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Member
Posts: 14
Location: Virginia | I'm the only owner of my 2013 Homesteader 2H BP and haul out to trail ride nearly every weekend but haven't done any serious mountain driving. My brake controller is a very old Draw-Tite Activator II. About a month ago, I started having very little trailer braking even when I adjust the sync and voltage settings on the controller. The digital display on the controller doesn't indicate a problem at all. Is it still likely to be a controller problem or is it more likely that the brakes on my almost new trailer are going bad? Thanx in advance for your insights. |
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Regular
Posts: 97
Location: mancelona michigan | First thing to look at are the electrical connections in the bumper plug.It doesnt take many years to get corrosion going on there. Second,when were the brakes adjusted last? Next,check the wireing on the axles,particularly the grounds.These too are subject to corrosion and being pulled completely off bu objects in the road or fields. |
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Member
Posts: 14
Location: Virginia | Thanks for your response. The connector at the bumper is brand new as I had it replaced when I bought the horse trailer. The trailer brakes have never been adjusted as the trailer is only a year and half old. My understanding is that the digital display on the controller would let me know if there was an electrical continuity problem. Is that not the case? I'm thinking I should take the rig to the service and repair place. Just wondering if it's likely that I'll have to replace the controller. Thanks again. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 448
Location: Los Angeles, Ca. | Pull the wheels off and make sure that the grease seals haven't failed and contaminated the brake linings. I would try adjusting the brakes first.....easy thing to do. |
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Regular
Posts: 97
Location: mancelona michigan | The display on the controler will show the voltage available to the brakes but not the actual amperage being sent.A bad ground or corroded connection will still show the voltage available,but the ammount of actual current passing thru it will be severly resricted.The brake wires should be capable of supplying 5 amps or so to each magnet. The only way to really be sure is with an ampmeter connected in the hot supply line.You can buy clamp on meters and they are really useful for other 12vdc work.On the other hand,if you dont really understand how electricity works,you are better off takeing it somewhere.It IS possible to screw up some very expensive components if the wrong wire gets in the wrong place! |
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Member
Posts: 14
Location: Virginia | Thanx for the help. I'm going to pull the wheels and examine the brakes and also use an ampmeter to check the amperage. If I don't get a clue, I'll haul it to the service place. Thank you all again. |
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Regular
Posts: 97
Location: mancelona michigan | If you pull the drums DO NOT blow the dirt and dust off of the components with compressed air. The resuting dust cloud would be very toxic and unhealthy. If they are dexter brakes,there are two cutaway areas along the edge of the drum where you can look inside with a flashlite and see the clearence between the shoes and the drum.If you cane "see" clearence you should adjust them up,but the wheel/tire must be on to do thatso as to gage the drag more acurately. You really should only pull the wheels and drums if you have to because when you do there is a good chance you will mess up the rear drum seal or introduce brake dirt into the bearings.The other thing is that then you will have to do the retorque thing on the wheels every 100-500 miles untill they dont move,and thats a pita. |
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Regular
Posts: 97
Location: mancelona michigan | Another thing,as was mentioned,the greas sels could be pushed out letting wb grease into the drums,but if they are there is usually a wet residue in the area at the drum/backing plate where it gets thrown out. If you have bearing buddies or an easy lube axle its not uncommon for people to get crazy with the grease gun and over lube them,thus forceing the seal out.Two or three pumps every2000 miles or once a season is enough and NEVER use an air boosted grease gun because you wont be able to "feel" when the hub cavity is full and doesnt need more grease. Always rotate the wheel/hub when greaseing it too. |
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Expert
Posts: 3853
  
Location: Vermont | Originally written by jpeil on 2014-08-04 2:52 PM
Thanks for your response. The connector at the bumper is brand new as I had it replaced when I bought the horse trailer. The trailer brakes have never been adjusted as the trailer is only a year and half old. My understanding is that the digital display on the controller would let me know if there was an electrical continuity problem. Is that not the case? I'm thinking I should take the rig to the service and repair place. Just wondering if it's likely that I'll have to replace the controller. Thanks again. Trailer brakes should be adjusted after the first three hundred miles and then trailer brakes should be adjusted at least once a year, more often depending on the miles travelled, the severity of the downhill grades, and the amount of stop and go traffic that is encountered. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 342
Location: MS | I am having a problem with my controller, too. It just doesn't feel like it is really engaging the brakes. And I tried two different trailers on it. If I adjust it, it doesn't stop the trailer...or even slow it down...just using the controller. And no matter how hard I stop,the light doesn't turn orange to show the brakes are engaged. My controller is simple...doesn't have any digital display. I guess I need to replace it? |
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Member
Posts: 14
Location: Virginia | I bought the trailer new and have definitely put more than 300 miles on it. Maybe just an adjustment is all that's required. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 522
Location: Tucumcari NM | Check the ground cable. Mine broke and no brakes. Fixed the ground and added a ground to the second axle just because. Works like new again. |
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Member
Posts: 30
