Forum Discussion

todde278's avatar
todde278
Explorer
Sep 10, 2017

Trailer brake locked up

A couple weeks ago we were headed home from a camping trip and coming to a stop i noticed a long skid mark when i looked in my side mirror. I thought to myself, wow someone stopped fast! The guy next to me got my attention and told me that one of my wheels locked up. It was a normal gradual stop so i was surprised. I set the gain down on my controller and after a couple miles pulled over and gave a visual and didnt see anything out of the ordinary. We made it the rest of the way home with no problems.

Yesterday i finally got the chance to inspect the brakes of the culprit wheel. I could definitely see the damage on the tire tread that skidded. I pulled the drum expecting to see something torn up. To my surprise everything was intact. I did notice the drum had a line worn in it and the rear pad had a gouge in it about an inch long. It looks like a rock or something may have gotten in there. Is it possible a stuck rock could have caused the brake to lock up? The trailer only has about 3000 miles on it. Other than that the pads, drum and magnet looked like normal wear. The drum spins freely and i can hear a slight drag so i dont think the adjustment of the pads is too tight. I am taking it hunting in a couple weeks and i dont want it to lock up again and ruin my new tires! Any advice is appreciated!

Todd
  • todde278's avatar
    todde278
    Explorer
    Sep 10, 2017
    Thanks bobndot. I have read through several of etrailer articles. I don’t suspect it is my integrated brake controller since only 1 wheel locked up. Most of what i have read said to check the adjustment of the brakes. Its just weird that i have taken the trailer on numerous trips before this and never noticed this happen.
  • mike-s's avatar
    mike-s
    Explorer
    Sep 10, 2017
    Have you checked to make sure all the other brakes are working? On a lot of TTs, the brake wiring goes from one brake to the next, instead of being "starred" from a central point. A bad connection could cause brakes on the end of the string to not work. The controller would still see a resistance, so wouldn't report "brakes not connected", but all the braking would be done by the working brakes.

    Measure the resistance. Nothing in your profile, and you don't say whether you have one or two axles. A single axle, you should see 2 ohms or less. Double, about 1 ohm. Short the meter cables first, and subtract that reading from the brake resistance for a more accurate measurement.

    Some controllers have a diagnostic function which will show you the resistance.
  • bobndot's avatar
    bobndot
    Explorer II
    Sep 10, 2017
    One wheel lock up occurred to a friends TT and it was the wiring to the magnet on that side .
  • Lynnmor's avatar
    Lynnmor
    Explorer
    Sep 10, 2017
    Check that all brakes work, it might be that only one is doing all the work.

    Any wiring fault to a magnet will not cause excessive braking, only less or no braking to that wheel.
  • ScottG's avatar
    ScottG
    Nomad
    Sep 10, 2017
    It's time to go through the brakes and check for everything and anything that can be wrong.
  • todde278's avatar
    todde278
    Explorer
    Sep 10, 2017
    Thanks for all the tips! I will check all the brakes. It seems like they are all working when i manually apply them. The trailer is a double axle. Its a coleman 314bhs so its a big unit.
  • WayneAt63044's avatar
    WayneAt63044
    Explorer
    Sep 12, 2017
    I had one do that and something (I forget what now 7 years later, maybe a broken spring) came apart inside the drum and wedged the brake on. The gouge and the wear line on yours would indicate something was out of place inside the drum. No pieces fell out when you removed the drum? In my case, major damage caused me to remove the brake assembly roadside and continue from Utah to Mesa, AZ with 3 brakes. Couldn't really tell the difference.
  • todde278's avatar
    todde278
    Explorer
    Sep 12, 2017
    When I pulled the drum off I expected to see carnage. To my surprise everything was in place and moving like normal. A bit of brake dust but that’s it.
  • time2roll's avatar
    time2roll
    Nomad
    Sep 12, 2017
    Do you have 3 amps to each wheel? I suspect the other three are not working. You adjust the gain up to make one do all the work and it starts locking up. If you did have an object wedged in the drum it should now be clear. Go test drive with a chaser to watch the braking action.

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