short/loose connection trailer brakes

[DCMille290]

Hi all,

Well all I can say is I have been from the front of the truck to each of the 4 wheels on my 5'er trying to find this loose connection.

Here's what's going on.



When I apply my brakes, 5'er attached, the indicator light usually comes on red to show I have trailer braking. If the truck goes over a small bump or hole in the pavement no problem until the trailer passes over the same, with my foot still on the brake pedal the light goes to amber/green and I loose trailer braking.

I pulled all of the backing plates and replaced them with new. I have pulled the crossover over wires that pass through the axles to check for chaffed wires. I have pulled apart all of the connectors on the axles that supply power and they are all good.

I have pounded on the axles, yanked on the harness' and checked for a bad trailer brake controller by banging on it and pulling the wire harness while driving with the brakes applied.

I am at a loss. I would think that a loose connection could be found with 2 people, one in the truck cab with the brake contoller on, it would be easy to duplicate. No. Just cannot find it.

Any ideas, help, suggestions???????





David "DC" Miller

Marbleman, TDR

 

[Steve Campbell]

How is the ground wire...

where it comes out of the plug in cord and attaches to the frame?



Speaking of the plug in, how tight are all of the connections there?



I hate electrical problems!!!

 

[DCMille290]

Ground is fine on truck, but I may run an external wire for a temp fix while pulling trailer to test out if ground is at fault.

Trailer plug in truck bed good and tight and connections on splice into factory trailer wiring all OK.



Thanks.



David "DC" Miller

Marbleman

 

[Casey Balvert]

Axles likely culprit

Since the problem occurs when the trailer axles hit the bump, I suspect the problem is there somewhere near the axles. And since it effects all the brakes, the problem is somwhere in the main feed before splitting off to the two axles. What sort of connections do you have on the wires? If you have the twist on wire nuts, they are notorious for poor connections after a few years. I like to solder all the connections and then cover them with adhesive lined shrink tubing for an absolutely waterproof connection. Good luck.



Casey

 

[DCMille290]

Casey..... I agree, except why is it I cannot duplicate the problem with the truck and trailer sitting in my yard with the controller hooked up and someone else activating the brakes while I lay under the trailer, banging and tugging on wires and connectors?

All of the axle connectors, main feed back, are the heavy copper crimp type, appear fine with no corrosion.



David "DC" Miller

 

[B.G. Smith]

Brakes

I had similar problem with 12v feed from truck to trailer, it ended up being the molded male plug on the trailer cord, the black wire just pulled out of the plug when I tested it, have someone wiggle the plug connection in the bed while the brakes are on. Just a thought. You should also look at the wire connections where the cord enters the trailer (near the hitch) mine are wire nutted. bg

 

[Bob Wagner]

Check all of the connection behind the wheels

 

[DCMille290]

B. G... ... ... Checked and doubled check the cord, plug, socket and wiring behind. Pulled and hit all of those connections and still cannot get the indicator light to flicker or go to green from all red.



Bob W... ... ..... How are those Magic Cloths treating you?... ... ... I had the problem prior to replacing all of the backing plates and checked to make sure I had a good crimp on wire connection before I reassembled the drums. No help.



David "DC" Miller

Marbleman

 

[Casey Balvert]

Controller?

Any chance that it is the controller unit? I know it sounds weird, but just a thought.



Casey

 

[rwitt]

How long does it take for the trailer brakes to start working again?

Rich

 

[Texas Diesel]

What type of brake controller do you have?



I had a pendulum type that would always act up on bumps, it would see the bump as a change in deceleration.



I verified the controller as the problem by turning the level adjustment to max and adjusting the sensitivity down to less than lock up, went over the bump again and no change.



Just a thought.

 

[DCMille290]

rwit... ... ... Thanks for the input, but I am convinced the issue of loose connection/short is in the trailer somewhere due to the fact nothing I do inside the truck affects the controller light. I even went as far as contact Teknosha service and they said check trailer wiring.



texas... ... ... ... ... the unit is 2 years old and the top of the line controller. Nothing I have done inside the truck while braking and watching the indicator light affects the indicator light like going over small bumps, unit active, with the trailer axles... ... ... ... ... ... . thanks for the suggestions though.





David "DC" Miller

Marbleman

 

[B.G. Smith]

Brakes

The indicator light shows green when the brakes are connected correctly indicating continuity through the hookup to the magnets, the light gets amber/red depending on how much voltage goes to the magnets. If you had and open circuit the green light would go out, if you had a short somewhere the red light should be on, my guess now is that it is the controller. As Texas Diesel says above, try turning the knob on the left all the way forward which should take the pendalum out of action, then turn the knob on the right the other direction to lessen the braking effect and try it out. I had a controller go bad and the pendalum had come loose from its pivot point. Good luck. bg

 

[DCMille290]

BG... Thanks for the input. I guess one way around this would be to purchase a new Teknosha and wire it up in the truck and take a ride and see what happens. When I spoke to the tech's at Teknosha he said that there was a bad connection somewhere due to the light changing to from all red to light amber with the brakes applied.

I'll let everyone know what happens with a new controller.



Thanks,

David "DC" Miller

Marbleman

 

[rwitt]

If possible try towing a different trailer to see if you can duplicate the problem under the same circumstances.

 

[Steve Campbell]

I was thinking yesterday while towing....

And had to reread your first post... . found this... .



"If the truck goes over a small bump or hole in the pavement no problem until the trailer passes over the same, with my foot still on the brake pedal the light goes to amber/green and I loose trailer braking. "



It really makes me think there is some kind of grounding problem. Are the magnets individually grounded to the frame of the trailer or is it one common ground? The up and down action of the suspension, over time, could have "worried" some of the strands in the grounding wire (wires) under there so that it only makes a good connection in the straight and level flight mode. I know you spoke of wiggling so many wires under there, but this is the best I could come up with.