Trailer Brake Question

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tyeeman

New member
Hey Everybody,

I have a question regardingt the electric brakes on my 3 yr old enclosed trailer, , double axel.
First, the problem. Starting last year when I would tow my sled trailer all of a sudden my brake controller would flash disconnect, , connected, , disconnect, , , connected. Not those exact words but you get my drift.
So I'm looking around on the trailer and it would appear that one of the crimp on (or what ever they use) wire connectors is gone at one of the wheels. But it appears that the wires are still in contact but maybe a bit corroded.
Question(s) - Are trailer brakes wired in series so if one gets a bad connection and doesn't work they all don't work? Or is the brake wiring split to each side so if you loose connection to the left side the right side still works?
Can a brake controller tell if you get a bad connection at a wheel?

The controller and the wiring on the truck is fine cuz when I hook up to my travel trailer all is well and brakes work fine.

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
X

xcr440

Well-known member
tyeeman said:
So I'm looking around on the trailer and it would appear that one of the crimp on (or what ever they use) wire connectors is gone at one of the wheels. But it appears that the wires are still in contact but maybe a bit corroded.
Click to expand...

May be in contact, but if corroded, current will not go through it as it should.

Correct that connector and get back to us.

Simple things like you found can and will prevent electronic brakes from functioning as they should.
 
T

tyeeman

New member
I'll be getting er out of storage in the next couple of weeks, just kind of wanted to get the ball rolling before hand so I have some ideas to run with.

My intent is to cut off the lousy crimp connectors at each wheel, solder the wires, liquid electrical tape the connections, install shrink tube, and finally tape each connection making it totally water tight.
The dumb thing is that at each wheel, the crimp on connector hangs upside down so all the water and crap just sits in there.
 
harski

harski

Member
I have found my 7 pin connector very sensitive when connecting to the truck. It has to be plugged in just right otherwise it will not work. My truck and trailer connectors are like new so it can't be corrosion there. However, I have found the connectors near the brakes corroded from the salt/grime and have changed those and re-taped them up to prevent future issues. They came from the factory (trailer is only 2 years old) exposed so I'm glad I took a look underneath after having brake issues (a different issue than connectivity).

Good luck!

Harski
 
T

tyeeman

New member
yeah I've found my 7 pin connector somewhat sensative in other conditions like using a 4 pin adaptor. I like to use silicone grease, the likes of which one would use on your spark plug boots/connectors on your car or truck.
So I think my course of action will be to check all grounds and as I've stated earlier soldering and totally sealing the connections at all the brake connections.
I hate electrical stuff, , , I'm more of a mechanical guy.

That said, if anyone has any other ideas they will be very welcome.

Thanks again in advance to all contributors.
 
R

rp7x

Well-known member
dirty copper

get some nice butt connecters with shrink wrap on them , they won't solder
 
T

tyeeman

New member
By shrink wrap connectors do you mean like a butt connector that has shrink wrap already on it? Where does one find those, auto parts stores?
 
S

skeeter2010

Member
tyeeman said:
By shrink wrap connectors do you mean like a butt connector that has shrink wrap already on it? Where does one find those, auto parts stores?
Click to expand...

They are not that cheap (like .75-$1 per ) but Napa, autozone they all have them
A I used the butt connectors with the shrink tubing on them. It is worth it when your not laying in the slush looking for a problem
 
Y

ybpigs

New member
On my Floe trailer I had the same problem as you with my brake controller saying (DC) disconnect. I found that the connectors near the brakes corroded from the salt/grime (actually it was only the one on the drivers side that was corroded). I had to change those and then I put some dielectric grease on them and used the shrink wrap to prevent future issues.
 
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tyeeman

New member
ybpigs, it's funny you say drivers side. My trailer is a Legend, and the suspect connector is on the front axel, drivers side wheel. For what it's worth I feel better knowing that other people have had this same problem. Kinda sucks when ya pay a bunch of money for a trailer and 3 yrs later ya have to go back and correct things that should have been done correctly the first time. Aside from that I love my rig.

Thanks everybody! ;)
 
D

dofo1

Member
The brakes should be wired in parallel.

