HELP - no trailer brakes

[HOCummins04]

First, I am not a veteran at towing. I am borrowing a friend's flatbed car hauler to retrieve my grandfather's Allis Chalmers WD45 and bring it home to restore. I don't have any trailer brakes. No big deal with empty trailer. Tractor weighs around 4000 pounds. Would definitely be useful coming home with tractor.



I have a Tekonsha Prodigy. The brake has worked correctly last summer, but I do not tow on a regular basis. With nothing hooked up, the display says NC when I try to manually apply brake to just trailer. With the trailer connected, it still says NC when I try to manually apply brake to just trailer. The display never changes like it should when it is connected to trailer.



Setup: Have tow package. There is probably a 2 inch adapter that plugs into factory plugin. There is probably a 1 inch end on the trailer wiring that plugs into above adapter.



Is there any way to test the truck by itself to make sure brake controller is working right?



Is there any way to test trailer to make sure it is working right? I know the brakes are not dragging, because the drum was not even warm to the touch after pulling it home.



Leaving town tomorrow to go to Indiana for DIESEL THUNDER on Saturday. Will pull trailer home Monday or Tuesday. I will be able to check the site on the road, so please help a guy out.



I do not want to drive trailer home 500 miles with probably around 6000 pounds on just truck brakes. :-{}

 

[paccool]

What kind of plug is on the trailer? How many wires? I suspect it is not wired to match your plug. With the "NC" showing, it means there is no connection to the trailer. These type probs can be real frustrating sometimes trying to sort out.

 

[TKingsbury]

I'll second that, your buddy's trailer brake is most likely wired to a different pin.

Travis. .

 

[HOCummins04]

The trailer plug is about 1 inch - round - in diameter and the connections are little round wholes. His truck is a Chevy 2500, and his son-in-law has a Ford F150. They use it on their farm to haul the big rolls of hay on. All the marker lights, brake lights and turn signals work. How could the pin out be wrong? It seems like something beside the trailer brakes would not work if something were crossed.



The dodge connection has slotted connectors and one in the middle (seems like total of 8, but don't remember for sure. That connecter has a notch so it can not be inserted wrong.



Thanks guys.

 

[MacHaggis]

Firrsyt make sure all your contacts are clean. If so, the crosssed wire is gonna be it. You mentioned an adapter, so you're gonna have to tighten the chin strap on your thinking cap to sort this out.



Your truck has a seven-pin blade set-up and most of them are pretty well standardized. But it is not uncommon to find two different positions used for the brake wire on either (or both -- fuzzy memory here) the seven-pin round and six-pin connectors. There's a thread around here talks about it but IIRC it was a different problem -- brakes locked up on plug-in because the black and the blue wires were switched on the trailer plug. Different problem from yours, but that's the place to look. First Rule is DON'T mess with the socket on your truck. You know that's right. If you can open up the adapter, I'd fix it there before I'd monkey with the pigtail on the trailer (it mates up to the other guy's rig. Don't do any more than to open it up and see which pins the wires go to). You'll have to test and fix something else.



Folllow the wire from the brake backing plate to the plug and note the color as it goes into the pigtail. See which pin that wire goes to in the plug. Re-rig the inside of your adapter to make sure that wire runs to the blade for the brake on your truck (It should be marked on the flip up cover over your socket). Check where any wires you have to swap out may run to, and adjust accordingly.



All of a sudden I can't find my link to the page with the standard wiring for each of these plugs. If I do, I'll come back with it, but if somebody else should come up with it first . . . it may provide some guidance.

 

[MacHaggis]

I found one. Check this link.



http://www.accessconnect.com/trailer_wiring_diagram.htm



A couple of other thoughts. First, if you enocounter any Scotch-lok connectors in the wire running forward from the brake to the plug on the trailer, remove and replace them, or better yet, replace them in a new location and weatherproof them really well. (Better yet, do your friend a favor and make the connections with solder. ) Also, if you do have to swap wires to get the brake current home, trace the other wire back to see what it goes to. It may be as simple a swapping them but it may not.



An added thought, after re-reading. You said the trailer plug is small, llike an inch or so. How many sockets does it have? If only four, the trailer doesn' have any brakes. If that's the case, I'd think several times before trying to haul a two-ton tractor on it. (I'm a Farmall kind of guy, but ain't stuck on paint color. Anybody likes to restore tractors is alright by me Oo. ) Bein' a hay hauler, I wouldn't be surprised if the trailer wasn't wired with brakes to make it legal for road use. There's a lot of loopholes for ag vehicles/trailers.



Check back in and let us know how you're making out.

 

[NIsaacs]

HO, just a thought, but I think you will find that the AC-WD45, weighs quite a bit more than 4,000lbs. Back in the good ole' days, the Allis-Chalmers would run circles around the Farmall's,Ha! The mufflers on the AC's were loud (good) and the Farmall's were way too quiet!!





"NICK"

 

[HOCummins04]

MacHaggis - you called it - dirty connections. I have brakes now. Thanks for the help.

 

[MacHaggis]

OUTstanding! Oo. And happy motoring!



