Electric Brakes on Car Trailer Lock Up as Soon as Vehicle Brakes are Applied

Question:

I browwed a car tailer an I wire its brakes to my stop light switch! I have no brake contoler . The tailer brake on the right side lock up as soon as the brakes are applyed. Is normal because of no brake controler in the the truck? Would backing off the brake ajustment Help?

asked by: Tom C

Expert Reply:

If you are towing a trailer equipped with electric brakes, and you want them to actuate safely, you will need to install a brake controller on the tow vehicle.

A proportional brake controller like the Tekonsha Primus, part # TK90160 will sense at what rate the tow vehicle is braking. It will then send the appropriate amount of voltage to the trailer brakes so that the brakes of the trailer and the tow vehicle work in tandem to bring the vehicle and trailer to a safe, predictable and reliable stop.

We also offer lower-priced time delayed brake controllers like the Tekonsha PowerTrac, part # 39523 that would be a safer alternative than how your trailer brakes are currently being actuated.

Having the trailer brakes wired as they currently are does not allow for any modulation. The brakes are either off, or fully on. As you have seen, this causes the brakes to lock up. This is an extremely unsafe situation, and I cannot recommend leaving the trailer wired this way or changing the adjustment of the brakes. I would strongly urge you to install a brake controller. If you would care to respond with the year, make and model of the tow vehicle, I would be happy to provide you with some brake controller installation details.

expert reply by: Mike L