Expert Answers about Airstream Trailer Brakes
- Can Trailer Brakes be Wired Directly to Brake Light Circuit
- If you connect the trailer brake light circuit to the trailer brake circuit your brakes would lock up immediately since 12 volts is max braking voltage for trailer brakes. You'd need a brake controller that can vary voltage so that you can apply the brakes in a smooth way. The Brake EVN # TK63VR is a great choice for this as it has an internal sensor that applies can tell how hard you are applying the vehicle brakes and applies a similar amount of brake pressure to the trailer brakes.
view full answer... - No Trailer Brakes On Cattle Trailer with Brake Pedal But Work with Manual Override
- If you have a proportional brake controller like the Tekonsha Prodigy P2 Trailer Brake Controller part # 90885 then these will not send much power at all to the trailer's brakes when the brake pedal is pressed at a stop because there is no inertia for the controller to sense. I recommend you take the trailer around the block and try to test the trailer brakes with the brake pedal. The issue may just be that you need to turn up the gain.
If you still don't have power to the trailer brakes...
view full answer... - Brake Controller Intermittently Reads 'Trailer Disconnected' After Brake Job
- A trailer brake controller sends a small amount of voltage back to the trailer brakes to check for resistance, to confirm that the trailer brakes are present and the trailer is connected. If something interrupts the connection between the brake contorller and the trailer brake magnets, you'll get a 'trailer disconnected' or 'check trailer brake wiring' message.
Start with the trailer connector on the vehicle, ensure it's not damaged or corroded which would prevent or reduce voltage from...
view full answer... - Trailer Brakes Not Working When Brake Controller Is Connected To The Trailer
- The first thing I recommend doing is to use a circuit tester like # PTW2993 and test the functions of the wires on your brake controller adapter # 3035-P.
The red (Stoplight) wire should show power only when the brake pedal is pressed. The black (Power) wire should show constant power. The white is ground, and the blue is trailer brakes.
If the light on the brake controller is on and you have no trailer brakes when using the brake pedal or the manual control, you will want to check the...
view full answer... - Troubleshooting Electric Trailer Brakes Not Working on a 1973 WW Horse Trailer
- There are a number of reasons why the brakes on your horse trailer may not be working. Lets start with the easiest things to check.
First, check the vehicle and trailer connectors for corrosion. This can cause a short inside the connector and the brake feed circuit and ground are at the bottom of the connector so moisture affects these connections first.
Next, check the ground wire on the vehicle and trailer connectors, trailer brake magnets and the brake controller itself. If there is...
view full answer... - Electric Trailer Brakes not Working
- There are a number of reasons why the brakes on your trailer may not be working. Lets start with the easiest things to check.
First, check the vehicle and trailer connectors for corrosion. This can cause a short inside the connector and the brake feed circuit and ground are at the bottom of the connector so moisture affects these connections first.
Next, check the ground wire on the vehicle and trailer connectors, trailer brake magnets and the brake controller itself. If there is a bad...
view full answer... - How Do Trailer Brake Controllers Work
- An electric trailer brake controller is a device that installs in the cab of your tow vehicle and activates your trailer's electric or electric-over-hydraulic brakes when you hit the brakes in your tow vehicle. It's not a binary activation. There are two main types of controllers out there.
A proportional brake controller senses how the tow vehicle is slowing or stopping and applies the trailer's brakes with the same intensity. So if you slam on the brakes in your tow vehicle, the controller...
view full answer... - Troubleshooting Trailer Brakes that Stopped Working
- There are a number of reasons why the brakes on your trailer may not be working. Lets start with the easiest things to check.
First, check the vehicle and trailer connectors for corrosion. This can cause a short inside the connector and the brake feed circuit and ground are at the bottom of the connector so moisture affects these connections first.
Next, check the ground wire on the vehicle and trailer connectors, trailer brake magnets and the brake controller itself. If there is a bad...
view full answer... - Manual Override Not Activating Trailer Brakes from Tekonsha Prodigy P2 on 2012 Dodge Ram
- It is very unusual for the brake controller to work with the brake pedal but not with the manual override lever. I recommend testing your wiring and brake controller with the Tekonsha 7-way Trailer Emulator Blade Style Connector # 6562. This emulator is designed to work with Tekonsha brake controllers, like the P2 # 90885, and simulates a load bearing trailer. With the emulator you will be able to confirm if you are getting brake power with the brake pedal but not with the manual lever....
view full answer... - Would a Trailer Breakaway System Wiring Problem Prevent Trailer Brakes from Applying
- I attached a picture that shows how a breakaway kit normally gets wire to a trailer. If installed properly the kit should have no effect on normal brake operation. Chances are you have other wiring problems that are preventing the brakes from functioning.
There are a number of reasons why the brakes on your trailer may not be working. Lets start with the easiest things to check.
First, check the vehicle and trailer connectors for corrosion. This can cause a short inside the connector...
view full answer... - Trailer Brakes Grabbing When Releasing Brake Pedal on 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe
- The Pilot 2-6 Brake Electronic Brake Controller # 80550 is a timed brake controller. So when it sees that the brake light switch is on it activates the brakes at a desired power level for a particular amount of time. I believe what you are feeling is the slight delay in you releasing the brake pressure and the brake switch returning to the off position. During this slight delay the trailer brakes are still trying to slow you down when you let off the brakes in your 2013 Chevrolet Tahoe....
view full answer... - Troubleshooting A Factory Trailer Brake Controller That Is Not Activating Trailer Brakes
- There are a couple of things you can test on your factory trailer brake controller on your 2010 GMC Sierra 2500.
The first thing I recommend testing is the vehicle and trailer connectors for corrosion. With this being an older vehicle there is a high possibility that there is some corrosion that has built up and is interfering with your trailer's brakes.
If you notice some corrosion, simply clean off the corrosion and check again for functionality.
The next thing you can do is check...
view full answer... - Hopkins Agility Brake Controller # HM47294 Shows Trailer Not Connected on 2005 Ford Truck
- If the Hopkins Agility Brake Controller, part # HM47294, is installed and wired properly, the screen will display one red dot in the bottom right hand corner when a trailer is connected. The screen will be blank when no trailer is connected. I am including a link to the instructions on the Hopkins brake controller.
There are 4 potential problems that could cause the no connection reading on your # HM47294. The 4 possible causes for trailer not connected are as follows.
1. Trailer not...
view full answer... - Trailer Brakes Are Locking Up When Connected To My 2010 Nissan Armada
- There are a couple tests that need to be done to determine if there is a wiring issue on your 2010 Nissan Armada with the Curt TriFlex Trailer Brake Controller # C24VV. With your trailer brakes locking up as soon as the trailer is connected it leads me to believe that the brake switch is sending power when it should not.
The red wire in the Curt Custom Wiring Adapter # C51382 should only see power when the brake pedal is depressed. You can use a Test Light # PTW2992 to test this wire...
view full answer... - How to Terminate Power to the Trailer Brakes When Towing
- There are several ways that you can cut off the power to your trailer brakes. The easiest option would be to simply unplug your brake controller. If the brake controller is disconnected, the brakes will not receive power.
If your brake controller was hardwired and cannot be unplugged, you could cut the brake output wire anywhere between the brake controller and the trailer brakes. The brake output wire is the blue wire coming from the brake controller. This wire color may be different...
view full answer... - Why Would Brake Controller Only Work with Manual Override Lever
- Check the connection of the red wire of your brake controller to your vehicle wiring. Most likely there's an issue here that prevents the brake controller from knowing when you are pressing the brakes to start activating.
view full answer... - Air Actuated Trailer Brake Controller Compatible With Electric Over Hydraulic Trailer Brake Actuator
- Yes, when you press your brake pedal for your air brakes on your truck it will tell your brake controller like the Hayes Air Actuated Trailer Brake Controller # HA100400C to activate the HydraStar Electric Over Hydraulic Actuator # HBA-10 on your trailer. You will need to confirm that your trailer brake controller is compatible with electric over hydraulic brakes like the Hayes unit is.
To test your actuator you can pull the emergency break away cable to ensure that the actuator activates...
view full answer... - Tandem Cargo Trailer Brakes Locking Up On a 2004 Ford F-250 Without Brake Controller
- Trailer brakes activate with electric signal. Your brakes received a signal telling them to lock up so we have to find out why the signal went there.
The most likely culprit is corrosion. Since your trailer has been sitting for a while it has had a chance for corrosion to build up. Check your trailer connector for a whitish/greenish substance in or around the pins and the wire. Corrosion expands as it goes unattended and is pretty wicked because it can actually transfer signal from the...
view full answer... - Electric Brakes on a Horse Trailer Locking Up With No Brake Controller Installed
- Something is incorrectly wired. Since the trailer is locking up when hooked up to another truck, I would say the connector on the trailer is wired wrong. Perhaps someone was trying to use the trailer brakes without purchasing a brake controller and wired the electric brake wire to the same post that powers the brake lights on the trailer. Make sure the brake lights on the trailer work properly. Checking grounds is always a good idea, but some how the wire that supplies power to the brakes...
view full answer... - Troubleshooting Brake Controller Not Showing Connection on 2016 GMC Acadia
- So in order for a brake controller to not sense a trailer connection that means that there is a break somewhere on the blue wire of the controller back to the trailer's brakes. Typically this is a dirty or bent brake output pin on the connector of the vehicle.
Have you checked the condition of the 7-way pins on the vehicle?
Testing the brake controller is fairly easy. Sever the blue brake output wire near the brake controller leaving enough room to reconnect it and then apply the manual...
view full answer...
Go To Results