Troubleshooting an Electric Over Hydraulic Actuator that Randomly Locked Trailer Brakes.

Published 08/20/2015

Question:

I bought this pump from your on line store about 18 months ago. Its worked perfectly and Ive been very happy with it, until today. I returned from a short RV trip in which the brakes worked fine and when I disconnected my trailer and the 7-way connector chord, I noticed that the pump was still running, thus applying the brakes. The only way I could stop it was to disconnect the 12-volt power supply. Later, I reconnected the power, hooked the 7-way chord back up, and it seems to work fine. Obviously, this could be very dangerous. I checked all the obvious things, such as the fluid level, the voltage, all connections, etc. and all were fine. Any idea why this pump might run, even though disconnected from the truck? Thanks for your help.

asked by: Mark F

Expert Reply:

Check the connections of your breakaway system you have on your trailer. It sounds like the plug might be partially pulled or the power from the battery of that system has some how shorted out to the brake output circuit and is telling the actuator to lock up the brakes.

I attached a help article on breakaway systems for you to check out as well.

expert reply by: Jameson C