Trailer Brake Problem...

[Silver Burner]

So I pulled out my trailer yesterday to start getting it ready for Memorial Day and all seemed good for about 10 minutes. I had the 7-pin plugged in and I had moved the trailer back into my driveway when I noticed my Draw-Tite controller flashing OD at me. So I shut the truck off, got out, and went to unplug the 7-pin. It had gotten really hot, which sucked. Anyhow, I discovered that the wire feeding the signal to the trailer brakes had melted all the way down the frame of the truck. Which sucked... So I replaced it. Now I don't have an overload anymore, but my controller doesn't seem to be working properly. Has anyone ever seen a controller (when you step on the brakes with the trailer attached) flicker between 0.0 and 0.5 and not ever go up? When I hit the manual button, the display goes really dim and flickers but shows a proper value (normally mine will go up to about 3.0. I can't find in any of the troubleshooting questions anyone having the same issue. Is my controller fried from the overload? I'm going to test my trailer brakes this morning manually but they appear to be intact. I'm about 99% sure the short made it to the 7-pin and stopped because there was too much resistance on the trailer and the 12V had a much easier path to the frame of the truck. Thanks in advance for any input guys.

 

[Silver Burner]

Anyone?

 

[Silver Burner]

Bump. Still hoping for some kind of feedback guys. Come on! You guys must have had something like this happen at some point or another!

 

[redmondjp]

Well, it sounds like something on your trailer shorted to ground which caused the wiring to overheat and melt. I'd start on your trailer and make sure that you don't have any issues there before going at the truck. Start by checking the resistance of all of your electric brake solenoids (individually, they may be all paralleled together so you may have to cut some wires) and compare values between them. Then work back toward the tongue.

The 20ga fusible link for the trailer brake power on my truck burnt open (I'm guessing from something similar) and the previous owner never fixed it - to get trailer running lights, he stole the wire from the rear bumper license plate lights!

 

[RLDSL]

First , are you wired through a brake controller factory plug under the dash? if so it should have blown a fuse under the hood. if not, you should have it wired through a fuse. If the 7 pin was hot, it may be something as stupid as a poor connection at that worthless 7 pin flat connector, if the thing was arcing as you were applying full brakes it would get hotter than a firecracker and build up massive resistance there ( there is a reason tha twhile I am rewiring my travel trailer with new lights, I am also rewiring my truck and carhauler and all to convert the whole works over to a commercial 7 pin round plug like the semi trucks use. It cost me about $50 for everything for both trailers and the truck at Truck Pro, I'm tired of havong to constantly wiggle that stupid flat plug to get the lights and brakes working only to go 5 miles down the road and get an error on my brake controller and have to get out flex the pins out wiggle again and go a bit further ) I found a lot of folks are doing the same thing , those flat things are just a pain
A lot of other things could have happened, a critter nest in the electric junction on the trailer can get juice going to places you wouldnt want and chech the brake connections carefully, I never have liked that the normal acceptabe connections for trailer brakes are scotchlocks and wirenuts

 

[RLDSL]

Also check the wires inside the plug and recepticle, they can move around and short out if theyve been stripped off too far and not secured

 

[Silver Burner]

So far I've checked the plug and receptacle. The plug should be fine because it is molded and I pulled the recept apart to check, but I was expecting good connections becuase I just redid them last fall and soldered the ends before they went under the clamps. The wiring down the frame of the trailer is sound. I haven't opened the scotch-loks at each brake but all the connections look perfect and all the wire is in good shape. The short definitely happened from the truck side. I believe there was sufficient resistance in the trailer system to keep the short from extending through the recept and the plug got hot because the short was happening up to that point. At this point, I'm trying to figure out if my controller is toast or not. When I plug in the trailer now, the controller will flash from 0.0 to 0.5 when I apply the brakes and not go any higher and when I hit it manually the LED screen goes dim and starts flickering but displays the correct numbers the more I move the manual control. Should I just hook my truck up to another trailer and see what she does or can I hook up a light or something to mimic the brakes?

