'Nuther electric brake problem

[OneMoBear]

Hey all,

We're finally trying to figure out what is wrong with our brakes and honestly don't have a clue where to start. They were fine when we went to bed one night and weren't working in the morning. They worked for about 1/2 hour on our trip home. The controller is a Prodigy and it shows two dots and NC when we use the slide. The truck fuse is good. The connectors look good. If we monitor between the blue and white past the plug on the trailer the voltage goes from nothing to .046 when the truck brakes are applied. We don't have a clue if we should have the truck looked at or the trailer or who to take it to when we give up

Thanks!

Malinda

[Bill]

OneMoBear posted

If we monitor between the blue and white past the plug on the trailer, the voltage goes from nothing to .046 when the truck brakes are applied.

Wow, not good (obviously)! Next step, measure the voltage between Blue (brake power) and a real metal ground, not any ground wire such as White. First do it fom Blue to Trailer Ground. Then if you see the same really low voltage, do it again, monitoring from Blue to tow vehicle Ground.

Another approach that will test the same thing is to get out a jumper cable, clamp one end to a bare spot on the Tow Vehicle frame, and the other end to a bare spot on the TM frame. Now see if the Prodigy is happy and the brakes work.

If things are still bad, try to pick up Blue in the tow vehicle, and repeat the measurements.

As you can tell, I suspect a ground problem. But let us know what you find, and we'll go for a next step.

Bill

Also measure between the brake connector pin in the TV bargman to ground when the brake is applied. It is possible there is a high resistance short in the brake wiring in the TM.

[OneMoBear]

So, life got in the way yesterday but we hit it today. I am posting a picture of our first suspect. Can you say corrosion?? Yikes! We had printed Bill's suggestions and found the answer on our first try, trying to get access to the blue wire on the TV. Once again, you da man! Thanks to all for the suggestions! I'm glad we didn't need to go further than we did.

Thanks,
Malinda

[OneMoBear]

Just one more quick note. This picture shows how we checked the voltage past the connectors. We found these at Ace Hardware after our little BooBoo in Arizona. Not the prettiest splice either one of us have ever done but it seems pretty effective. We have waited to heat shrink it until we resolved the brake issue.

Malinda

AH! Those things. I don't like using them even in areas where they don't get wet. Unfortunately they are quick and easy for dealers to install. I recommend you cut, strip, clean and solder then heat shrink all those connections.

[OneMoBear]

They won't get wet. We used heat shrink on the whole cable. We both worked cable splicing and cable repair and feel comfortable with this option.

Malinda

[Wavery]

Originally Posted by OneMoBear

They won't get wet. We used heat shrink on the whole cable. We both worked cable splicing and cable repair and feel comfortable with this option.

Malinda

I agree with rumbleweed. Those things are a recipe for ongoing issues. They are terrible for this sort of repair. They may be OK somewhere, where you need to continually change wires or go back to service that area and then only if the wires are away from any/all flexing. They should not be considered to be a permanent solution in this cable. The fact that there is continuous movement on that cable makes that less than ideal. If the movement of the cable doesn't pull the wires loose, the heating and cooling will cause loosening of the screws and the wires may just fall out.

That should not be shrink wrapped either (unless each wire is soldered and shrink wrapped separately). It's better to just wrap it with electrical tape because every time that you have another lighting, brakes or ground problem, that should be the 1st place that you suspect and inspect.

Bob&Karen have the right idea. I would replace the entire cable now. They really aren't expensive. If you don't, you may find yourself on the road, in the middle of the night in "Nowhereville" trying to trouble shoot your next electrical problem. Trust me......BTDT......

[OneMoBear]

Originally Posted by harveyrv

Bob&Karen have the right idea. I would replace the entire cable now. They really aren't expensive. If you don't, you may find yourself on the road, in the middle of the night in "Nowhereville" trying to trouble shoot your next electrical problem. Trust me......BTDT......

We're retired. This will NEVER happen to us but thanks for the advice. I know, never say never . . . We don't travel at night and we're never in that big of a hurry. When this splice fails, we will replace the cable.

Malinda