Trailer brake issues

[Ryan31b]

Guys, I’m handy and not too dumb…. However, I’m not good at electrical or troubleshooting.

That said, I definitely think I’m not getting trailer brakes. I thought perhaps they weren’t working on the day I bought it and drove it home, but now I’m confident they aren’t working (well, semi-confident). I had a yield-too-late incident where I needed to jam on the brakes and it definitely felt like all pickup brake. I recently upgraded to lithium, so I was in that junction box and know that the wires got a trim and a new wire nut and it was snugly fastened.

What would your first steps be to troubleshoot? Pickup is 23’ Chevy Silverado 1500 and trailer is 2018 Jayco SLX Baja 174BH

Thanks all!

[Markb5900]

I would look at the wiring near the actual brakes, make sure something isn’t just hanging there..
Next thing I would check is your trailer brake gain. While in that screen and the trailer plugged in, push your truck brake and you should see apply the trailer brakes. I’m assuming your using the Chevy built in brake controller.
Next I would go to a large parking lot, just going slowly, use your manual trailer brake and see if it stops you.

[Gtschmidt]

Also check the tow vehicle --Don't have a chevy but 2 of my fords had a separate fuse for this and both over the years had blown causing trailer brake issues.

[Route 66 Traveler]

Pull the break away switch and see if the trailer will move. Pulling the switch will lock up the brakes.

[Jagiven]

Originally Posted by Route 66 Traveler

Pull the break away switch and see if the trailer will move. Pulling the switch will lock up the brakes.

x2 with the pin pulled you will lock the brakes up solid, no rotation at all. You can test it by pulling with your TV, or if you have the TT up on jacks try spinning with your hand.

What do you have for a brake controller in your TV? Do you have an OEM brake controller,? Just because your vehicle came with a 7 pin trailer connection does not mean the vehicle came with a factory brake controller. You should have a few buttons/knobs on the dash where you can change your settings.

If you do not have a factory brake controller what aftermarket controller do you have?

My guess if you have a brake controller (factory or aftermarket) it is not configured for your trailer.

The last two controllers I have had (OEM built in my current TV and my P3 aftermarket in my last TV), both had settings for how many axles, is it a heavy or a light trailer, and then a "gain" to make fine adjustments. My previous controllers before these were not that smart, just a simple dial to adjust the gain.

[RogerR]

If one side is not working a simple test is to use the manual at slow speed on a gravel lot or quiet road and look for skid marks on one side only. If that is the case then look for a broken wire or bad connection. The crimp connectors are junk!. I replaced with handy solder connectors with built in shrink tube that works with a head gun. Simple and absolutely positive as you can see the wire being coated in low temp solder. Enough to do every connection in the RV for around $12 on Amazon

[Ryan31b]

Do you have a link to the solder parts? Switching to lithium I tried the junky pinch on connectors and they didn’t work.

Originally Posted by RogerR

If one side is not working a simple test is to use the manual at slow speed on a gravel lot or quiet road and look for skid marks on one side only. If that is the case then look for a broken wire or bad connection. The crimp connectors are junk!. I replaced with handy solder connectors with built in shrink tube that works with a head gun. Simple and absolutely positive as you can see the wire being coated in low temp solder. Enough to do every connection in the RV for around $12 on Amazon

[RogerR]

I found them using "heat shrink butt connectors" I bought Baurix solder stick for $2.99 for 120 of various sizes. Bigger boxes with more sizes for maybe $12 all on Amazon.
You will need a heat gun. Tried wife's hair dryer, not hot enough. Tried gas match, melted plastic to much and didn't seal right. May $15? for one.

Strip about 1/3 inch of wire, twist both, stick them in so they overlap inside the solder area, heat till solder melts and plastic shrinks and done.
Here is a tip, take two clothes pins, screw together in a V shape and use them to hole wires together while applying heat gun.

[FISTEP]

Something to keep in mind is that regardless of how you apply the solder, the objective is for the solder to penetrate between the strands of the wire, not to merely coat it. That requires the wire strands to be clean and free of oxidation, oil, and dirt. Otherwise you will have a jacket of solder surrounding the conductors with very poor physical or electrical bonding. This is a very common point of failure in electrical connections especially for joints that can experience some flexing. The failure will be hidden by the heat shrink.

Good prep work is essential.