โOct-08-2014 03:12 PM
โOct-09-2014 09:25 AM
riche789 wrote:
The electric brakes on my 30 foot travel trailer are not providing much braking for the rig. I have started doing some troubleshooting related to the voltage and current.
I have only 4 amps total for the dual axle trailer and only 1 amp at each of the magnets.
Says the problem is/are poor connections and/or high resistance
connection to undersized wiring...all so common on trailer wiring
The voltage to one of the magnets was 10.9 volts with the controller set at 5 out of 10. I repaired some wires with damaged insulation, but only gained a few tenths of an amp for the four wheels.
There should NOT be that much voltage drop. Again, indicative of poor
connections and/or too small wire gauge
I pull a second smaller trailer with a single axle and the brakes there work very well. In fact I have to turn the controller way down to keep braking smooth.
Not sure how to proceed.Maybe pull new wires?
Thanks for any ideas!
LAdams wrote:
I tow a large heavy trailer (about 34' overall and #9400 loaded)... I haven't really been satisfied with it's braking ability from the day I received it, so I started going over things a few weeks ago...
In addition to finding numerous questionable connections, I found that the main brake lead wire on the TT was only 14 Gauge and the crossover wires that runs across the axles was even less than that maybe 16 gauge, perhaps less...
After adjusting the brakes and readjusting my Jordan controller, things were better but still not as good as I wanted things to be... During my brake adjusting procedure I found that the street side rear brake magnet wire was worn through after the retaining clips had fallen off the drag link allowing the wire to rub against the inner hub and ultimately wearing it through... I repaired this and continued on...
I also found that when they (Skyline) assembled the TT, they used Scotchlok connectors to tap the main brake wire for all the brakes... Scotchlok's are great for certain applications but NOT high current brake applications... In general, it was a VERY poor wiring job (not the first I have found on this TT!!) I rewired the existing brake circuit before our recent trip to Florida and took the TT for a test ride... Several very firm brake applications of truck and trailer revealed much better braking performance but I was still not satisfied...
I had recently read the article on the Hensley web site that dealt with Hensley rewiring a TT for testing with their new brake controller... The article made sense to me particularly with regard to the larger diameter wire... If you haven't read it yet, I suggest you do - it is quite informative...
I went on the Internet and purchased some 10 gauge wire from a Marine Supply Company - it's nice and flexible and wasn't real costly... I then proceeded to rewire the trailer last Saturday with the 10 gauge wire and soldering ALL connections from the trailer plug junction box all the way back to each individual brake magnet... I used heat shrink tubing on all connections at the brakes and electrical tape for the junctions of the 10 gauge wire...
The original trailer brake wiring path was down the street side of the trailer frame and then running across the axles to the other set of brakes... When Hensley rewired theirs, they ran down the center of the TT and branched equally to each brake assembly from the center main feed... While in theory, the slightly longer length of wire from one side to another shouldn't make any difference, I decided to wire the TT the way they did it if nothing else , for symmetry...
Below are pictures of the wire used versus the wire I removed... I haven't had a chance to check brake performance yet but I suspect it will be better than before... Just how much better remains to be seen and I'll report back on that after I test it in 2 weeks when I'm out at the local CG again...
I'll take a few more pictures of the installation and post them after the driveway drys out a bit... It just rained here and it's a bit damp to be crawling under the TT taking pictures...
โOct-09-2014 07:39 AM
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