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justme's avatar
justme
Explorer
Nov 04, 2015

Electric brakes

A vandal took my brake-away lanyard that energized my brakes to where the batteries ran down completely. Does anyone know if the brake magnets could be damaged for being energized until two batteries go dead over many hours? The brakes magnets are for Dexter 7,000 lb axels. The resistance reading is one ohm which may be ok with 4 magnets in parallel that are 4 ohms each. However, that does not rule out shorted windings. Does anyone have experience with this situation?

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  • Fulltimer50's avatar
    Fulltimer50
    Explorer
    Nov 04, 2015
    I dont see how it could cause any damage to the brakes. The mags get a lot hotter when in use than they could just being on. Only way to tell for sure is to repair/replace the switch, charge up the batteries and go for a ride.
  • MFL's avatar
    MFL
    Nomad II
    Nov 04, 2015
    I have read that if you pull the plug, to test the brakes, that you should not do it for a long while. I'm not sure of what possible damage, maybe others will know.

    Jerry

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