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Tom IA 
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Joined: 17 Sep 2009
Location: Donahue IA
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 Topic: Trailer Brakes
Posted: 22 Aug 2018 at 5:04pm |
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This may not be the right place for this post but I haul my allis tractor and I know a lot off you do also so I figured I could get some good advice here , just trying to be safe , for some reason I am only getting about 25% braking with my controller turned way up this does it on both my tractor trailer and 5th wheel camper this is what I have checked so far cleaned all connections, all grounds on truck tried running a ground direct from battery to plug and trailer have checked and have proper voltage at plug all , fuses good, brakes adjusted , this is a new controller same results with old one , it plugs into a factory harness THANKS for any help
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Michael V (NM)
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Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: NM
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Posted: 22 Aug 2018 at 5:17pm |
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Have you tried adjusting the brakes? They are not like vehicles, they do not self adjust
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jaybmiller
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Location: Greensville,Ont
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Posted: 22 Aug 2018 at 5:25pm |
hmm MV beat me ! Pull the drums off and look at the shoes !!! Might be a tad 'thin'... You've ruled out the electrical side, now check the mechanical...
Jay
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3 D-14s,A-C forklift, B-112
Kubota BX23S lil' TOOT( The Other Orange Tractor)
Never burn your bridges, unless you can walk on water
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DiyDave
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Posted: 22 Aug 2018 at 5:43pm |
check the magnetic actuator discs, too, they wear out from friction, too... 
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steve(ill)
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Posted: 22 Aug 2018 at 5:51pm |
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but he said he has TWO trailers and the BOTH do it........ Still good idea to rule out the breakes with a quick check...... you said you have voltage to the plug, but how about on the OUTLET side of the plug going to the trailer ? Maybe the PLUG on the truck has some corrosion and your not getting proper voltage OUT to the trailers ??
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Like them all, but love the "B"s.
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steve(ill)
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Posted: 22 Aug 2018 at 5:54pm |
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Does each trailer have its own harness, or do you use the same one to connect either trailer to the truck ?
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Like them all, but love the "B"s.
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Tom IA
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Posted: 22 Aug 2018 at 6:20pm |
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Did adjust brakes on trailer needed very little adjustment 5th wheel 2017 very few miles both worked fine until recently , son used trailer not long ago brakes worked fine on his truck everything points to my truck don't know what else to check
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steve(ill)
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Posted: 22 Aug 2018 at 6:28pm |
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The controller should be variable output.. There is a thumb wheel on the side to set the MAX output ? Then a thumb wheel in front to actuate the brakes manually... Make sure the wheel on the side has not been bumped to LOW............ You said you checked voltage, but you need the ACTUAL voltage out to the brakes. The MAX is 12 volts, but you normally will use 5-6 volts (?) on most trailers... I would get a buddy and put a volt meter on the trailer plug blue wire and ground... THen apply the brakes in the truck and see what voltage is measured at the plug... might do this again at the wires AT THE TRAILER WHEEL to confirm... If you have weak brakes, I assume you will be measuring just a couple volts... Move the thumb wheel on the brake selector and see how much voltage you can get output... If very little, you might want to measure the output at the plug under the brake controller and see if your loosing voltage in the truck harness from cab to rear end........ Harness plugs above the rear axle by the spare tire can get corroded and cause power problems.
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Like them all, but love the "B"s.
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jiminnd
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Posted: 22 Aug 2018 at 8:45pm |
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Some controllers have to be level or close to that, mine says it can be off a certain number of degrees and still work.
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1945 C, 1949 WF and WD, 1981 185, 1982 8030, unknown D14(nonrunner)
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Sugarmaker
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Posted: 22 Aug 2018 at 9:59pm |
I hate when things like this don't work. Yea you need to get it fixed for safety reasons. I guess if both trailers do the same thing I would look at the truck/ controller system. Sounds like it is not a factory controller. So maybe something is not wired correct? My son bought a used trailer and the PO had wired the white wire to ground and that was the hot wire. When he plugged it in to the truck the brakes were locked and it was like a direct short to ground. Was simple to fix not so easy to find. Have you just pulled the break away and jacked up the trailer to see if the brakes locked?
Regards, Chris
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D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet.
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john(MI)
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Posted: 23 Aug 2018 at 10:49am |
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Mine has the level adjustment that you need to set first. Maybe that got moved. You set the level first and then the other one.
