Weak brakes & battery box confusion.

[John0829]

Separate and bigger issue to me is the brakes not having the stopping power they originally had.

So what have you done toward finding the problem? Most of the posts speak to the connections being the problem and unless I have missed it (if I have my apologies) I have not seen you post about checking or repairing any.

 

[ranchito]

I can't believe in 9 pages of posts that no one has suggested putting an amp clamp on each brake and comparing the readings. Someone suggested that each wheel should draw around 3 amps. If one or two wheels are low, then focus your attention there first looking at each ground or splices at each axle. If all are low then look at the wiring from front of the trailer to the first splice point. Fix or rewire to get rid of sketchy crimp splices or Scotch locks which will be a constant source of failures. And forget about the emergency battery for now. It doesn't serve any purpose except when the trailer departs from the truck. The OP gave all the information to find this fault when he said that all was well with the other trailer. I do automotive electrical diagnostics and would love to have a job this easy in my shop.

 

[Timmy1957]

A battery can check good on voltage at a stand still but under a load test it may drop voltage quickly. Are you getting voltage from the truck to hot 12v pin?? Is it doing it before you plug into the truck or after ? As soon as you plug it in or after using it awhile? ….,,, Are you getting voltage to the axle brake pin at the bumper ? If it worked before then it should not be wiring unless a wire broke or lost connection. …. You may have a bad ground. The ball and hitch is not always enough ground. May sure there is a dedicated wire just for ground.

 

[Hay Dude]

So what have you done toward finding the problem? Most of the posts speak to the connections being the problem and unless I have missed it (if I have my apologies) I have not seen you post about checking or repairing any.

That’s because I am farming about 12-15 hours per day and sleeping/eating the rest of the time.
Also, I like reading allowing others to give their ideas. But seriously, no I have not had time to look at much more than connection security and making sure everything looks correct. I will buy another fresh battery for the battery box issue, but something tells me the battery box itself may be the problem.

Remember this: My other trailer‘s brakes work perfectly. So it’s likely not the truck.

 

[Peter 315]

I bet its where the trailer wires connect to the axle wires... The battery does nothing until the breakaway switch is actuated....

 

[Hay Dude]

I bet its where the trailer wires connect to the axle wires...

I noticed there were non-weatherproofed crimp connectors there.

 

[Peter 315]

Ya cheap connectors... If there's enough wire cut them out and use better connectors....

 

[dodge man]

One thing I suggested earlier was jacking the trailer up and having someone step on the brake pedal to see if the brakes work. I remembered I did this in the past and it doesn’t really work because a lot of brake controllers sense momentum and if the trucks not moving. As I recall when I did this the brakes did work but I could spin the wheel by hand easily. Maybe try it on gravel and have someone watch.

 

[John0829]

That’s because I am farming about 12-15 hours per day and sleeping/eating the rest of the time.
Also, I like reading allowing others to give their ideas. But seriously, no I have not had time to look at much more than connection security and making sure everything looks correct. I will buy another fresh battery for the battery box issue, but something tells me the battery box itself may be the problem.

Remember this: My other trailer‘s brakes work perfectly. So it’s likely not the truck.

Yeah I am aware of making a living getting in the way of doing things, well past that now. Sleeping not so much but eating, usually on the run, for sure.

I remember you saying the brakes on your other trailer were still working, so the truck is out of the picture. I agree the most likely problem with the break-away in the electronics of the battery box.

I noticed there were non-weatherproofed crimp connectors there.

At least you have crimp connectors, all the connections on my trailer when it was bought were vampire splices like these.


IMHO they should outlaw those things, the way I see it manufacturers use them for cheap fast connections that will work long enough to get the trailers off the lot.

 

[alpha&omega]

IMHO they should outlaw those things, the way I see it manufacturers use them for cheap fast connections that will work long enough to get the trailers off the lot.

Absolutely! Heck, they are lucky if they work that long. I’ve done trailer shopping in the past where not all of the lights worked and the sales guy tried telling me (or the person I was shopping with) that it HAD to be an issue with the vehicle, since ALL of their trailers get tested EVERY morning. Right…and you guys only use the top of the line tires on your trailers correct?

 

[nyone]

Yeah I am aware of making a living getting in the way of doing things, well past that now. Sleeping not so much but eating, usually on the run, for sure.

I remember you saying the brakes on your other trailer were still working, so the truck is out of the picture. I agree the most likely problem with the break-away in the electronics of the battery box.

At least you have crimp connectors, all the connections on my trailer when it was bought were vampire splices like these.View attachment 809028


IMHO they should outlaw those things, the way I see it manufacturers use them for cheap fast connections that will work long enough to get the trailers off the lot.

I cut 21 of those things out of a trailer I use to own..I then had no problems in the next 12yrs I owned it.

