Trailer Brakes Dont Engage Completely and Brake Controller Not Showing Full Power

Question:

Ok, I have a 16’ lowboy trailer that I tow 6 days out of the week that I’d equipped with two 6k axles with brakes on the front axle. I tow this trailer with a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado 2509hd 6.6L that is equipped with this brake controller and has had it for a couple of years now. It has worked flawlessly up until a few days ago when I noticed the output indicator bars were only showing 2-3 bars while I had the gain and the output level all the way up. I inspected all wiring on vehicle and trailer and found one of the wires connecting the brake to the junction box on the trailer had came apart so I repaired it and the problem still remains. I can feel the brakes engage but not nearly like they have been up to this point and the controller is still only showing 2-3 bars out of I believe 7 with gain and tension both set at maximum. I have another controller I can plug in and see if that changes anything but I don’t think it displays actual output level, so any help would be excellent. Thanks in advance!

asked by: Mason P

Expert Reply:

It sounds like there might still be some wiring issues in addition to the one that you found, but I think your best bet to start with this issue is by pulling the pin on the breakaway system on the trailer; this will allow us to figure out if these issues are being caused by the brakes/wiring or if the problem lies somewhere else. If you pull the pin and the brakes don't lock up completely, the issue is going to be on the brakes and/or brake wiring; if the brakes lock up completely, we can narrow this down to an issue in front of the breakaway battery-most likely on the 7 way connector of the trailer or the vehicle itself.

If you can let me know what happens with this initial test, I can continue to help you troubleshoot this issue.

expert reply by: Erik B