Weak Electric Trailer Brakes on New Trailer Towed by Honda Odyssey

Question:

Just bought a new camper. Happier Camper model HC1. Weighs about 1,500lbs loaded. Pulling it with Honda Odyssey with Prodigy p2 controller. Controller worked fine with our old Jayco tent trailer over 3,000 lbs loaded.. My problem is weak braking. Cant lock up wheels as instructed in controller manual for setting gain. Even at max gain setting of 13, the camper brakes wont lock up at low speed when applying the brake manually at the controller. There is some braking. I manually adjusted the brakes for min clearance between shoes an drum even though camper is new about 1000 miles on it now. If I jack up the wheels, I can get each wheel to lock so that I cant rotate it by hand at a gain setting of about 2-3 when I gradually apply the manual brake. Both sides are about the same. I even checked with the axle manufacturer and the said I should have no issue with being able to lock up the brakes. The display on the controller is working fine and shows increasing proportional gain as I apply the tow vehicle brakes. I have not pulled the drums to inspect the brake assemblies, but they are new. Can I measure voltage on each side to make sure each side is getting proper voltage? Should it increase proportionally i.e. 0-12 volts as I manually apply the trailer brake? What voltage should I expect? Or, do I need to measure current too? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

asked by: Angelo P

Expert Reply:

You mentioned that you manually adjusted the brakes. I bring this up because what you describe sounds like the brakes need further adjustment. When adjusted out properly you should hear a slight by constant drag of the shoes on the drum when you turn the wheel by hand. If you are not hearing that drag then that would be the problem.

With the wheels off the ground it takes almost nothing to "lock" up the brakes so that test does not tell us anything other than power is getting to the brakes. But power getting to the brakes is a good thing so that's a plus.

You can test the magnets on the brakes. I have included a help article that explains exactly how to test the magnets and what to look for. If you do not already have a meter you can get one using # PT89ZR.

Other things you can check include the vehicle and trailer side connectors. Make sure each is clean and free of corrosion inside, where the wires attach, and outside on the pins. You can also inspect the trailer side wiring and look for any pinched or damaged wires and repair as needed. Also make sure the main trailer connector ground and the brake magnet grounds are attach to clean, bare metal surfaces.

If the trailer has a breakaway system be sure to inspect its wiring as well since it is part of the braking system.

expert reply by: Michael H