Brakes for equipment trailer not working

[pmer]

I just got a new 20 foot tilt bed trailer and having trouble with the brakes not working. I traded a 2016 goose neck trailer for it and the brakes worked good at that point.

Round 7 pin trailer connectors
Old brake controller with the slider

With the gooseneck I had really good brakes on the trailer.

On the new trailer with the controller set at max it only shows 1.5 to 2.7 volts on its display when it should read about 12 volts. And the brakes don't seem to be grabbing at all.

I do have warranty but the dealer is an hour away so I thought I'd see if there's something I could check at home.

[DougGuy]

Check your ground first.

[Winger Ed.]

Check your ground first.

^^^^this^^^

Most people take it for granted, but the grounding circuit is just as important as the power supply one.

The common 'It grounds through the hitch ball' is a myth.

[pmer]

Sounds like a good tip to verify the ground. I should add the trailer lights do work .

[abunaitoo]

Yep. Check the ground.

[Winger Ed.]

Sounds like a good tip to verify the ground. I should add the trailer lights do work .

Trailers are full of little tricks.

The brakes might take way more power to operate compared to the lights.
If the ground isn't good & solid, the lights may work, but not the brakes.
The brakes may a different wire & their own ground than the lights.
A separate, good & heavy, solid ground wire from the trailer frame to the truck frame has always worked for me.

Wiring connectors up under the rear of the tow vehicle is another good place to check too.

Another option is call the dealer.
He might be more than glad to walk you through the common problems rather than doing free work.

[Soundguy]

Yup.. I've had trailer with good lights and bad breaks..found crummy crush connectors at the brake magnets..coroded.

Lastly..check the mechanical parts of the brakes.. If the shoes are stuck and can't move..magnet won't start the pull. Many are self energizing once the magnet starts the pu..but they gotta move free.

[metricmonkeywrench]

I had a new trailer that the brake wiring was messed up from the factory, as a quick check hold a compass next to each wheel wheel and have a helper apply the brakes. The needle will let you know if their working

[hoodat]

This won't work for air brakes.:razz::razz: jd

[elmacgyver0]

This won't work for air brakes.:razz::razz: jd

You need a wind gauge.

[Soundguy]

This won't work for air brakes.:razz::razz: jd

20' tilt with air brakes? Um..ok...

[megasupermagnum]

One issue I've run into, especially on tilt trailers is that the ground doesn't always travel through the entire frame. You may have good ground right at the tongue, but you may not have good continuity through the bolts to the rest of the frame. Honestly it's pretty lame that trailer manufacturers cheap out like this anyway. There's not a lot on trailers, and for what they cost they really should have a negative wire directly to all the components.

[pmer]

On the truck I went through connections just off the 7 blade connector and did find some corrosion. I can't complain about grounds they seem good and or better on the truck side. The ground from the trailer connector to the trailer, a white wire that goes to metal on the front of the trailer is good too.

I fired up the truck and rolled the combo with the trailer break away switch pulled out and activated and that didn't energize the trailer brakes either. the trailers battery box has a test button and that showed "full charge" at the start of the test. I suppose that puts the issue on the trailer.

That gooseneck got too big for my needs and this tilt bed is more versatile as far loading cars or antique pulling tractors or big mowers. The beaver tail was too steep for some of the things I could haul.

[megasupermagnum]

As I said, you can have good ground to the trailer tongue, but it is very possible you do not have continuity to the trailer brakes. Especially on a tilt trailer which has a separate tongue and frame, the only way the ground gets to the back of the trailers is through bolts/pins. Often the connection is poor. If you take an ohm meter, put one end on the trailer tongue metal, then the other to the ground wire to a trailer brake. You should se next to 0 ohms. 2 ohms is fine. 20 ohms might not be.

[DougGuy]

On the truck I went through connections just off the 7 blade connector and did find some corrosion. I can't complain about grounds they seem good and or better on the truck side. The ground from the trailer connector to the trailer, a white wire that goes to metal on the front of the trailer is good too.

I fired up the truck and rolled the combo with the trailer break away switch pulled out and activated and that didn't energize the trailer brakes either. the trailers battery box has a test button and that showed "full charge" at the start of the test. I suppose that puts the issue on the trailer.

That gooseneck got too big for my needs and this tilt bed is more versatile as far loading cars or antique pulling tractors or big mowers. The beaver tail was too steep for some of the things I could haul.

Time to call the bakery! I realize this thread was about seeing if you could find something obvious but looks like everything is checking good on your vehicle so I would call the mfgr and take it back to them and let them troubleshoot it.

I would start FIRST by taking the trailer, DISCONNECTING the plug from the truck, and getting THEM to check their work BEFORE I would let them start on the whole thing otherwise you may end up being billed for them chasing their own mistake(s). Make sure the trailer is as they say it's supposed to be and THEN connect the truck to it and go after the problem.

[pmer]

306047

Here's a picture of a tilt bed for S&Gs. I can see what Mega means about a ground connection to the bed.

[Kylongrifle32]

Pull a wheel and remove the brake drum. If the trailer has been sitting in a damp environment the drum may be rusted and not letting the magnet grab on to it to force the cam to apply the brakes.

