How I bettered my 5'ers brakes
Like many I felt that the electric brakes on my fiver were weak and like many, set out to the internet to find an answer. Most answers were to check the condition of the shoes, magnets, etc. but the o...
Forum Discussion
fj12ryder wrote:
Sounds like a cheaper fix than buying disk brakes. :) Thanks for the write-up.
I'm going to check my triple axle and see how much draw I have. I have the 7,000 lb. Dexter axles and 12 inch brakes. This could be interesting.
Check Grainger.com page #509, and look for a terminal strip. With that you can terminate the #8 wire near the forward axle, then have 6 other wires in the #14 - #12 size connect to that 40 amp connection, with tight connections. Each of the smaller wires will only need to carry 3 amps, so basically no voltage drop across that 6- 10' long wire to each wheel magnet.
The #8 wire will carry all 18 amps without very much voltage loss over the 20' from the hitch wiring harness to the terminal block.
You would also then upgrade the wiring to your brake controller to #8 coming directly off the alternator wire, where the voltage is the highest, (or battery that is a bit lower) then to a 40 or 50 amp automatic re-set circuit breaker (if overloaded it will conduct power once it has had time to cool off).
Then output from the brake controller to the truck end of the wiring harness with #8 or #10 wire.
Then upgrade your battery charge circuit with a 40 amp auto reset circuit breaker, 100+ amp rated relay (such as Grainger#6C017) that is turned on when in ACC or the radio is on, then to the trailer wiring harness.
You can use a 50 amp "Anderson Connection" battery connector, rated at 50 amps, but actually a lot more amperage. This also included a upgrade in the ground terminal too!
Fred.
