Troubleshooting Trailer Brakes that Lock Up When Connector is Connected

Published 08/28/2018

Question:

My brakes lock up as soon as I plug it in.I have tried 2 seperate truck with the same problem. The break away switch is missing with the 2 wires going to it not connected to anything. Im just trying to get it home so I can fix it there.Any solutions??

asked by: Eugene W

Expert Reply:

When we see this problem it's almost always with a 6-way trailer connector being used.

The issue is that there are two ways that a 6-way is typically wired and the only difference is that the 12 volt accessory circuit and the brake output circuit are swapped. Anytime we see trailer brakes immediately locking up when connected and there's a 6-way involved this is the issue.

What you need to do is swap the two circuits on the 6-way adapter or the 6-way connector and you'll be good.

expert reply by: Jameson C