Do Electric Brakes Need to Share Ground Wire?

Question

Question:

I am adding electric brakes to my single axle trailer and have a wiring question. What is the best way to splice in the wire from one wheel to the opposite wheel. I have looked at diagrams and they just show the wire running across the axle then joining the main line running up the trailer to the junction box. Do I go ahead and ground at each wheel then join the power lines together or do I also splice the ground together?

asked by: Pat M

0

Expert Reply:

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 ground; please see the accompanying photo which is from our help article on adding electric drum brakes which I have linked for you.

expert reply by: Kyle S

0

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Craig R.

5/24/2020

My trailer is wired according to this. I have power out of my brake pin at the rear. On the trailer the emergency break away switch stops my tires when moving. However my truck always says trailer disconnect when the override is squeezed. Ford f550 Do I need to ground the brakes together and back at the 7pin instead of the trailer frame?

Chris R.

5/27/2020

Grounding each brake assembly to the frame is sufficient. I'm assuming this is a factory brake controller on the truck? Typically when the "trailer disconnected" message comes up, there's an issue somewhere on the blue brake output wire. This is likely going to be hard to inspect, but a simple place to start is at the 7-Way itself. Check both the truck and trailer side 7-Way and look for any corrosion or debris built up inside the pins that might be preventing a good connection, cleaning out as needed. Let me know if this helps and we'll go from there if not.

Scott D.

9/9/2020

@ChrisR my ford f250 has a factory brake controller and says the same thing. trailer disconnected. i have checked the 7 way at both ends and the trailer end is brand new. Where should i try next?

Jon G.

9/11/2020

@ScottD If your 7-Way connectors look good then the next place to check is your trailer brakes. Look at all of the connections and make sure that your grounds are securely attached to clean, bare-metal. You might also try testing your F-250 with another trailer just to help isolate which end the problem is occurring on.

See All (13) Replies to Craig R. ∨

Answer 1

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…

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Answer 2

That's a very good question, we tend to be extra cautious and say to use 10 gauge wire because that would be more than enough. When you get into longer trailers that will end up using a lot of wire the heavier gauge wire becomes more necessary.…

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Answer 3

It sounds like you are speaking of the wires for the brake magnets. If this is correct, you will need to connect one of the wires to the brake controller output wire on your trailer connector and the other wire will need to be grounded to a clean…

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Answer 4

Nev-R-Adjust is Dexter's specific trade name for self-adjusting brakes like #23-458 and #AKEBRK-7L-SA. Self-adjust and Nev-R-Adjust are the same type of brakes. After their initial adjustment both will automatically maintain correct braking…

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Answer 5

Yes, 14 gauge wire seems too small. I would go with 10 or 12 gauge. For 10 gauge you can use #10-1-1 and for 12 gauge use #12-1-1. These wires are sold in increments of 1 foot. So if you needed 20 feet of wire you would enter 20 in the quantity box.…

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Answer 6

If your 2004 Nissan Xterra doesn't have a factory tow package then there will be no brake controller wires under the dash to hook up to. Instead, you will need to hardwire the controller. In addition to a controller like the Curt TriFlex Trailer…

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Answer 7

For your 2024 Nissan Frontier I recommend the Redarc Tow-Pro Liberty Brake Controller #RED24FR. I like the Liberty because it is simple, reliable, and looks great in any vehicle. The main unit installs behind the dash, so only the control knob will…

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Answer 8

To select the correct Bow Roller or Bow Guard, see links, for your Tidewater boat trailer, you will need to measure to determine the proper size. The width of the roller and diameter of the shaft that the roller installs on will be needed. Most boats…

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Answer 9

If you are looking for a round connector with a 7-way blade I recommend part #H20046. This is a trailer end connector with 8 ft molded wire. For a 7-way with 6 ft of molded wire you need part #H20044, and for the connector with 4 ft of molded wiring…

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Answer 10

As far as the mounting bracket, you can absolutely screw it directly to the hitch if you want. We do this frequently in our own installs and it will not compromise the strength of the hitch in any way. Now putting a few holes in the hitch does open…

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Answer 11

If the surface on the inside of the drum where the shoe pads make contact isn't smooth then a brake shop may be able to turn the drums. If that surface or the surface where the magnet makes contact (called the armature surface) is discolored then…

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Answer 12

I wouldn't recommend using a jumper box for long term use as you may over heat it but there are quite a few people who have used them with winches like the Dutton Lainson StrongArm #TW4015 and it worked well.

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Do Electric Brakes Need to Share Ground Wire?

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