Please Help trailer brake problems

[fireman717]

I am having problems with my trailers electric brakes. My prodigy is saying there is an overload/short circuit. I confirmed it is the trailer by towing a buddies trailer and the prodigy had no issues with that. So I have looked in the connector box by the king pin nothing noted. I need help where to look what am I looking for? Do I need to take the wheels off? What should I look for there. Please help I am supposed to leave in a day on trip that is already paid for.

 

[CBari]

Obviously Start By Looking At Your Trailers Plug, Make Sure No Wires Are Touching Each Other. Then Move Up To The Junction Box On The Trailer And Check All Connectors And Verify That They Are All Still Connected. If There Are Crimp Connections Check That They Are Still Tight.



Next Check The Wiring Going Into The Hubs. A Lot Of Places Use The Cheep 3m Wire Splices To Tie All Of The Brakes Together, They Are Ok For A While But Eventualy The Wire Becomes Brittle And The Connections Some Times Become Lost.



Hope This Helps Some.

 

[Prairie Dog]

You may want to check for moisture, contamination or corrosion in your fivers 7 pin connector. Also, I once had a wire chafe where it went through a sharp hole in the body and ended up with the same problem you have.

Good luck.



Scotty

 

[fireman717]

thanks for the help,I am leaning towards something in the wheels due to happens more the faster I am going or if I make a tight turn. It will work most of the time if I am going slow. Gonna lift the trailer and take the wheels off. See if anything jumps out at me.

 

[litespeed]

Most RV and or trailer shops have a device that can check the amp draw from the trailer brakes. This helps to diagnose the connection between the truck and trailer or just the trailer brakes themselves.



Most of the shops I have visited have made their own trailer brake tester (forget the term for this thing?).



If you know it is the trailer..... Have the brakes checked as mentioned above. Saves a bunch of headaches. I just had a friend of mine that had a similar problem and 2 of the brakes out of 6 (triple axle) had electrical problems and the electrical portion of the brake had to be replaced (there is a term for that too, but I have forgotten it).



Usually you can pull into most shops and they will pull their little box out and check it for free.

 

[K5IP]

I had a similar problem during a trip to Alaska, I was able to isolate the problem by disconnecting the wires going into each brake hub one at a time. After isolating the defective wheel ( a short which was intermittantly a function of wheel position/speed) I removed the brake drum and found the wire that supplies power to the brake magnet was exposed to/rubbing on the drum. A clip which was supposed to hold the wire in place was not secure, hence the problem. Nothing like trying to figure this out with misquetoes as big as birds trying to run off wih you.

Another common fault it the brake wire strung through the axel that ties the brake system from one side of the trailer to the other Constant vibration can cause shorts here which are also movement related.

Simply remove each possible load, one at a time, and check to see if your short indication goes away and you will find it.

Rog

 

[jelag]

K5IP has the answers... We chased a problem for several weeks... and finally pulled the wires out of the axle... . the wires that cross from one side to the other through the axle... . the wires had worn through the insulation... . and would short when they rubbed just right..... we rerouted the wires on the outside of the axle so an inspection would allow us to check them..... no more problems...

 

[COBRAJET]

I have also had the wires come apart on one side where it goes through the tube to the other side. The trailer was basically wired by a 3 year old and had more splices than necessary. After spending half a day rewiring it I have never had another problem. Poor grounding accounts for the majority of electrical wiring issues.