Troubleshooting Brakes of Logan 3 Horse Trailer Towed by 2015 Silverado 3500 w/ OEM Brake Controller

Updated 03/21/2015 | Published 03/20/2015

Question:

Hi! I just bought a Logan 3 Horse living quarter and drive a 2015 Chevy 3500HD truck and having trouble with the brakes. The lights work, the brake lights work when applying, but when I got it Check Trailer Wiring keep popping up in my message center. I did tell the dealership but theyre located about 5 hours away and dont want to drive 5 hours if its something that can easily be fixed. This was his response through email when I did tell him, Sorry, I’m just getting thru emails. Is it still doing? Sometimes it’s just contact with those integrated brake controls. Seen before. We have a electrical grease we put on the contacts and that goes away. Sorry for the delay. Let me know! I figured it was my truck, so I hooked up my truck to my other trailer, 3 horse bumper pull and it worked. So, Im just wondering whats going on and if you could please give me some advise. Thank you and appreciate your feed back.

asked by: Vanessa

Expert Reply:

Good thinking testing the truck with your other trailer, you've ruled out the truck as being the cause of the problem. Since all the trailer lights are functioning on the trailer, the problem is likely in the braking system.

Start with the trailer plug, and closely examine it for damage or corrosion. If it's damaged or corroded, you can replace it with a connector like part # H20044 for a 6 foot long wire or # H20046 for an 8 foot long wire.

Trace the brake output circuit back to the trailer brakes, looking for pinched wires and loose connections. Look for cracked or worn wire insulation. Each brake magnet will have two wires exiting it. One wire connects to the brake output circuit, the other wire grounds to the trailer frame. Check the ground connections, making sure they're tight and not corroded. If all this checks out, you'll need to examine the face of each magnet (the surface that rides against the inside of the brake drum). You'll need to remove the hubs, and take a look at the magnets. If any of the magnets are worn to the point where you can see any of the copper windings showing through the face, the magnet is actually shorting out on the drum which is causing your problem. The magnet would need to be replaced. Actually, since you just purchased the trailer, you might consider all the brake assemblies. That way, you'll have all new parts and you'll know everything will be reliable for quite a while.

I'll link you to and FAQ article that has more information regarding brake system troubleshooting.

expert reply by: Mike L