One out of Four Trailer Brakes Does Not Work with Brake Controller or with Break Away System

Question:

2010 Cougar 35 ft fifth wheel. Tandem axle. Right rear trailer brake does not work with truck brake pedal or emergency brake away switch on the trailer. The other three brakes function properly.

asked by: Mark M

Expert Reply:

You will need to make sure that all of the grounds for the brakes and the break away system are attached to clean and corrosion free bare metal surfaces. Inspect all of the wiring to make sure there are no loose or frayed wires. And make sure that the trailer connectors on the vehicle and trailer are clean and free of corrosion inside and out.

If your brake assemblies are manual adjust assemblies you might check to make sure they adjusted correctly. To adjust the brake shoes, you would access the brake adjuster from the back of the assembly, and adjust it out until you can no longer turn the trailer wheels by hand. Then, back off about 10 clicks for the optimum placement.

The other possibility is that the brake magnet in the one assembly is bad. I attached an FAQ article on how to troubleshoot it.

expert reply by: Jameson C