Can 12 Volt Brake Controller Operate 6 Volt Brakes

Published 10/25/2016

Question:

I NEED TO TOW A TRAILER WITH 6 VOLT DC BRAKES AND MY VECHICLE IS 12 VOLTSDC CAN I INSTALL AN IN LINE REDUCER CANT SEEM TO FINE A STORE THAT SELL THEM

asked by: John S

Helpful Expert Reply:

You must have a vintage Airstream or something with old Warner electric brakes.

Technically you could adjust the output voltage on any brake controller down to 6 or fewer volts (by adjusting the gain or power output knob) and it will work with the 6 volt brakes that you have without having to add any additional parts or a separate voltage regulator.

There isn't a brake controller that is set up to work directly with 6 volt brakes and using a 12 volt controller will not harm the 6 volt magnets (unless you went way over the 6 volt output on the controller). But since brake controllers send back varying voltages based on what you have them set at you could just use any brake controller, such as # 5504 for a time delay or # 90885 for a proportional, and set the power low.

The power draw of at least two 6 volt magnets would be sufficient to let the brake controller know that the trailer is connected. But I recommend switching to 12 volt brakes because that is what is common and you won't have any trouble finding compatible replacement parts like you would with 6 volt brakes. The Warner 6 volt magnets only can be as much as 200 bucks!

expert reply by: Jameson C