 

[Silver Burner]

Oh and no, I'm not wired through a factory plug under the dash.

 

[RLDSL]

at this point you need to rig up some long test leads with alligator clips and use an ohmmeter and disconnect the controller up front and test the wire from there to the plug and there to ground and see what it tells you movement of teh cab may have worn through the insulation and caused a short, if you find a short, run a new wire( well cased ) and put a fuse or circuit breaker on it
All this has me thinking i need to go back and return the trailer side recepticle I bought and get one that has circuit breakers on each circuit just for the trailer on back for an extra 20 bucks fo a little extra peace of mind and not depend on the trucks circuit protection

 

[racer30]

Your controller is junk. If your trailer is factory un molested wiring it should draw 2 to 2.5 amps per wheel. Jack up the trailer one side at a time. (so both wheels on one side are off the ground). Pull the break away cable from its switch. ( the small cable running to a plastic or metal switch on the frame) then check to see if the brakes work on the wheels off the ground. if so repeat on the other side. If the trailer passes this test. Get a real brake control, not a cheep one and install it as per the instructions. The controler you have is a (Timed stop type control) It is adjustable only for how hard it stops and how fast it arives at that stopping power. it dosent sence the stopping enursha of the Truck and aply the brakes based on that info. Get a new control and you will be a Happy Camper.........28 years as a RV tech I have seen many Unhappy Campers and fixed their Brakes. If your Brakes don't Work during the test you will need to trace the wires to the brakes looking for a short or open circit. Don't pull your drums off until you have checked the wires. If three wheels work the one that dosen't is most likely your problem. The worst problem to find is a bad Brake magnet. One with a intermitant short. Good luck.

 

[Silver Burner]

Thanks, Racer. I believe my next controller is going to be a Tekonsha Prodigy P2. From what I've read, this should be a good controller for me and have the features you are saying. Would you have any other recommendations on a good controller? I'll do the brake test as well. It's been raining like a beeotch here (as you well know in Sunny Seattle....lol) so I've been a little lax on working on it...

Your controller is junk. If your trailer is factory un molested wiring it should draw 2 to 2.5 amps per wheel. Jack up the trailer one side at a time. (so both wheels on one side are off the ground). Pull the break away cable from its switch. ( the small cable running to a plastic or metal switch on the frame) then check to see if the brakes work on the wheels off the ground. if so repeat on the other side. If the trailer passes this test. Get a real brake control, not a cheep one and install it as per the instructions. The controler you have is a (Timed stop type control) It is adjustable only for how hard it stops and how fast it arives at that stopping power. it dosent sence the stopping enursha of the Truck and aply the brakes based on that info. Get a new control and you will be a Happy Camper.........28 years as a RV tech I have seen many Unhappy Campers and fixed their Brakes. If your Brakes don't Work during the test you will need to trace the wires to the brakes looking for a short or open circit. Don't pull your drums off until you have checked the wires. If three wheels work the one that dosen't is most likely your problem. The worst problem to find is a bad Brake magnet. One with a intermitant short. Good luck.

 

[racer30]

Yes the prodigy is one of the best, I am 80 miles north of seattle, Nobody knows where Burlington is so I use seattle for my profile. We had 10 days of nice weather then back to rain sunday through this afternoon. I got a few things done this evening out in the yard. Atleast I didn't need to fill the bird bath.

 

[Silver Burner]

Got a Prodigy today and installed it after numerous checks of the wiring and all the system. Everything checked out so I crossed my fingers and plugged it in. Bingo! Back in action! Just need to take the trailer out for a test run, but all appears normal! And now I actually have a good controller.

 

[racer30]

Sweet.....Now Around here if you don't have reservations it will be impossible to get a campsite in any of the state parks for the weekend. I will be working all weekend keeping all of the RV's on the road. My secret is to go camping on Non holiday weekends or in the middle of the week. The crowds are smaller. Good Job fixin on yer RV Hav Fun Campin. Have a cold one for Me.