Not sure why one connector would do that, I would be looking further toward the trailer plug or at the plug its self. Also bad grounds will drive you nuts trying to figure them out, try running a separate ground wire from the tailer to the vehicle and see if the problem goes away.

Now for the bad news, if your trailer has been on salt covered roads for 3 years you will find that most of your connections are going to be in poor shape and should probably be cut out and soldered in with heat shrink.

Also wait until you pull off the drums and then you will see what salt does to electric brakes.
 
C

catalac

Active member
Yea! Do the trailer co. think we just use these in the summer on dry roads!? You'd think they would do everything they could to keep the wiring from corrosion.
 
T

tyeeman

New member
yeah you would think.

For what it's worth my trailer hasn't seen too much salt, I've seemed to luck out and tow when the roads are fairly dry. I know salt dust can still get up in there, , I guess I'm crossing my fingers.
 
A

anonomoose

New member
Good grounding is vitally important. Routine maintance should include EACH year a new clean ground that goes from truck to tongue and ALSO tongue to frame unless you have deluxe wiring that runs grounds to each tail light. Salt is a killer and is clearly an issue on these towables.

Boat trailers don't get nearly the work out. So you can go a year or two before working on them...unless they are mine...then they need working on nearly every time I hook them up.

The single best thing you can do to make assure good continuity is to solder those wires. Get a glob of silicone from you caulking gun and glob the connections up...but don't skimp on the stuff or the salt will penatrate and you would be better off not using anything because you keep the joint from drying out which actually is worse for the corrosion process.

Clean and lube the trailer connections with grease or other lube which will protect those fittings as well. One last thing that I do after hauling is to hit the underside of that trailer really well to void the area of salt.

NOW is the time to work on those trailers while the weather is good and it is easy to do....paint those wheels, check those tires, connections and stress cracks before you need the darn thing....cause you won't want to do it when you need it.
 
T

tyeeman

New member
As soon as we took ownership of the trailer (purchsed brand new) I hit the whole underside of the trailer inclluding axels, drums etc with with an undercoating. it was Amsoil MP HD. Not trying to sell the stuff but I've used it since they came out with it. It's a flexible wax coating, and if you get it on a clean surface it will last a long time. Kinda resembles a zbart undercoating.
I also hit my draw bar and pin with the stuff, , 4 yrs later still looks like new.
Yeah when it comes to salt protection one almost can't do enough. Hate that stuff!!!
 
L

lvr1000

New member
tyeeman said:
My trailer is a Legend, Kinda sucks when ya pay a bunch of money for a trailer and 3 yrs later ya have to go back and correct things that should have been done correctly the first time.
;)
Click to expand...
2X that!!! I had the trailer
frame in the back - all the welds had cracked. Legend offered to repair it but I had to take the trailer all the way back to legend which was going to cost me 3 x the cost of fuel than what it cost for a local shop to repair not to mention a lost day of pay. The welder at Legend didn't have the heat turned up enough and never got any penetration, only had surface welds .I was extremely upset. You think they would have at least reimbursed me the $120. Next trailer WILL be a different brand. Also had wiring issues with brakes and lights
 
C

catalac

Active member
lvr1000 said:
2X that!!! I had the trailer
frame in the back - all the welds had cracked. Legend offered to repair it but I had to take the trailer all the way back to legend which was going to cost me 3 x the cost of fuel than what it cost for a local shop to repair not to mention a lost day of pay. The welder at Legend didn't have the heat turned up enough and never got any penetration, only had surface welds .I was extremely upset. You think they would have at least reimbursed me the $120. Next trailer WILL be a different brand. Also had wiring issues with brakes and lights
Click to expand...
Yea thats just stupid! What if I bought a new car and have something wrong. Do I have to take it to Detroit to get it repaired. That stinks.
 
O

Obriengotwake

New member
I had a connection go bad on my trailer. I noticed that the trailer would pull to the right. In repairing this I found that I did not like the wiring set up. One bad connection can take one or all brakes. The trailer was wired to the right front/ right rear/ left rear/ left front. The connection between sides was bad. I replaced this with a junction that separated the front and rear axle so if a connection went bad I would still have brakes to a whole axle. Something to think about.
 
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