I bought a 16' tandem trailer with Dexter Brakes on 1 axle. I have a Dexter controller in my Ford F 350. I jacked up the rear axle and spun the tires then manually used the controller and nothing happened. I hooked up a battery at the axle and touched the wires to the battery and I hear no clicking of the magnets touching the drum. What am I doing wrong? Are the magnets bad are is there another problem, need so help thanks

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Originally posted by T-Bone:
I bought a 16' tandem trailer with Dexter Brakes on 1 axle. I have a Dexter controller in my Ford F 350. I jacked up the rear axle and spun the tires then manually used the controller and nothing happened. I hooked up a battery at the axle and touched the wires to the battery and I hear no clicking of the magnets touching the drum. What am I doing wrong? Are the magnets bad are is there another problem, need so help thanks

First, the magnet is already touching the brake drum. The magnet has a spring that keeps it in contact with the side of the drum. When the magnet is energized, it grips the rotating drum moving the brake actuating lever. You're not likely to hear a click as it makes contact. You might hear a hum.

You most likely have a broken wire inside the drum. Take the drum apart to find and fix the problem.. While you're that far into the brake, repack the bearings, and replace the seals. You'll save yourself a bunch of work later.

Well I thought I had my trailer brake problem fixed but pulling my trailer last weekend proved me wrong. All lights work and when using cruise control I hit the brake controller and it trips my curise off which tell me the brake is working but does not slow the trailer down. How much should I adjust the shoes on the brake drum, should the drum spin smoothly or should there be a drag when you spin the wheel?

quote:

Originally posted by T-Bone:
Well I thought I had my trailer brake problem fixed but pulling my trailer last weekend proved me wrong. All lights work and when using cruise control I hit the brake controller and it trips my curise off which tell me the brake is working but does not slow the trailer down. How much should I adjust the shoes on the brake drum, should the drum spin smoothly or should there be a drag when you spin the wheel?

T-bone ..You have me a bit concerned. By "hit the brake controller " did you mean the manual control on the controller?? It should not affect your cruise control unless there is a wiring issue. Like feeding back voltage to the tow vehicle brake light circuit.

Try a trailer brake test. On a deserted road, let the rig coast slowly. The use the manual control on the brake box. This should only apply the trailer brakes. Then you can see if the brake controller or the brakes need adjusting.

Let me try again,I pulled the trailer in the dark on a deserted road, and put the cruise control on doing 40mph. I adjusted the manual controler to max and slid it over to manually stop the trailer without using the brake pedal in the truck. I could see both tail lites come on and the cruise control triped off in the truck which I was told it would do, but the trailer did not slow down the trailer.

T-Bone your problem still has me for a loss. What model & brand brake controller do you have installed?

Or is it a Ford with the factory brake controller?

It is a Kelsey controller. I used a test lite to see if I was getting power to the rear plug on my truck and it showed I was when manually sliding the controller over. Then I took a battery with test lite and connected battery to trailer brake wire on the trailer connector, went to both sides of trailer hub and checked the positive wire and got voltage on both sides. I can still spin the hub with no resistance like brakes are not working

Okay .. If you had 12 volts to each brake coil and no turning resistance.. You have no brakes... Simple question first:
Were you turning the wheels in a forward direction? Some brakes don't apply in reverse.

Next step is a bit more involved. Take the brake apart. You'll have to remove the wheel, then the hub. There will be a cotter pin or some other nut retainer under the center hub dust cover. When you take the hub off, you'll see the brake magnet on a lever. Push the magnet to the rear of the trailer a little bit. The brake shoes should move. Next, do the same electrical test you've already done at the trailer but directly to a single magnet.

While you've got the hub apart, you might consider repacking the bearings.

Check this link on MrTruck.com for some pictures and further info

Click here>>> http://www.mrtrailer.com/hosspullerbrakes.pdf