Troubleshooting Cause for Jayco JayFlight Travel Trailer Brakes Locking Up

Question:

I have 2015 Jayco traveling trailer flight. The brakes are locked up.

asked by: Janis W

Expert Reply:

Troubleshooting the electric brakes on your 2015 Jayco JayFlight travel trailer is best done with it disconnected from your tow vehicle.

There are two primary causes for the brakes to remain locked. Either there is a mechanical issue in the brake assemblies, such as damage to a component such as a spring, or there is an electrical issue that is causing power to reach the electric drum brakes when it should not. If both brakes have the same problem this tends to suggest an electrical issue.

If the brakes are locked up only when the trailer is connected to the tow vehicle this suggests an issue either in the vehicle's trailer brake controller, in the vehicle wiring (damaged wire insulation, for instance) or a corrosion issue in the vehicle and/or trailer connectors.

What can happen is that trapped moisture or foreign material can cause corrosive build-up on or even inside the vehicle socket or the trailer plug. This corrosion can often be tough to see from the outside; sometimes it will appear as discoloration on the contacts but other times it will only be visible once you disconnect things and check inside. If you do find corrosion after cleaning the connectors apply dielectric grease like # 11755 which will block moisture and dirt and help keep the restored connections more reliable.

You can use a tester like # PTW2993 on the vehicle socket to see if a brake signal is on the brake circuit pin when it should not be. If so, the issue is likely to be the controller, and this can be replaced with a quality unit like the Prodigy P2 # 90885.