Trailer Brakes Getting Extremely Hot When Towing with a 2009 Ford F-150 and Brake Controller  

Question:

Expert Reply:

You do have an issue that needs to be addressed. With the brakes getting that hot, braking performance can be significantly reduced, your brakes will wear prematurely, and the tow vehicle is working harder to stop and most likely pull the trailer.

I would start out checking the trailer connector at the rear of the vehicle, without the trailer connected. There is a possibility that mis-wiring or corrosion inside the connector is causing power bleed onto the trailer brake circuit, which will cause the magnets on the trailer not to release. If corrosion is found inside the connector, front or back, clean or replace it. If it is mis-wired rewire correctly, we have trailer wiring connector diagrams for you to use to correctly wire the connector, see link.

Next, check the trailer side connector, make sure it is wired correctly, and that there is no corrosion.

If the trailer connectors are wired correctly and free of corrosion, check the brake controller output wire. Sever the blue wire near the back of the controller, leaving enough room to reattach the wire. Now, apply the manual brake switch and test the output wire. You should have power when the manual override lever is activated and no power when it is released. If there is power on the blue wire when the brakes are not applied and the manual lever is not activated, you most likely have the red wire attached to the wrong circuit on the vehicle.

Check the red wire with a multi-meter, # PT89ZR. This wire should not have any power unless the brake pedal on the truck is activated. If you find that it has power when the brake pedal is not pressed, you will need to attach the red wire to a different brake pedal circuit that does not have power when the brake is not activated. If your controller is attached to the vehicle with the # 22292 Brake Control Wiring Adapter for Ford F-150, you should verify that the correct adapter has been used.

If the brake controller is wired correctly but you still have constant power out on the blue wire, then the brake controller has an internal malfunction and will need to be replaced.

Next, the brake assemblies on the trailer could be improperly adjusted. There is an access hole in the backing plate to insert a brake adjusting tool through and turn the adjuster in or out to properly adjust the trailer brakes.

We have a video on trailer brake installation and at 4 minutes 40 seconds trailer brake adjustment is shown. Tighten up the brakes inside the drum until it stops turning. Then back off 10 clicks, you should have a very fine light drag. If the drag is too heavy to easily turn the drum then you need to back the adjuster off some more.

expert reply by: Robert G

0