 

[Snobdds]

One thing I suggested earlier was jacking the trailer up and having someone step on the brake pedal to see if the brakes work. I remembered I did this in the past and it doesn’t really work because a lot of brake controllers sense momentum and if the trucks not moving. As I recall when I did this the brakes did work but I could spin the wheel by hand easily. Maybe try it on gravel and have someone watch.

Yes, they sense momentum, a function of load.

The best way is to get the trailer rolling on gravel and manually engage the break controller in the truck. The trailer breaks should lock up and be dragging the truck to a stop.

That is why just putting an amp meter on the breaks dosen't work, it needs to be moving, with a load, to get max amp's getting to the rear breaks.

It's a ground issue...

 

[BleedingOrange]

Ya cheap connectors... If there's enough wire cut them out and use better connectors....

I,ve completely re-wired many trailers over the years, and never use those useless connectors. I might use one to repair some wiring that got damaged on a trip, but it would only be a very temporary connection. I solder all the splices and connections, and use water tight heat shrink tubing to keep moisture out.

 

[Dftodd]

Yeah I am aware of making a living getting in the way of doing things, well past that now. Sleeping not so much but eating, usually on the run, for sure.

I remember you saying the brakes on your other trailer were still working, so the truck is out of the picture. I agree the most likely problem with the break-away in the electronics of the battery box.

At least you have crimp connectors, all the connections on my trailer when it was bought were vampire splices like these.View attachment 809028


IMHO they should outlaw those things, the way I see it manufacturers use them for cheap fast connections that will work long enough to get the trailers off the lot.

I totally agree. My trailer came with those. First thing I did when I got home was replace all of them with shrink wrapped butt splices.

 

[Dftodd]

I,ve completely re-wired many trailers over the years, and never use those useless connectors. I might use one to repair some wiring that got damaged on a trip, but it would only be a very temporary connection. I solder all the splices and connections, and use water tight heat shrink tubing to keep moisture out.

Surprisingly enough, dealer approved repairs have gone from solder and shrink wrap to silicone filled butt splices with the heat shrink as part of the connector.

I no longer get supplied with plug pieces when needing to replace a sensor plug on a wiring harness. I now get shipped the plug already put together with a 4" pig tail instead.

 

[aczlan]

Been there, done that!

Look for rust on the 2" receiver housing. In my case, the Dodge Ram 2500 came with a 2.5" receiver with a 0.5" spacer so it would accept 2" receiver components. That sleeve and the trailer hitch connection collected water and rusted, breaking the circuit to the trailer brakes in my case. Like a light switch some turned off I went from excellent brakes to absolutely nothing!

If you are grounding through the trailer hitch instead of the trailer wiring plug, you are doing it wrong...

I am a hard stickler on good tires and brakes though, U-Haul doesn't give you a choice and they underrate their trailers to make them "legal" even though their size means they are routinely overloaded which is why you see so many of them upside down in the median of the Interstate

If a U-Haul trailer is upside down in the median, chances are that the person who loaded it didn't load it with enough tongue weight and it swayed itself off of the road.

As for being underrated, they're built to be loaded to their max weight and run that way all the time by people who paid the damage waiver and don't care what they do to the rental trailer, most trailers aren't designed to be loaded to their max weight all the time and abused like that.

Aaron Z

 

[aczlan]

Surprisingly enough, dealer approved repairs have gone from solder and shrink wrap to silicone filled butt splices with the heat shrink as part of the connector.

I no longer get supplied with plug pieces when needing to replace a sensor plug on a wiring harness. I now get shipped the plug already put together with a 4" pig tail instead.

Probably due to the number of "technicians" or "mechanics" who are incapable of following the directions to unpin and repin a connector without damaging it, plus, then they can also shave 0.05 hours off of the repair time they will pay because you "just" have the clip off the old plug and connect the new pigtail.

Aaron Z

 

[Dftodd]

Probably due to the number of "technicians" or "mechanics" who are incapable of following the directions to unpin and repin a connector without damaging it, plus, then they can also shave 0.05 hours off of the repair time they will pay because you "just" have the clip off the old plug and connect the new pigtail.

Aaron Z

For me it's no big deal. It's by the hour for me. But dang, some of those pin connectors are tiny. I have to assemble it under a large magnifying glass.

And forget using my prescription safety glasses. I have to get my regular bifocals for any fine work like that. And with tendon damage in my thumb, it makes fine detail motor skills a challenge. Actually not really a challenge. But painful due to cramping.

Then.... if you reverse a pin location, accidently applying a power wire to the ground location

I'm glad they went that route

 

[dodge man]

I’m now in the same boat as Hay Dude, my trailer brakes are weak.

 

[Dftodd]

I added trailer brakes to my trailer. New hubs, bearings, backing plates, battery box, brake away, etc......

One thing I did was run a dedicated ground for the brakes on each side. Ground wires were grounded to the frame, but also ties into the ground wire for the trailer plug.

Didn't take much more effort to run the extra wire while running the power wire for the brakes. And seems to have given me more reliability with the trailer brakes.