Poor Braking Power on Trailer  

Question:

Expert Reply:

The first and most important question would be what type of brakes do you have? The most common is electric drum brakes so we will assume that is what you have but if not please let me know. The first and easiest thing to rule out is the brake controller. Turn the power up to the highest setting, activate the manual override, and probe the blue wire about 6" back. You should be getting a full 12 volts but if not you know the controller is bad and will need to be replaced for which I recommend the Tekonsha Prodigy P2 Trailer Brake Controller part # 90885.

Once you have confirmed the brake controller is working properly you then need to turn your attention to the brake output wire. With the brake controller settings still turned all the way up, have a friend sit in the cab and activate the manual override while you probe the brake output wire at varying pint all the way back to the braking assemblies. You should get very close to 12 volts but a slight drop is to be expected the further back you are. If any of the wire is damaged you can replace it with part # 10-1-1 (per foot).

If the wiring all checks out then the next step would be to check the brake adjustment. If you jack the trailer up and spin the wheel, there should be a slight resistance but not too much. If there is not enough resistance then odds are the assemblies just need adjusted which you can do via the adjuster wheel at the rear if they are not self-adjusting.

The last and final thing to check is the brake magnets which required a bit more work. If you get to this step then you will want to follow the help article which is attached for you that explains how to test the brake magnets. While you are down there, make sure you have the assemblies on the proper side as that does matter as well.

expert reply by: Conner L

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