BamaSixGun
SDD Super Mod/Staff
IF, i had one, still wouldn't know what to check with it or how to use it.
can anyone tell me what i would do with the dead-gum volt meter?
can anyone tell me what i would do with the dead-gum volt meter?
I HATE MY ELECTRIC TRAILER BRAKES
- Thread starter BamaSixGun
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whatabudro
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bama shortbus version-
when your foot goes on the brake pedal that there truck sends voltage to that there trailer
If when she aint workin rite your gettin voltage at that there trailer connector then you knows you got a problem further back dere
If you got voltz further back there at the axle even when they aint workin like they shud then you know you gotta problem with ground
so you go back up to the front and start findin them voltz again until you dont no more and right there is the problem
no da mean?
when your foot goes on the brake pedal that there truck sends voltage to that there trailer
If when she aint workin rite your gettin voltage at that there trailer connector then you knows you got a problem further back dere
If you got voltz further back there at the axle even when they aint workin like they shud then you know you gotta problem with ground
so you go back up to the front and start findin them voltz again until you dont no more and right there is the problem
no da mean?
That's reassuring, but even if he has a mm what on earth is he sposed to measure??? You guys are not being much help here!
I have found GROUND to be the major problem. Take a chunk of romax or other copper and bolt to your truck and to your trailer and see if the problem goes away. If so, you got the FORD ground problem and used to much lube on your ball. If not, you got some flaky connection besides ground, or you have a worthless controller which can be checked by borrowing someone else's trailer.
Good luck. I like HYRDO for these reasons: always there, always ready for the fast stop. No battery, no "gain control", no nada..just drive sane and go.
I have found GROUND to be the major problem. Take a chunk of romax or other copper and bolt to your truck and to your trailer and see if the problem goes away. If so, you got the FORD ground problem and used to much lube on your ball. If not, you got some flaky connection besides ground, or you have a worthless controller which can be checked by borrowing someone else's trailer.
Good luck. I like HYRDO for these reasons: always there, always ready for the fast stop. No battery, no "gain control", no nada..just drive sane and go.
whatabudro
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RSG said:That's reassuring, but even if he has a mm what on earth is he sposed to measure??? You guys are not being much help here!
Actually I'm being plenty of help. The goofing typing above was between me and him and he'll get it. A meter will tell him if his brake controller is sending voltage to the trailer brakes. The first place to check would be in the middle, which would be the trailer connector at the bumper. If you don't have voltage with brakes applied then the problem is on the truck. Next you would see if there voltage at the axle by dragging a good know ground from the truck. If you have voltage at the axle then the problem is the ground, if not then you have a + problem in the trailer wiring or possibley even both.
I have found GROUND to be the major problem. Take a chunk of romax or other copper and bolt to your truck and to your trailer and see if the problem goes away. If so, you got the FORD ground problem and used to much lube on your ball. If not, you got some flaky connection besides ground, or you have a worthless controller which can be checked by borrowing someone else's trailer.
You could spend all day repairing problems you haven't even diagnosed yet.
Or you could use a meter, analog or digital and find the problem quickly. Then repair it quickly. 99% of trailer lighting and braking issues are from the yahoo's that wired it in the first place or repaired it, and from loose connections in the trailer connector.
Good luck. I like HYRDO for these reasons: always there, always ready for the fast stop. No battery, no "gain control", no nada..just drive sane and go.
- If you got the chains hooked like you should then a greased ball wouldn't matter anyway.
powerboatr
living well in Texas
spend the money for a brakesmart
with the loads you pull you need dependable stuff stopping YOU
with the loads you pull you need dependable stuff stopping YOU
WD40
Full Access Member
http://www.bitware.com/5er/BrakeSmart.htm
Ck it out from someone who has one.
Ck it out from someone who has one.
BamaSixGun
SDD Super Mod/Staff
hey budro, i did get it, that was purtty good bryan.
i have been thru these problems before and ground was never the problem.
9 times out of 10, the magnets on the brakes were bad, but i had 2 replaced not long ago.
once, it was a 5 cent 3way connector on the backplate.
even with the info on the MM, im still lost on how to use it.
i think robert may have my solution, we have talked about it before over the phone while i was goin down the road one day.
i don't run a ball hitch, its a 5th. and it sets on a teflon pad, the trailer is grounded at the battery charger on the trailer, so its good.
maybe i will have a chance to check it out over the next few days, gotta go to nashville on wednesday.
check back later with the progress.
thanks for all the help, keep it coming.
NA-MEAN YA'LL
i have been thru these problems before and ground was never the problem.
9 times out of 10, the magnets on the brakes were bad, but i had 2 replaced not long ago.
once, it was a 5 cent 3way connector on the backplate.
even with the info on the MM, im still lost on how to use it.
i think robert may have my solution, we have talked about it before over the phone while i was goin down the road one day.
i don't run a ball hitch, its a 5th. and it sets on a teflon pad, the trailer is grounded at the battery charger on the trailer, so its good.
maybe i will have a chance to check it out over the next few days, gotta go to nashville on wednesday.
check back later with the progress.
thanks for all the help, keep it coming.
