Forum Discussion

outdoordb's avatar
outdoordb
Explorer
Aug 15, 2014

Brakes Locking up

My sister purchased a 2006 Star craft 23SRG towed it home from NJ to MD then from MD to GA with no problems. Then half way home on her return trip from GA when she applied the brakes they started grabbing and locking up. She backed them way off and made it home. She took it to a shop and they did a bunch of things totaling $600.00 Replaced shoes and magnets and turned drums and still locked up. She took it back and they swapped out controllers, ran a new wire from controller to back of vehicle adjusted brakes and it’s still real touchy and locks up at slower speed. They said they tested it on one of their trucks and it worked fine. She’stowing it with a 2004 Toyota 4Runner that has never towed anything prior to her buying it. They are now saying it may be her alternator putting out too much voltage. Any thoughts? Thanks
  • bguy's avatar
    bguy
    Explorer
    Aug 20, 2014
    outdoordb wrote:
    The controller it a Tekonsha Voyager.


    My voyager brake controller has 2 adjustment knobs and a very specific method for adjusting both. If either is misadjusted you will have brake issues.
  • MFL's avatar
    MFL
    Nomad II
    Aug 20, 2014
    Lynnmor, to help you understand, what happens, you set your controller up, due to lack of braking. The next time you use brakes, it is too much. The shorting makes it impossible to adjust the controller to have normal trailer brakes.



    I've been there,
    Jerry
  • Lynnmor's avatar
    Lynnmor
    Explorer
    Aug 20, 2014
    MFL wrote:
    If your brake wires run inside the axle, there is a good chance of having a bare wire inside, causing the brakes to lock. In time these wires chafe, and can work good one time, and not the next, due to wire movement inside.

    This will cause the brakes to lock when applied.

    Jerry


    I'm not sure how that would work. Shorting the wires that feed the magnets, it seems to me, would result in no brakes.
  • MFL's avatar
    MFL
    Nomad II
    Aug 20, 2014
    If your brake wires run inside the axle, there is a good chance of having a bare wire inside, causing the brakes to lock. In time these wires chafe, and can work good one time, and not the next, due to wire movement inside.

    This will cause the brakes to lock when applied.

    Easy test, is to disconnect existing crossover wires (ones inside axle), and run new wires on outside of axle, just taping them to outside of axle.

    Jerry
  • joshuajim's avatar
    joshuajim
    Explorer II
    Aug 20, 2014
    There is a slim possibility that the mechanic installed the secondary shoe on the primary side.
  • jfkmk's avatar
    jfkmk
    Explorer
    Aug 15, 2014
    $600 is a lot of money to throw at a problem and not fix it. Brakes aren't really that complicated. It seems to me, at least in my 20-20 hindsight, that if the brakes are locking up or that sensitive, they would have checked the voltage first, since the amount of voltage controls the amount of braking pressure.

    As Dave pointed out, it's a very quick check. Volt meters are very cheap and you can certainly check it yourself. Actually, if the a alternator is putting out that much voltage and the voltage regulator isn't working she should probably get it fixed immediately before it damages electrical components in the truck.

    If it is the alternator, I would question the shop as to why they put in that much work on the shoes, etc. It may be work that needed to be done, or they may have done unnecessary work.
  • Dave_H_M's avatar
    Dave_H_M
    Explorer II
    Aug 15, 2014
    They "may" be using the alternator for a scapegoat. All they have to do is throw a volt meter on the b battery posts.
  • RoyB's avatar
    RoyB
    Explorer II
    Aug 15, 2014
    My brake controller for my single axle POPUP trailer is set to about 5.5...

    I have locked up a couple of times even with this setting when the back roads were dirt only...

    I should probably lower my Brake Controller setting a tad...

    Roy Ken
  • poncho62's avatar
    poncho62
    Explorer
    Aug 15, 2014
    Turning the controller down should fix any high voltage problem
    What controller is she using?

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