Where are the Ground Wires Located on Electric Trailer Brakes

Question

Question:

Reading your answers to other questions, you say to check all the trailer grounds to make sure there is a good connection. My question is were are these grounds located on a 5th wheel with self adjusting electric brakes? Thank you for your help.

asked by: Joseph B

0

Expert Reply:

Electric brakes have 2 wires located at the back. One is for power and the other is for ground (it doesn't matter which is used for which function). The ground wires should be connected to the trailer frame.

The only other place that would carry a ground is the main ground wire that is connected to the pin in the 5 o'clock position on the 7-Way of your trailer (see attached picture).

I have attached a video of the trailer brake assemblies # AKEBRK-35L and # AKEBRK-35R being installed on a trailer. If you jump to the 5:50 mark in the video you can see where the wires should be located.

expert reply by: Jon G

0

click to enlarge

Answer 1

To wire your electric brakes you will want to run 10 gauge wire #10-1-1 to one of the brakes and run it to the other brake, using butt connectors like #05732-2 to connect them. The grounds will not be spliced, each brake assembly should have its own…

view full answer...

Answer 2

Hey Terrance, there's not much of a difference between the part #AKHD-545-35-EZ-K and the part #AKHD-545-35-K that you referenced aside from the style of grease cap that either has. The part number with EZ in it has a grease cap that has a…

view full answer...

Answer 3

On each individual electric brake magnet the amperage draw would be 3.0 to 3.2 max amps at 12 to 13 volts on 7-inch brake magnets and 3.2 to 4.0 max amps at 12 to 13 volts on 10 and 12-inch brake magnets. The max amperage draw for the brake magnets…

view full answer...

Answer 4

Since you just installed the #AKEBRK-35-SA on your trailer and are experiencing this issue, the most likely cause is just a weak ground wire on the right side. I recommend checking the wiring on the side that is providing weak braking (the right side…

view full answer...

Answer 5

Before you can install a trailer brake controller in your 2022 Toyota Highlander you'll first need to make sure that you have a 4-pole wire harness for your lights installed and then a 7-way wire harness to get your brake function. If you…

view full answer...

Answer 6

A bad ground can cause just one brake assembly to get hotter only as a result of the assembly with the bad ground not engaging, which in turn causes the assembly on the other side to do all the work (thus get hotter). It appears though that both…

view full answer...

Answer 7

If the adjustment of both brake assemblies are good and you can notice that the one side of the brakes are pulling harder than the other that would lead me to believe that the problem is the grounds of the brake assemblies on the right side of the…

view full answer...

Answer 8

The issue seems to be different adjustment than the other side. Most likely the time delayed onset of the braking pressure is locking up the one side of the trailer before the other due to it being a tighter adjustment. What you can do is tow the…

view full answer...

Answer 9

I believe you almost solved the problem when you swapped the wiring, but in reality you needed to use 10 gauge wire like part #10-1-1 (sold by the foot). You are experiencing a voltage drop due to the long distance of wire that's not thick…

view full answer...

Answer 10

Typically 4-way wiring consists of 18 and 16 gauge wires. For a 4-way that has all 16 gauge wire you would want the Wesbar 4-Pole Flat Connector #W787264. The part #HM38138 uses 18 gauge for all wires but the white that uses 16 gauge.

view full answer...

Answer 11

As long as the THNN wire is copper and the proper gauge for what you are wiring on your trailer you can use it. I have attached a helpful article that explains wiring a trailer and the minimum required wire gauges. We recommend at least 10 gauge wire…

view full answer...

Answer 12

I attached a picture that has a chart with all of the error codes for the Prodigy P2 part #90885 that you referenced. I am not sure what you mean by dashes on the display so hopefully the chart helps you. Feel free to email back with pictures of the…

view full answer...

Where are the Ground Wires Located on Electric Trailer Brakes

Products Featured in This Question

Product Page this Question was Asked From

Featured Help Information

Miscellaneous Media

Continue Researching