I have a new to me enclosed cargo trailer. The PO put on a new 7 pin plug and harness and did a sub par job on the wiring. Plus, one wheel was dragging as I was bringing the trailer home. (Why people ever deviate from factory, i'll never know). So I have the wiring to the trailer completely unhooked from the hitch, and I have a 12V RV battery with some jumper wires to make sure what wire is connected to what light on the trailer. When I connect positive 12V to the brake wire on the trailer that supplies power to the brakes (this would connect to the blue wire on the 7 pin plug), it sparked and acted like it was going to ground (no fuse on my jumpers). When I put an ohmmeter with one lead on the brake wire and the other to the trailer frame, it shows continuity. So the wire is grounded to the frame somewhere in the circuit. Is this correct? Or do I have a problem in the wiring to the brakes somewhere?
the lead will show continuity just like a light bulb would http://www.etrailer.com/faq-wiring.aspx and 12 volts may spark as the brakes activate
Thank you - so proceed forward and see what happens. Always fun cleaning up after the other guy has done his version of the truth on it.
My understanding is that electric brakes are a high-draw application, so you'll need not only an excellent feed, but also an excellent ground. This is not the place to scrimp on wire gauge or connector quality. I note that the etrailer diagram suggests connecting the brake grounds to the axles. That presumes that the axles are electrically bonded to the trailer frame, and there is little chance of that. If you're not going to run ground wires back up to the trailer plug, install bonding posts on the frame near the axles and lights, and another near the plug, and connect your ground wires to the bonding posts with ring terminals. That way you lessen the chance that corrosion and vibration will affect grounding.
Just went thru a headache with my camper this weekend. Good brakes going, intermittent on the way home. Then worked perfectly as I got 10 miles from home. Parked it overnight, then moved it to the backyard, they were jamming on, then releasing. I think I have to chase some ground problems. Grounding thru the 7 wire plug and thru the hitch ball? Prodigy controller and 4 dexter brakes. Any troubleshooting tips before I crawl around under this POS?
The only tip I have is, don't count on grounding through the hitch ball. When they grab, is it only during brake application, or do they activate on their own?
I need to double check my 7 wire that the ground is still strong thru the white wire. When they grabbed, my foot was off the brake. Quite a neck jerker! (BTW it was raining, I think I may have chaffed wires shorting). Controller was showing "OK" when I unhooked the trailer, but left the trailer plug connected. No path thru the ball.
If it was raining, you probably had your lights on. That may have been the source of your unexpected brake application, whether through chafed wires or a bad ground.
The first thing I would check is to make sure that all the connections are soldered or well put together. Many trailer manufacturers and hacks use the crimp "scotch locks" which are guaranteed to not last long, and really all need to be redone. My experience is that soldering and heat shrink the wiring resolves many problems in trailers. May not be your problem, but if the wiring is crimped with the blue connectors plan on a day to replace them all.
Is the Prodigy properly set up? You can download at Tekonsha and read. I hopped in my buddies new to him pickup and rolled it 800 miles towing.... some asshat had mounted the controller on the VERTICAL surface of the console, 90 degrees out. I re-mounted it in a hotel parking lot, I couldn't take it. The brake drums MUST be removed and inspected. Wheel bearing repack, inspect lining depth, clean and lubricate adjusters (these are old fashioned MANUAL adjusters kids!) pivot pins, check the magnet wires for damage, magnets and drums for wear, and adjust when done. Then and only then can you know what you have.
All of this ^^^^ is why I went with hydraulic disc brakes on my trailer. If I ever end up with a travel trailer or large boat, I'll go for electrically actuated hydraulic. Screw manually adjusting drum brakes. Besides, in an uphill breakaway, drum brakes won't hold the load to keep it from bounding back down the hill. They're designed to let go to facilitate backing.
Controller and the truck have towed about 10 different trailers. Never a problem. I've towed this trailer about 2000 miles with no issues. When I did the annual PM on the trailer last spring, all bearings and brake pucks and linings were AOK. Bought the camper used, so I went thru it top to bottom before the first trip. Everything looked nearly brand new. Wheels are coming of Saturday for another inspection. Drove it around the yard tonight. Brakes were working fine, then NC (not connected) message displayed. 10 ft later, back to normal. Then 100% brakes engaged! Never touched the pedal. My neck hurts. Got pissed and parked it. I hate electrical troubleshooting. Dad is coming by Saturday with his truck and controller. And another spare controller. If those work, my controller has crapped out. IF they don't work, the trailer wiring is wonkey and I'll be crawling around under it chasing chaffed wires
Thanks for the info, I hope to get everything wired up and tested this weekend. Then it'll be off to the tire shop to have the bearings packed, brakes checked & serviced and all the tires replaced. THen I'll have something to work with going forward.....
I had a similar issue a month ago with my travel trailer. Tekonsha Prodigy as well and it would flash to "NC" randomly and sometimes the brakes would suddenly engage 100%. Check your emergency break-away switch! The cable had been pulled slightly and the pin on the switch had just started to engage intermittently. Sometimes it was enough to engage the emergency brakes other times it was just enough to break the connection between the controller and the brakes, resulting in the "NC" condition. Check the easy stuff first!
Good advice! having similar symptoms but different casue, we found the problem this morning. The power wires from the breakaway switch were routed poorly. When I had my weight distribution bars hooked up, the two wires became pinched between the trailer frame and the trailer body from the frame flex. Idiots at Forrest River. This also explained why we would get and lose breaks ( NC code on the controller) whenever we bounced over some rough pavement. Or drove across the dip in the back yard. Frame flexed and released the pinched wires. Traced every wire under the camper. Found wire nuts holding the brake signal wire and one of the grounds together. What moran uses wire nuts on something that moves? Also found a few other wires that were poorly routed and chaffing across steel edges. A few feet of conduit sleeve and a handful of zip ties, I think I have it all fixed up. The wires at the breakaway, cut them at the damage and spliced them back together with a butt connector and shrink wrap. Routed them safely and locked them in place with some tie-downs. Checked the pucks and shoes, repacked the bearings. All set for next trip! Thanks for the guidance.
Glad to hear you got it worked out! I am continually amazed at the poor construction and finish of recreational vehicles. It's hard to believe that these things hold together going down the road. :huh