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D14, D17, 5020, 612H, CASE 446
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Tom IA
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Posted: 23 Aug 2018 at 3:50pm |
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My controller can be set any where from o to 360 as long as it is level side to side and facing the direction of travel mine is level both ways I am always resetting it for different trailers loaded , unloaded 5th wheel camper but I only get about 25% braking with it turned way up that's letting it doing auto or manually with the lever with turned up full bore empty trailer lucky to lock the tires on gravel used to set at 3.8 anything more would lockup on cement , camper 5.2 with boost on 2 now I set to max and have hardly nothing new controller same as old
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jaybmiller
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Posted: 23 Aug 2018 at 5:16pm |
re: My son bought a used trailer and the PO had wired the white wire to ground and that was the hot wire
standard 7 pin trailer wiring is that the white wire IS ground, blue for brakes.. there are at least 2 'standards' though... 'trailers' and RV trailers. Then there's flat blades and round pins types of connectors.... sigh...
but going back to the original post...where it works but only 25% braking...,fine using other truck..
you should be able to swap out the controller for another unit, if the truck is 97 or newer. My F150 has a 4 pin connector under the dash where the controller plugs in. It is quite possible the controller is partially fried. Good ones( smart) use constant current with feedback to apply the power far better than the old 'timed' power units. I've actually 'rescued' 5 of them over the years from 'boneyard beauties'. You may want to inspect the wiring, especially the blue and white ones as well as the fuse /holder that powers the system. Corrosion can lead to loss of power(amps) that will NOT show up with a voltmeter.
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3 D-14s,A-C forklift, B-112
Kubota BX23S lil' TOOT( The Other Orange Tractor)
Never burn your bridges, unless you can walk on water
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WF owner
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Location: Bombay NY
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Posted: 23 Aug 2018 at 5:47pm |
Have you checked the truck (male) trailer connector? Is there corrosion on the pins or in the back of the connector where the wires plug into the connector? I would check the easy stuff first. A new trailer connector is relatively cheap and is often the problem. Have you had any problems with any of the lights? What brand of brake controller do you have?
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steve(ill)
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Posted: 23 Aug 2018 at 7:29pm |
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Tom, it sounds like your controller works, but your NOT getting the proper voltage to the trailer plug.... Check voltage at the bumper as I mentioned above. If you cant get 5-6 volts, then the problem is toward the truck... harness or plug... If you do get 6 volts or so, then check if you have that at the brake shoes.
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Like them all, but love the "B"s.
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WF owner
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Posted: 23 Aug 2018 at 8:08pm |
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Have you tried running a ground between the tow vehicle and trailer? If you have a bad ground in either the truck or trailer connector, it may be only grounding through the hitch (ball or fifth wheel pin).
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DanWi
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Posted: 23 Aug 2018 at 9:33pm |
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Also with all the lights on plus flashers do all the lights flash slightly or does you controller light flash would be the sign of a bad ground.
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jaybmiller
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Posted: 24 Aug 2018 at 6:02am |
What WF says makes sense, power(current aka amps) can't get to brake coils but the voltage can. Jay
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3 D-14s,A-C forklift, B-112
Kubota BX23S lil' TOOT( The Other Orange Tractor)
Never burn your bridges, unless you can walk on water
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Tom IA
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Posted: 24 Aug 2018 at 9:33am |
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yesterday I ran a ground wire direct from battery to plug and trailer same as before have checked voltage at plug trailer side controller on 8 have 7.8 at plug other settings very little drop in voltage it was the same with old controller this is a more elaborate controller should if you have a fault some place shows nothing it is a Tekonsha could it be under load my voltage is dropping at the trailer ? stays steady at controller everything I read says poor braking weak ground or brake adjustment have addressed both I am lost
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JohnCO
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Posted: 24 Aug 2018 at 9:47am |
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Seems like the only answer after all that is a new truck!
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"If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer"
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steve(ill)
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Posted: 24 Aug 2018 at 8:21pm |
Something seems odd Tom... that is a GREAT controller... and 7.8 volts at the trailer side plug should give plenty of breaks.. I doubt you normally need 5-6 volts for good stops.. If that is at the outside of the plug at the bumper, it should be OK... Since you have TWO trailers and they BOTH do it, hard to believe something is wrong past the plug. ............ do you think your NEW ground wire was the fix ?? Did you check voltage with the OLD GROUND ?
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Like them all, but love the "B"s.
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