Troubleshooting Trailer Brakes that Lock Up When Brakes are Pressed

Question:

Hello I have a duel axel 14k car trailer it was built in 2022 of September and I let it sit for winter with no covers. Well I went to use it and my left two axles when I would brake on the lowest power setting were locking up fully and smoking the tires. The left side I’m assuming had a ton of rain on into it since I live in Washington. I drove it for about 20 miles and it didn’t get any better so I have parked it. Any ideas of what to check and look for or replace? Should I just replace the brakes?. Could I have a wiring issue?

asked by: Ty

Expert Reply:

When this happens it's almost always a short between the stoplight circuit and the brake output circuit which then puts full 12 volts on the brakes when they are just barely touched. Easy way to test this is to apply the blinker on that side of the trailer and see if the brakes pulse with the blinker.

Only solution is to go over the wiring of the trailer and clean up any obvious shorts like cut or exposed wiring.

expert reply by: Jameson C