Troubleshooting Trailer Brakes That Grab and Release While Stopping Trailer

Published 05/25/2016

Question:

When applying brakes, the camper brakes start grabbing off and on. This makes iit hard to stop the camper

asked by: Wayne H

Expert Reply:

Sounds like you have an intermittent connection somewhere. Does the brake controller power off and on while the brakes activate and then stop? If so, that would indicate a problem on either the ground or power wire of the brake controller.

If the brake controller stays on but then shows the trailer disconnecting and then connecting the problem is on the brake output circuit of the brake controller. Most likely this would be a dirty trailer connector that is causing an intermittent connection. Solution for this is cleaning the connector.

I also attached a help article on troubleshooting brake controllers for you to check out as well.

expert reply by: Jameson C