Troubleshooting Electric Brakes Locked Up After Snow

Updated 10/23/2017 | Published 10/21/2017

Question:

electric trailer brakes frozen up Moved our travel trailer a couple of days ago and everything was fine. It snowed last night so we decided to put it up in shop for the winter but the brakes are locked up on it. How do we get the brakes to release so we can move it again?

asked by: Gayle

Expert Reply:

It sounds like the snow/moisture may have caused a short and is drawing power to the electric brakes, causing the brakes to lock up.

I recommend checking both the vehicle and trailer side connectors for any corrosion or debris where the wires attach to the pins, simply cleaning out as needed. Next, check the wiring to the magnets on the brake assemblies. Make sure there are no exposed sections of wire that may have caused a short.

If you are still unable to resolve the issue, please let me know and I will be happy to look into this further.

expert reply by: Chris R