on the drivers side, but I had to partially remove the front fascia on the drivers side to do it. Once I was able to finagal my wrench in there to tighten it up, next I needed to route the sending cable to the firewall and into the passenger compartment. I was able to achieve this about as easily as wiring the brakelight wiring thru, using the 'coathanger' method.
Once I got the wire thru - I quit for the day.
The next portion makes me nervous - cutting the brake pedal switch wiring.

Step Four - Front End Wiring

Had left a few inches of wire wrapped about the mount for the 'umbilical cable' that connects
the brake, turn and running lights of RoadAbode to the wiring added to RoadToad.

The connector above had to be opened up and wired on. Only made 2 mistakes - Forgot that after opening up the connector that the outer 'sleeve' has to be slid over the wires first, and after I had took the connector off again, to redo this - I backed out one of the set screws - and spent an extra 5 minutes trying to feed it back into its hole. Finally got everything together and mounted. Well, Road Toad is wired now - need to get the wiring from RoadAbode to match (She currently has a 7 blade connector, which I will wire in the round 4 prong to match RoadToad)
next on RoadToad, the Supplemental Brake System - "EvenBrake"

Step three - Wiring

Next Step was Wiring RoadToad so that the Brake, Turnsignal and Running lights of RoadAbode would send the signal to RoadToads Rear Lamps. Since you are suppose to NEVER backup when the Toad is attached, reverse lights are unnecessary.

First Step was running the Wiring from the kit we purchased from the Front to the rear of RoadToad. The cable is flat and consists of 4 color wires; green, yellow, brown, and white. I started at the front while the front fascia was off - there is a mounting for the cable end built into the baseplate - and using cable ties ran the cable along the bottom edge of the radiator mounts, Up and under the Air filter box, and to the passenger side firewall. Now came the fun part - getting thru the firewall. With Kimberly as my helper, we used coathangers to fish thru an existing wiring hole in the firewall. It even has a protective rubber boot! There by the passenger side door is a panel to access the fuses and wiring. We used a second coathanger to grab the first - and we were thru!
First Step of wiring - got it into the cockpit. Now to get it to the back of RoadToad.

We lifted the kick panel along where the bottom of the door sill meets the door on the passenger side. This was pretty easy, only held down by two or three clips. Did the same with the cover for the seatbelt retractor and the backdoor sill. Underneath these was a channel to run alongside the existing wiring. We used the coathangers again to feed thru to the trunk, behind the bolster padding next to the backseat, following the existing wiring's path. The light wiring is now in the trunk! We next popped the fasteners - same ones used on the front of RoadToad - and peeled up the carpet/matting.
Behind the carpeting were the connectors for the rear light. Trying to decipher which wire served what purpose. When online, trying to find a Honda wiring diagram - no go. Tried my House wiring tester - voltage is too low to get a reading. Trip to Pep-Boys! Got the tool I needed, a $3.49 circuit tester.
As Kimberly and Emily (they took turns!) hit the brake pedal and flicked on the headlights - I tested and found out which wire was which. (see Bad Pic on the right) Since RoadAbode has combined brake/turnsignal, I do not have to separate the wire for the turnsignal - We'll just use the one bulb in RoadToad.
Next part was the part I disliked the most - cutting the existing brake and running light wires, installing the diodes to prevent the two systems from connecting to each other, and wiring in the new. First connection had to redo, connected to the wrong side of the diode! Once I got over the hebee-jebees of doing that, the other 5 connections (three per diode) were a snap! Made sure everything was tight, taped up, and tested - and closed it all up again. Finito! Next, wiring the front end wires to the 4-prong plug.