Lost my trailer brakes tonight - Page 2

LiftedAWDAstro · 06-12-2017, 07:09 PM

If you pull out the emergency break-away switch and have no brakes at all, either there is no voltage to the brakes or they are way out of adjustment. Check to make sure the break-away switch is wired to the battery and the trailer brakes. There will be 2 wires coming out of it. Then test the breaks again by pulling the break-away switch out and walking back to the brakes. You will hear a hum from the magnet coils if they are working.

M&A · 06-12-2017, 07:23 PM

If you have a meter, put it on the battery when you pull the brake pin. There will be a noticeable voltage drop. Easier than measuring current.

My first night home with my new camper had me tying up cables that were hanging slack underneath. Since those wires are often anchored to the axle, they are a target for getting ripped loose.

chrismoore701 · 06-13-2017, 06:51 PM

So I checked the voltage at the plug and it was 12.05 volts. At the brake terminal. Then hit the brakes and it goes down to 11.94. Will check the controller again when I get home but don't think that changed the voltage. Does that seem right?

chrismoore701 · 06-13-2017, 09:28 PM

Same thing on the controller. Dropped 0.10 volts when pushed. That's it

M&A · 06-14-2017, 07:05 AM

Sent PM -

LiftedAWDAstro · 06-14-2017, 06:26 PM

Voltage is fine. You now need to check to make sure you are getting it at the axles.

chrismoore701 · 06-14-2017, 08:26 PM

Was going to do that tonight but storms all night. Will try again tomorrow

LiftedAWDAstro · 06-15-2017, 06:59 AM

Good luck! Stay dry!

chrismoore701 · 06-15-2017, 08:43 PM

So I made it out to the trailer tonight and still stumped. I measured the. Voltage at the battery no truck plugged in. Was 12.5 volts. Pulled disconnect and dropped about 0.1 volts. Did not hear anything at the wheels. Checked the wires. Good ground at the wheels. Seemed like the blue wire at the wheels was pretty corroded. Ran a jumper wire from the blue wires up front down to the blue wires at the wheels. Connected to the driver rear tire. Now I get something on the controller. But it shows 4 lines. Nothing in th manual about that code. Wonder if that code pops up because maybe I'm not getting power to all 4 wheels. Did not hear anything on that wheel that I spliced to. What if I run a 12 volt source straight to the blue brake wires? How do the brakes actually work. Are they supposed to get a full 12 volts or would that burn them up. Should I cut that dirty connection out and splice the wires back together. Problem with that is the wires will then he short and will have to add a second splice and a jumper wire or two

chrismoore701 · 06-16-2017, 04:03 AM

I thought when you press the brakes it would show voltage on the blue wires. I see 12 volts there when plugged in

RoyBraddy · 06-16-2017, 06:14 AM

If you pull the break-away switch your trailer battery will apply full 12V DC to your brake wire. This will draw 3 AMPS DC current from each brake magnet module. One axle means 6AMPS DC current... Two Axles means 12AMPS DC Current. This has nothing to do with the BRAKE CONTROLLER in the the truck.

Be mindful this will drain your on-board battery down rather quickly. This is an emergency feature and should not be left on for any length of time. This could also burn out your BRAKE MODULES with maximum DC voltage being applied for any length of time...

My BRAKE modules emit a very low tone when they are applied from the BRAKE peddle in the truck. Also if you pull out your BOY SCOUT COMPASS and hold near the Electric Brake modules on the wheel it should deflect the compass needle when the brakes are being applied.

If you want to read up on everything BRAKES goto to ETRAILER web page on-iine. They have UTUBE videos and schematics etc...

The BRAKE mechanism on the wheel is designed to not engage the actual pads/shoes unless the wheel is turned a quarter turn or so in some cases... Mine is that way. I can see the electric brake getting DC voltage or measuring DC AMPS with clamp on current meter or hearing the low tone being generated but the brake pad/shoe has not yet moved until my wheel is rotated being jacked up when setting there. This same thing happens on both my 5th wheel and OFF-ROAD POPUP trailer electric brakes...

after reading all of this around your situation it would seem to me to get an knowledgeable person to be with you and walk you through how all all of this works... Some things are just hard to pass along with ten or twenty little comments of do this or do that...

My only comment now is DO NOT LEAVE your trailer sitting there with the emergency BREAK AWAY switch pulled out of the switch assembly. This may cause some other failures that could start getting expensive if the brake modules burns out on you...

I used the Prodigy P-2 Brake Controller on my previous two trucks and switched to the built-in Brake Controller that came with my 2010 Ford Truck with tow package...

