Troubleshooting Electric Brakes with Dexter DX2 Controller
Updated 03/05/2019 | Published 03/04/2019
Question:
I am not real knowledgeable on electric brakes or the various styles of controllers. On some controllers I have seen the manual control arm move when the foot brakes are applied. Does the DX2 do that? Have burned up 2 sets of brakes. Got in it the other day and the display was showing 1.3 V. Manual lever was not all the way to the right. Gave it a tiny shove, it went over, display went out. Driver tells me he never uses it in manual. If I bring it to the left with the manual control and let go sometimes it goes all the way back. Other times it sticks. What I need to know is if it moves under normal foot brake application. Thanks. Great site BTW.
asked by: Rex U
Expert Reply:
The manual override lever does not move when you hit your brake pedal but the digital display will light up and give you a reading. The slide is only for the manual emergency braking or to apply additional braking pressure to your trailer as desired and should not move when you hit your brake pedal at all. The description you gave is that your manual override is sticking and not releasing the braking pressure some of the time which would definitely lead to burning up your brake shoes and magnets. Basically you'd be driving with the brakes at least partially applied until you realized that issue.
The Dexter Predator DX2 Trailer Brake Controller # 58-8 is not what I'd recommend and it doesn't sound to be functioning correctly. I'm also not a fan of the deceleration sensor lever as accidentally moving that lever could cause issues with your braking pressure. I recommend replacing it with a Tekonsha controller like # TK90160, # 90885, or # 90195. These are some of the more reliable controllers that have a limited lifetime warranty.
I've attached an article and some videos to further assist.
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