Location: Big Prairie, Ohio | Had an older controller say 10 yrs- no digital readout. Was in the truck when purchased. Had some issues with slow braking then no brakes. Instead of wasting time chasing wiring and wanting a digital readout with the option of changing size of trailers from 2h BP to 3H LQ, got a Prodigy P3. Everything worked perfect and real easy to use. Brakes and wiring were fine. Unit lets you know if no connection even after you've plugged the trailer in if there is a problem. Not saying this is a quick fix for your situation but it worked for us. Our safety as well as our horses was worth the $145 spent. Took less than 10 min to install. |
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Member
Posts: 14
Location: Virginia | I've hooked up a different truck with a known good controller and good connections; still very little braking on the trailer. Having the trailer brakes adjusted tomorrow. Hopefully that's all that will be required. Thanks again. |
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Expert
Posts: 2953
Location: North Carolina | I found a single wheel brake problem this way: Jack the trailer till the wheels are free of the ground. While an assistant, using the manual control of the brake controller applied the brakes, I spun each wheel. The brake should grab and hold the wheel so you can't turn it by hand anymore. Eventually found that the magnet failed in the one wheel without brakes. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 342
Location: MS | Getting my brake controller replaced today. I hope that solves the problem, but if it doesn't I am going to try what HOSSPULLER said. |
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Expert
Posts: 5870
Location: western PA | I have a gravel drive way. With the trailer empty, I set the brake controller to just lock the brakes on the gravel. Set this way, with a load and when traveling on a solid surface, the brakes are close to optimum and will not lock up. It is a very quick and simple matter to determine if your brakes are working, and which ones aren't, by using the manual override whilst pulling the trailer on dirt or gravel. You can also determine how badly the brakes are adjusted and which ones need attention. This whole initial inspection can be accomplished in less than a minute with no tools. For proper operation, the brakes should be adjusted. Another drag test will quickly illustrate the success of your efforts. If a brake doesn't then activate, further inspection will be necessary. Unnecessary pulling of the drums for brake inspections, can result in damaged seals, contaminated grease in the bearings and a bit of messy labour. In many cases of poor trailer braking, a simple adjustment may all be that is necessary. The amount of wear the brakes receive is dependent on your driving style, the terrain of travels, and the amount of mileage the trailer is used. I've see decades old trailers with the brake components rusted to failure, and the braking surfaces only partially worn. I've seen a three year old trailer with scored drums, because the shoes were metal to metal. Everyone has his own trailer maintenance schedule based on the weight of the trailer, and how frequently the brakes are used. Once you can anticipate what the future wear will be, according to your travels, periodic maintenance can keep your trailer at a peak performance |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 342
Location: MS | Swapped out the brake controller to one with a digital display. Boy, do I have brakes now! Set them all the way up and it locked the brakes. NEVER could get the old one to do that. |
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Veteran
Posts: 122
Location: Monroe, WA | That is good to hear. I have an old controller, 10 years,(don't remember the brand). With my 2 horse, I have it adjusted about 1/3 the way over. For my 3H LQ, I have to have it as high as it will go. I asked about it at the RV shop last week and he said it was fine that it was on high. Makes me wonder if I don't need a different one. |
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Regular
Posts: 76
Location: iowa | You do have to have your brakes adjusted periodically, I thought I had a bad controller as is over 12 years old but needed shoe adjustment. |
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Veteran
Posts: 122
Location: Monroe, WA | It has been 2 years that I had new brakes done. They didn't work well right away, claiming they needed to be used. That did help. Not sure how often they need adjusting but I might have that checked. Thanks. |
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New User
Posts: 1
Location: Ramona, CA | Just a quick question. Many of you are saying to run a test ground wire from the trailer to the truck and see if the brakes work. I have a featerlite that gets continuity on the 3 pins adjacent to the ground on the factory 7 pin connector. If the main ground is failing/bad, will the turn signals, brake lights and running lights still work, but not have enough contact for the brakes? |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 736
Location: Western WA | I just took my trailer in to have a broken window replaced and didn't feel like I have enough brakes, even with the trailer empty. The manual control on the brake controller didn't have any effect. I have enough brakes at slow speeds, but it feels like the trailer brakes aren't getting the signal to use more force at higher speeds. I have an older controller. Bearings packed on the trailer and new truck brakes last fall. My gut was saying bad controller but after reading all the issues here I wonder if I had a bad bearing pack that got grease on my trailer brakes or if I have a more complicated electrical issue. I hate to have the service place pull the wheels and check the bearings if they are fine, since they just got packed, if its likely a bad controller. Thoughts? |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 448
Location: Los Angeles, Ca. | Have you ever adjusted the brakes? See the Dexter Axle website for instructions |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 736
Location: Western WA | I would have thought adjusting the brakes would have been done after the bearing pack. At least checked. Trailer hasn't gone 20 miles since then and no downhill and no load so I didn't notice the soft/unresponsive brakes after the bearing pack.
I have the trailer in getting a window replaced (different service place than who did the bearing pack) and I've asked them to adjust the brakes while its there. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 448
Location: Los Angeles, Ca. | Some older controllers have an adjustment on them to "level" the sensor on the controller.....check that. Also, put a test light on the brake pin at the connector and manually operate the controller...the light should go from off to bright as you slide the switch on the controller. |
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Do Brake Controllers Gradually Go Bad?