Roy Ken

tlm550 · 06-16-2017, 07:21 AM

That site doesn't even recognize my VIN as a valid VIN (yes, I double and tripled checked it)

chrismoore701 · 06-16-2017, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoyBraddy

If you pull the break-away switch your trailer battery will apply full 12V DC to your brake wire. This will draw 3 AMPS DC current from each brake magnet module. One axle means 6AMPS DC current... Two Axles means 12AMPS DC Current. This has nothing to do with the BRAKE CONTROLLER in the the truck.

Be mindful this will drain your on-board battery down rather quickly. This is an emergency feature and should not be left on for any length of time. This could also burn out your BRAKE MODULES with maximum DC voltage being applied for any length of time...

My BRAKE modules emit a very low tone when they are applied from the BRAKE peddle in the truck. Also if you pull out your BOY SCOUT COMPASS and hold near the Electric Brake modules on the wheel it should deflect the compass needle when the brakes are being applied.

If you want to read up on everything BRAKES goto to ETRAILER web page on-iine. They have UTUBE videos and schematics etc...

The BRAKE mechanism on the wheel is designed to not engage the actual pads/shoes unless the wheel is turned a quarter turn or so in some cases... Mine is that way. I can see the electric brake getting DC voltage or measuring DC AMPS with clamp on current meter or hearing the low tone being generated but the brake pad/shoe has not yet moved until my wheel is rotated being jacked up when setting there. This same thing happens on both my 5th wheel and OFF-ROAD POPUP trailer electric brakes...

after reading all of this around your situation it would seem to me to get an knowledgeable person to be with you and walk you through how all all of this works... Some things are just hard to pass along with ten or twenty little comments of do this or do that...

My only comment now is DO NOT LEAVE your trailer sitting there with the emergency BREAK AWAY switch pulled out of the switch assembly. This may cause some other failures that could start getting expensive if the brake modules burns out on you...

I used the Prodigy P-2 Brake Controller on my previous two trucks and switched to the built-in Brake Controller that came with my 2010 Ford Truck with tow package...

Roy Ken

I am fairly knowledgeable around this stuff having built a truck from the ground up. Not saying I am an electrician, but I should be able to figure this out. I ran a wire from the positive side of my battery to the blue wire at the brakes on one side and did not hear anything. I thought I would hear the magnate snap to the rotor. I have an amp meter, would this be a better way to measure that I am getting power to the brakes? I checked ground and we are good. I check continuity from the blue wire up front and the wire at the brakes and we are good. I do have 150 ohms of resistance between the battery and the ground bolt on the tounge of the trailer, is this enough to cause issues?

JHerzog · 06-16-2017, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrismoore701

I am fairly knowledgeable around this stuff having built a truck from the ground up. Not saying I am an electrician, but I should be able to figure this out. I ran a wire from the positive side of my battery to the blue wire at the brakes on one side and did not hear anything. I thought I would hear the magnate snap to the rotor. I have an amp meter, would this be a better way to measure that I am getting power to the brakes? I checked ground and we are good. I check continuity from the blue wire up front and the wire at the brakes and we are good. I do have 150 ohms of resistance between the battery and the ground bolt on the tounge of the trailer, is this enough to cause issues?

I know zip about this stuff but have been following this thread. Could issue be mechanical rather than electrical?

LiftedAWDAstro · 06-16-2017, 09:41 AM

Amp meter would tell you for sure what the brake coils are drawing.

chrismoore701 · 06-16-2017, 10:35 AM

I talked to my controller manufacturer draw tite. He said use a test light and not a multimeter to test the circuits. Will try that tonight.

bap · 06-16-2017, 02:13 PM

You aren't going to hear your magnets snap when energized because they are already very close to the drums. You will hear them hum. The best way to check if they are working is to jack it up one wheel at a time, power the magnet and try turning the wheel forward and see if it becomes hard to turn.

chrismoore701 · 06-16-2017, 07:54 PM

Alright folks we have our winner. It's my controller. Checked it with a test light. No light. Checked the disconnect. It locked up the wheels. Confirmed. The thing I don't get is I tested everything. Voltage. Hooked the trailer up and pulled the disconnect nothing. I did notice some rough looking connections. I wonder if they could have caused everything to act up and burn up my controller

chrismoore701 · 06-16-2017, 08:25 PM

I wonder if a dirty ground burned it up. Crazy thing is yesterday I measured 154 ohms to the frame ground from the battery. Tonight it's 3. What's up with that?

LiftedAWDAstro · 06-18-2017, 06:48 PM

Moisture maybe? Sometimes just wiggling wires will make a poor connection better...for now.

You may also like: