Troubleshooting Newly Installed Self-Adjusting Brake Not Working Properly

Question:

2007 Fleetwood Americana Utah pop up. Just replace the right brake assy. After hooking up the tow vehicle and applying brakes nothing seems to be happening. Checked the wiring at the new brake assy and that seems to be good. Adjusted the brake controller many times without any success. Brake controller indicates I am hooked up to the trailer. Trailer battery is all but dead. Will that have an impact on the brakes? These are self adjusting. Im assuming I dont need to make adjustments. Is that correct?

asked by: Al L

Expert Reply:

The dead trailer battery will not have an effect on the trailer brakes. The trailer brakes get their power and braking signal directly from the tow vehicle and not the battery on the trailer.

Though the brake assembly is self-adjusting, it can sometimes take an initial adjustment to get the set correctly for the hub, depending on how the brake was set from the factory. This initial adjustment can sometimes be accomplished by driving the trailer in an empty parking lot and applying the brake a number of times to get the proper adjustment.

If a greater adjustment is needed, the assembly may need to be adjusted at the back of the brake as a manual adjustment assembly. This adjustment is only for the initial set-up, and once the brake is properly adjusted for the hub it will self-adjust as the brake pads wear.

expert reply by: Victoria B