[AT] Brake controllers

Mon May 5 13:48:54 PDT 2014

A few notes as Charlie makes some good points. It doesn't' take much in the way of power and ground to make the lights work. Brakes are considerably more energy consuming.

This past late fall I finally got around to replacing the boards on my dad's car/utility trailer. It's a lot easier working on one with no floor as you can crawl across instead of under. I stripped all the wiring off and put on all new along with lights. On his trailer there was a dedicated ground and hot wire from the brake axle to the front of the trailer and into the plug. So you need to make sure you have a good grounding on the truck end of things too. But as others have said, a meter on the brake pin will go a long way to seeing which end the problem lies. Also I've run into issues where the the constant pulling and pushing on the trailer lead had loosened the wires in the plug end and things were connecting inside. Also, if anyone has had that apart or you have a different tow vehicle make sure that the brake pin on the truck is actually the brake pin on the trailer. I changed mine over to an RV style plug since those are common on new vehicles. In my search for wiring schematics I found notes of a slight variance (forget what now, backup lights maybe?). So I used a test light and made sure mine matched my vehicle.

While lights and brakes seem simple enough they can be a challenge. And as was mentioned, make sure they are adjusted properly too, They can give the appearance of an electrical problem when in fact it's mechanical.

just some additional things to ponder.

Brad

On May 5, 2014, at 3:24 PM, charlie hill <charliehill at embarqmail.com> wrote:

> Joe,  two points.  You might be getting power to the lights and not to the 
> brake magnets.
> I'm not sure how yours is wired but I suspect there is a bigger wire that 
> runs the brakes
> and a smaller one to the lights.
> 
> Point two.  It only takes a few amps to light the light bulbs.  It takes 
> considerably more
> to engage and hold those electromagnets.  Thus the reason for a bigger wire.
> 
> You could have corrosion or a bad connection on the wire to the brakes and 
> not on the lights
> or you could be getting enough current to burn the lights but not enough to 
> actuate the brakes.
> 
> If that all checks out then the problem is probably in the controller.  It 
> might not be bad.  It might
> just be out of adjustment.   There is more than one type and I haven't 
> messed with any of them for
> a while so I won't try to address that.
> 
> Charlie
> 
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Joe Hazewinkel
> Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 4:15 PM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: Re: [AT] Brake controllers
> 
> Thanks for the tips.  The strange thing is the lights all work fine, and the 
> controller lights up like it wants to work, but no juice to the breaks. 
> Seems strange that a ground would effect only one part of the hookup?
> 
> Enjoy, Joe
> 
> Sent via mobile device
> 
> On May 5, 2014, at 3:32 PM, "charlie hill" <charliehill at embarqmail.com> 
> wrote:
> 
> Farmer would tell you to check the grounds.
> 
> You can test it by putting a volt meter in the circuit between the power
> supply wire to the
> brakes and a chassis ground.  Get someone to engage the brake and see if you
> get a voltage reading.
> It should be almost as high as the charge on your battery.  12 + Volts.
> 
> Don't have a volt meter?  do the same thing with a 12 V light bulb and see
> if it comes on and how brightly
> it burns compared to connecting it directly to your battery.
> 
> Charlie
> 
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: Joe Hazewinkel
> Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 1:47 PM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: [AT] Brake controllers
> 
> OK,
> 
> I know we have discussed this at points in the past, I just don't remember
> all the details, so I'm bringing it up again.  I think my brake controller
> has gone bad.  It just won't engage the trailer brakes at all.  I thought it
> might be on the trailer side, but my neighbor borrowed my trailer, and the
> brakes worked fine for him.
> 
> My trailer is a 20-ft gooseneck trailer, with dual tandem Dexter axles under
> it.  Both axles have brakes.  I pull it with an 1997 F-250 diesel.
> 
> Any recommendations on a decent brake controller?  The one I have now is a
> Valley brand, and it worked good for the past ten years or so.  I looked at
> the local auto supply place and they had three different models covering a
> wide range of prices.  I just want something that works.  Can you share your
> wisdom with me please?
> 
> Enjoy, Joe
> 
> Sent via mobile device
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