You can check the magnets power with a wrench while someone applies the brake.

Also check the brake drums inner surface where the shoes make contact. Rusted drums will effect braking efficiency until they get cleaned up.

[Soundguy]

Ditto both what MSM and KY said. Ground at brakes and shoes. A brand new trailer I bought had the brake electromagnets wirenutted in..poorly..resulting in no brakes on a new trailer. Ps.. Lots of trailer Fab is with pre painted metal that then gets weld touch up paint..cant tell you enough how insulative paint is...

[pmer]

So I had some time to look around the axles and that's where I found some troubles. The rear axle ground wire for the brake was open, it might've been a poor crimp. But the front axle had the brake wire routed under a U bolt and was pinched short to the axle?!
I pulled on it some and got it free of the U bolt and the brake controller went up to 12 volts like normal.

[Finster101]

So I had some time to look around the axles and that's where I found some troubles. The rear axle ground wire for the brake was open, it might've been a poor crimp. But the front axle had the brake wire routed under a U bolt and was pinched short to the axle?!
I pulled on it some and got it free of the U bolt and the brake controller went up to 12 volts like normal.



Makes me think I would be giving the entire trailer a good once over if you haven't already.

[Rickf1985]

I just bought a new trailer not long ago with a 12,000 lb gross weight weight rating and the brakes sucked. Brand new!! I was told the brakes have to "break in". I have been a master mechanic for 45 years and if I ever let a vehicle out of my shop where the breaks had to "break in" I would lose my license!!!! But sure enough, trailer breaks now have to break in, there is even a procedure you are supposed to follow. Considering I needed mine right away to haul equipment I can tell you that stopping a 8K truck and a 12K trailer with very little trailer brakes was puckering to say the least. But they did finally "break in".

[georgerkahn]

One issue I've run into, especially on tilt trailers is that the ground doesn't always travel through the entire frame. You may have good ground right at the tongue, but you may not have good continuity through the bolts to the rest of the frame. Honestly it's pretty lame that trailer manufacturers cheap out like this anyway. There's not a lot on trailers, and for what they cost they really should have a negative wire directly to all the components.

This is imho super good advice! Tooo many hours spent (really means "wasted") fixing lights and (electric) brakes on my Carry-On trailer for Kubota tractor until I "bit the bullet" and applied a pair of diagonal cutting pliers to each and every light as well as brakes. I then wired TWO wires to each -- the 2nd being the ground. This was three years back, and -- after snow melted -- I again plugged trailer into my truck this past Spring -- to have ALL lights AND the brakes functioning perfectly. Something I noticed, too, which may very well be worth mentioning is my tail lights really appear brighter since I did the added/re-wire.
geo

[DougGuy]

So I had some time to look around the axles and that's where I found some troubles. The rear axle ground wire for the brake was open, it might've been a poor crimp. But the front axle had the brake wire routed under a U bolt and was pinched short to the axle?!
I pulled on it some and got it free of the U bolt and the brake controller went up to 12 volts like normal.

This is exactly the kind of stuff that made me suggest you bring them the trailer and unhook it, make THEM do their own troubleshooting, on their dime, as it should be.

[megasupermagnum]

This is exactly the kind of stuff that made me suggest you bring them the trailer and unhook it, make THEM do their own troubleshooting, on their dime, as it should be.

That's probably a good idea if more issues pop up. He says the dealer is an hour away. If the issues is simple, it might be less time and effort to just fix it yourself. That's something he has to decide.

[pmer]

I think I'll just fix the wires here at home. But yes it's a quality control issue and I'll have to call the dealer and let them know. Hopefully they'll check for this on upcoming sales. They did have some type of post sale check before I hooked up to it. The brakes didn't work then but it was 15 minutes after closing time when I pulled out of there. I wasn't too worried about stopping empty because my F450 has strong brakes. I also had to drill out the hole in the bumper of the flat bed for a 15,000 ball and make accommodations connect the safety chains from trailer. (switched from gooseneck to bumper hitch.) The ball has a bigger thread then what was there and I had a 3\4'' drive socket to tighten it.

They mentioned a break in for the brakes and that they might even smoke too. The brake wiring has the grounds going into the wire harness so it looks to be a 2 wire like Geo did with his trailer.

The gooseneck was in good shape and went up in value. I got the trailer, a winch for it and a spare and only had cover fees and etc.

[DougGuy]

Wow either they have improved electric brakes tremendously, or the smaller trailers really don't need break-in. I worked in a trailer shop once and built dozens of trailers, all sizes and types, and we never worried about break-in but that was 25yrs ago too..

Electric drum brakes will require a break-in period to achieve full performance. This break-in period applies for new axles and any time new brake shoes and/or magnets are installed as part of regular maintenance. This break-in period not only seats the shoe lining material but also seats in the brake electro-magnets.

Here is a really well done .pdf file on breaking in electric brakes that's worth saving...

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj28dDx9v36AhUdFFkFHRuxCFgQFnoECA4QAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Flci-support-doc.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ftechnical-information-sheets%2Faxles-and-suspension%2Fccd-0001947.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1sF9nRgQgrkShbTdVdz3jS