NA-MEAN YA'LL
BamaSixGun
SDD Super Mod/Staff
OH YEAH, didn't mention this before, and don't know if it really will help in diag my problem.
all the trailer lights work fine (and theres alot of them), even when i hit the brakes, the trailer brake lights go all out.
just thought it may help to know.
all the trailer lights work fine (and theres alot of them), even when i hit the brakes, the trailer brake lights go all out.
just thought it may help to know.
dpantazis
#12
Crumm- how does a hydraulic brake work with a 5th wheel trailer? i mean, what is the actuator like?
bama-
i don't have experince with a big trailer like this so i may not know what i am talking about. i am sure someone will correct me if i am wrong.
you say you have lots of lights on the brake circuit? are they wired to a seperate relay or all in series with the brakes. if you have lots of lights and the elec brake controller is pulling from the same circuit, then i would check for voltage drop at the controller and wheel magnets. might not be an issue but without knowing how your trailer is wired, might be something to check.
also, do you use dielectric grease in the connectors? corrosion of the pins will make for bad contacts. use contact cleaner and grease.
Fluke is a great meter but for the rest of us who occasionally use a meter, a simple cheapy one will suffice. $30 max at sears or radio shack. something to test for voltage and resistance/continuty is fine. plus it will come with de-structions. audio feature is handy too.
Meter means nothing unless you KNOW what you are checking for. hheynow posted a good link to trailer wiring- trailer wiring linky
HERE is a page with basic usage. not the greatest pictures, but better than retyping it here for general info.
so with a MM, red lead to red socket (it may have 2, pick the right one), black lead to black socket. turn the knob to 20V DC.
Start at the TRUCK side of the connector- use the reference picture of the trailer wiring plug, put the black to the ground pin, the red to the 12V pin. meter will read 12V hopefully. next, put on the hazards and check the RT/LF blinker pins with the red lead. then put on the lights and check the tail light pin. now that you have a good feel that you can make the meter work right, check the brakes.
ask helper to depress brake pedal and check for voltage at the blue elec brake wire pin. read the voltage. it should be 12V +/-. now plug in the trailer lead.
on the trailer, you have to find a place to check the voltage and a new gound. poping off the wiring cover to the elec brake is one place to start. if there is no ground wire inside, a piece of CLEAN bare metal should suffice, or if the lead will reach the ground cable, that should work.
have the helper depress the brake pedal and read the voltage again. (you may have to turn the meter back on if it auto powered down). read the voltage again. it should not be too different than you got at the truck. if its more than say 1/2 volt, try to disable the brake lights and try again. if its closer to the original, i would suspect the lights are drawing too much off the brake circuit and i would look at putting in a relay AFTER the trailer brake.
that 1/2 volt number is a WAG on my part. maybe JLD or PB or someone smarter than me can correct me on that number- could be more or less in difference.
then i would check to see the voltage at the wheels at the magnets. i have no clue how they are wired or how they work. but as you can propably guess, its going to be a PITA to get the wheels off and check the magnets.
hopefully someone can finish this up.
dennis
bama-
i don't have experince with a big trailer like this so i may not know what i am talking about. i am sure someone will correct me if i am wrong.
you say you have lots of lights on the brake circuit? are they wired to a seperate relay or all in series with the brakes. if you have lots of lights and the elec brake controller is pulling from the same circuit, then i would check for voltage drop at the controller and wheel magnets. might not be an issue but without knowing how your trailer is wired, might be something to check.
also, do you use dielectric grease in the connectors? corrosion of the pins will make for bad contacts. use contact cleaner and grease.
Fluke is a great meter but for the rest of us who occasionally use a meter, a simple cheapy one will suffice. $30 max at sears or radio shack. something to test for voltage and resistance/continuty is fine. plus it will come with de-structions. audio feature is handy too.
Meter means nothing unless you KNOW what you are checking for. hheynow posted a good link to trailer wiring- trailer wiring linky
HERE is a page with basic usage. not the greatest pictures, but better than retyping it here for general info.
so with a MM, red lead to red socket (it may have 2, pick the right one), black lead to black socket. turn the knob to 20V DC.
Start at the TRUCK side of the connector- use the reference picture of the trailer wiring plug, put the black to the ground pin, the red to the 12V pin. meter will read 12V hopefully. next, put on the hazards and check the RT/LF blinker pins with the red lead. then put on the lights and check the tail light pin. now that you have a good feel that you can make the meter work right, check the brakes.
ask helper to depress brake pedal and check for voltage at the blue elec brake wire pin. read the voltage. it should be 12V +/-. now plug in the trailer lead.
on the trailer, you have to find a place to check the voltage and a new gound. poping off the wiring cover to the elec brake is one place to start. if there is no ground wire inside, a piece of CLEAN bare metal should suffice, or if the lead will reach the ground cable, that should work.
have the helper depress the brake pedal and read the voltage again. (you may have to turn the meter back on if it auto powered down). read the voltage again. it should not be too different than you got at the truck. if its more than say 1/2 volt, try to disable the brake lights and try again. if its closer to the original, i would suspect the lights are drawing too much off the brake circuit and i would look at putting in a relay AFTER the trailer brake.
that 1/2 volt number is a WAG on my part. maybe JLD or PB or someone smarter than me can correct me on that number- could be more or less in difference.
then i would check to see the voltage at the wheels at the magnets. i have no clue how they are wired or how they work. but as you can propably guess, its going to be a PITA to get the wheels off and check the magnets.
hopefully someone can finish this up.
dennis
Last edited:
powerboatr
living well in Texas
bama-six-gun said:
Stephen
dennis just said a mouthful but dead on.
the statement about your lights going out??
i thought maybe you were messing with me sat. but your LEDS under your tailgate kept flickering on and off on the way back from anniston, every now and then they would go OFF then come back on , happened on a cycle that was odd enough i thought you were turning em on and off. I dont know how everything is wired but maybe you got a grounding issue on the chassis somewhere.
how do you have everything wired?
hope you can figure it out .
on a side note , if you find the horns are causing your ground problems, i could be persuaded to take em off your hands
