Trailer Brakes Not Strong Enough on Brand New Trailer

Question:

Under trailer gain if light bar lights up underneath is it working? I just bought a brand new grifen dump trailer and they have a third of the brakes. Do they just need to wear in? I can be on 10 and they just bearly tug. Electric brakes. 2012 gmc 2500 6.0

asked by: Justin

Expert Reply:

If you are not getting the proper amount of braking on your trailer as you should be then there are a few things you can do to determine what the problem is.

You will want to start off by making sure that your trailer brakes are adjusted correctly. You can use the Brake Adjustment Spoon for Drum Brakes # W80630 to do so. I've attached a video that if you skip to the 11:15 mark we demonstrate how to adjust the brakes.

If you haven't already you will want to make sure that your brake controller is actually sending a signal to the rear of your 2012 GMC Sierra 2500. You can do that using a Circuit Tester # PTW2992 and testing the pin in the 5 o'clock position on your 7-Way. If you are getting very little signal the light on the tester is very weak and you will want to check the ground and the wiring on your GMC. If the wiring looks good then you will want to check the blue wire coming out of the brake controller with your circuit tester. If there is very little strength then you will want to replace your brake controller. If you were getting a signal at the 7-Way on your GMC then you will want to move on to your trailer.

Check the connector on your trailer and the ground and wiring. Make sure the ground has good metal-to-metal contact and that any wiring does not have corrosion, is not bent, exposed, or damaged. Any wiring that you find which looks like that (this could be on your GMC as well) could very well be the problem. You can replace it using 10 Gauge Wiring # 10-1-1 and Butt Connectors # DW05745-5.