And grats on getting your grandfather's AC, too. I tracked down and bought the Farmall BN that my greatgrandfather bought new in '47, the tractor I learned to drive on 40-some years ago. Engine was stuck (#1 and #3 were right full of water) Rebuilt the motor, new bearings and seals through out the whole tractor, a lot of NOS parts, some vintage style wiring. She's almost ready fer paint. She'll be my trailer queen. Got other machines to work with.



Have fun with it!

 

[Ron Bissett]

First, I am not a veteran at towing. I am borrowing a friend's flatbed car hauler to retrieve my grandfather's Allis Chalmers WD45 and bring it home to restore. I don't have any trailer brakes. No big deal with empty trailer. Tractor weighs around 4000 pounds. Would definitely be useful coming home with tractor.



I have a Tekonsha Prodigy. The brake has worked correctly last summer, but I do not tow on a regular basis. With nothing hooked up, the display says NC when I try to manually apply brake to just trailer. With the trailer connected, it still says NC when I try to manually apply brake to just trailer. The display never changes like it should when it is connected to trailer.



Setup: Have tow package. There is probably a 2 inch adapter that plugs into factory plugin. There is probably a 1 inch end on the trailer wiring that plugs into above adapter.



Is there any way to test the truck by itself to make sure brake controller is working right?



Is there any way to test trailer to make sure it is working right? I know the brakes are not dragging, because the drum was not even warm to the touch after pulling it home.



Leaving town tomorrow to go to Indiana for DIESEL THUNDER on Saturday. Will pull trailer home Monday or Tuesday. I will be able to check the site on the road, so please help a guy out.



I do not want to drive trailer home 500 miles with probably around 6000 pounds on just truck brakes. :-{}

Spray WD 40 in to plug male and female make and brake a few times. Turn on the running lights if they work you have contact ,brake light green light should come on if not check for good ground , most brake problems bad ground or bad dirty corroded contacts . Contact cleaner works wonders. If no contact cleaner you can mix vinegar and salt . dip and let stand a few min . then flush with warm water ,dry apply WD 40 or other like spray. Ron Bissett in Metro Louisville KY

 

[HOCummins04]

More to the story. On the way out to Indiana, the brakes quite working. The Prodigy shows C on the display when connected and working. The adapter that plugs into the truck has corroded connections on both ends. Just so happens my dad had a new one just like it. Plugged it in, and noticed that it was snugger in making the connections. Immediately I had brakes - C on Prodigy. I will replace his connector later. Maybe I will find someone with one at Diesel Thunder tomorrow.



As far as the Allis, grandpa passed about 7 years ago. He bought the tractor used long ago when it was just a few years old, and at some point had the head shaved (YEP - MORE POWER RUNS IN THE FAMILY . Dad says she will really snort when you pull a load with it. Engine runs great - excellent compression. Hydraulics needs new hoses and seals. Engine leaks some oil - more seals. There are two clutches - one hand and one foot. The foot works fine, but something is broken on the hand. It needs things like new rims as these are well corroded. Fenders are bent and well used. Gas tank needs replaced. Other than putting seals in the bottom of the engine, I don't plan on anything but carb work for the engine. transmission is another story. Gonna be a long-term project. As far as I know, it has never sat out in the weather for more than a few days if that. My brother was going to restore it but lost the heart for it - he never really started, so I get it now. I am sure it will be an adventure that I will cherish, just like when I was an 8 year old boy helping out on the farm driving that tractor when we were putting up hay. Been a few moons since then.

 

[lowboy]

HO,



Ever heard of Roger Welsch? He's got several books out telling about his WC addiction.

 

[Cattletrkr]

Got a 1953 WD 45 sitting in the shed. In '53 Gramps got the tractor and Gramma got Dad. That's why it's still here. Can't even run an auger with it anymore, no hydraulics. Still a fun tractor to drag the driveway and run one of the smaller augers if possible. Engine runs great but need constant tinkering to keep it firing on all four. Trans likes to lock up in two gears at the same time. Reverse is always one of them, don't work so good that way. Gotta love that hand clutch.



Check out the Orange Spectacular Website You "orange" guys will love it. It's only about 25-30 miles away from me. Been there once, to "nostalgic" for me.

 

[MacHaggis]

HO,



Good on ya, and I hope you find as much enjoyoment and have as much fun with it as I have with mine! lowboy had a good thought with the Roger Welsch books, look them up on Amazon or wherever. Busted Tractors and Rusty Knuckles. Love, Sex and Tractors (How to Keep Your Family Running and Your Tracors Happy), and others. All include helpful tips on how to justify your tractor time and expense with the missus.

 

[jelag]

A quick thought... my 01, 04 and 05 with a factory 7 pin plug have the wiring connections on the cover of the plug... . If I'm in doubt I connect a simple test light to ground and probe the connector in the socket... when someone sets the brake the test light should start to glow and get bright as the controller sets the brakes..... if I'm really in doubt I use the ground connector in the socket for my ground...



Because we have several trucks and trailers I actually made a tester that plugs either into the truck or trailer... . using test lights and switches we can test any of the trucks and trailers... in a minute or two... .



Just my thoughts...

 

[Cummins Cowboy]

I find dielectric grease works great on those RV style connectors. before I used it I was about to go nuts wiggling the connecters to get everything working. since I put that grease on there I have never ever had a problem with trailer wire connections