What's new
By:
Filters
Old Chevelles

Welcome to OldChevelles.com, built by Auto Enthusiasts for Auto Enthusiasts. Cars are not our only interests so please feel free to post about any subject the community might enjoy or you just feel you need to air.

We respect free speech and constructive dialogue however we don't allow threatening talk against members, nudity, or pornography. Threads are monitored and trolls are not tolerated.

This site is completely free and there are no costs. Please enjoy and provide feedback.

  • We've enabled the website app for anyone who wants to use it on a mobile or desktop device.

  • We've changed the header logo to display our Member's Cars.

    If you'd like your car to show up there, go to the forum Site Bugs & Feature Requests and post your image in the "Member's Car Pictures for the Header Logo" and we'll add your car into the lineup.

Trailer brake issues

J

JohnC

Veteran Member
Senior Member
Nearly new travel trailer, I hadn’t really tested out the brakes yet. I installed the 7 pin connector and confirmed with a multimeter that each pin does what it’s supposed to do. The trailer came with a Curt Echo brake controller that can be adjusted with a phone app.

Today I backed up the tow vehicle to the trailer and connected the brake controller and trailer wiring.

Problem is both pressing the button on the app and/or pressing the brake in the tow vehicle, I got no brakes from the trailer. I could still move the trailer easily by hand (the trailer was not hitched to the Tv, just the wiring was hooked up).

To confirm the Curt brake controller wasn’t faulty, I removed it and connected the trailer wiring directly to the TV and no different.

Just to confirm, do you really NEED a brake controller or should I be able to activate the trailer’s electric brakes without it?

I guess I’ve got some diagnosing to do. But I’m going back to a California to work for a week and a half so I won’t be able to look at it until then.

ThanksIMG_2273.jpeg

Oh yeah, I put a volt meter on the trailer’s battery and got 12.9 volts
 
I've never used a Curt brake controller, sorry. I've used (on 3 vehicles) the Tekonsha Prodigy P3 brake controller and never had a problem. No app to use it, it's just a really good controller.

Has a swing arm on the bottom that will lock the trailer brakes for testing and to straighten you out if you start getting sway.
 
If you have power on the brake terminal on the plug then it's on the trailer end.
If you can have someone activate the controller you can listen by the wheels on the you should be able to hear the magnets pulling against the brake drum.
If not you'll have to probe the wires on the trailer to see if you have power.
 
That’s where I think I’m at. Pretty certain it’s on the trailer end. Checked out some troubleshooting guides on line so I’ll have a place to start.
 
JohnC said:
That’s where I think I’m at. Pretty certain it’s on the trailer end. Checked out some troubleshooting guides on line so I’ll have a place to start.
Click to expand...
Do the lights work?

Also, check your truck's fuses, power has to come from the truck.

Most trailer manufacturers do a crappy job of wiring brakes. A common failure point is the axle tube, wires bounce around in there and can rub. Trailer brakes are simple, basically a circuit that energizes the magnet, the magnet grabs the drum and the more electricity given, the more the magnet grabs and moves the shoes to drum contact. As 77cruiser said, have someone depress the brake pedal while you listen for the hum of the magnets.
 
Thanks, I’ll see the trailer lights work as they should.
I’ll check out the magnets next.
 
Chevelle_Nut said:
When you depress, voltage should increase, when you let off it should decrease.
Click to expand...

No, the varying voltage only happens when in motion unless he has the ability to lock up the brakes (via some control). The voltage will vary based on inertia normally. Even if he steps on the brakes and not in motion, the voltage will be constant.
 
kmakar said:
No, the varying voltage only happens when in motion unless he has the ability to lock up the brakes (via some control). The voltage will vary based on inertia normally. Even if he steps on the brakes and not in motion, the voltage will be constant.
Click to expand...
If you manually apply the brakes, the voltage should increase. Part of a pull test.
 
Not unless you activate the manual option on the brake controller. Depressing the brake pedal alone won't change the voltage. That works via inertia and the brake pedal. The brake controller senses inertia and applies voltage accordingly.
 
Now I’m really confused. Other than checking ohms at the magnets or listening for the magnets, am I not able to test this while the car is stationary? In other words is inertia necessary?

If I didn’t have a brake controller and just plugged the trailer into the 7 pin jack on the car, I should still be able to activate the trailer brakes (by pressing the cars brake pedal) even if the car and trailer are not moving? (Remember I just did this in the garage with only the wiring hooked up, the trailer was not hitched to the car so I could slightly move it to test the brakes).

I had to head to the airport so I didn’t have a lot of time to do a lot of testing but I did note that the pin associated with brakes had voltage spike when cars brake pedal was pressed.
I should have inserted the Curt Echo brake controller (without connecting trailer harness) and see if the brake controller passes through the voltage when the cars brake pedal is depressed. That would tell me of the brake controller is doing it’s job.

Thanks for your input.
 
Last edited:
Inertia is what applies varying voltage to the brakes with a brake controller. If you applied voltage directly to the trailer brakes they should lock up completely and the trailer should not move. The purpose of having the brake controller is with inertia (coming to a stop or slowing down) it feeds varying voltage that merely apply pressure to the brake shoes based on how far the inertia pressure is. If you can find within the Curt controller a test mode to lock up the brakes that's an easy way to test, but if you are quiet enough and apply voltage directly to the trailer brakes, you should hear a click or humming. Easy way to test is if you have a roller wheel on the tongue, you should be able to push the trailer by hand, and if you can then try applying voltage to that brake pin and the brakes should lock up (no need to hook it up to a car for a simple test if you have a roller wheel in the front).
 
Yes, I do have a roller wheel on the tongue jack and it moved easily even when the brakes were supposed to be applied.
 
JohnC said:
Yes, I do have a roller wheel on the tongue jack and it moved easily even when the brakes were supposed to be applied.
Click to expand...

Then you may have a problem that will most likely cause you to pull the wheels off and check the brakes and you can energize the magnets directly and check if the work, and if they do, then there may be a problem with the wiring itself.
 
update: not sure what was wrong before but the brakes work now. This time I actually fully hooked up the trailer and could hear the magnets activating when I pressed the button on the app. While driving I could definitely tell they were working.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom