We've purchase a hilo that is in serious need of some TLC. Not the least is the electrical which is completely toast.

I need to find a way to hack the power to the hydraulic motor so that we can lower the top for the winter. There is a massive short somewhere in the wiring so I had to disconned the wiring from the trailer. They only still connected are the primary positive and negative leads to the hydraulic motor. The 3-way switch for the motor appears to be intact (yellow and red wires), and the remaining black wire looks to run back into the trailer.

Can I simply connect this black wire to the positive lead on the battery, temporarily, to get the motor to run and drop the top of the camper?

The motor does NOT run to lower the top. Pushing the switch to lower it just opens the lowering valve and gravity does the rest. You MAY have a manual valve release near the top of the pump reservoir too, that you simply turn or move a lever to open. This takes no electrical power.

But, your top may have settled on the safety bar and it will have to be lifted off to release that bar prior to lowering. Four strong men could lift the top for this purpose.

To raise the top electrically, you will need a good battery and it will have to be connected to the lift motor through the solenoid. Then, you activate the solenoid to run the motor. Look at the wiring diagram for your trailer to see how to hook this up.

- Jack

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Hi-Lo 1707T - Tire Minder TPMS on Tow Vehicle and Trailer, 300W Solar Battery Charger, Equal-i-zer WDH, Progressive Dynamics Converter, Fan-Tastic Fan, LiFePO4 battery 12V DC Electrical System
2014 F150 Platinum 4x4 3.5L EcoBoost SCrew

We had our original 2288 get stuck in the up position. Took days of troubleshooting before we found the hydraulic pump had accumulated dirt on the bottom contact and wasn't making connection. Cleaned, reassembled and good to go.