Trailer Brakes No Longer Work After Driving With Breakaway Pin Pulled

Updated 07/25/2019 | Published 07/24/2019

Question:

My 5th wheeler is a 2006 Crossroads Cruiser SK30. Last week while on a trip, I made a sharp 90 turn and the cable to the breakaway switch got caught under the base of the hitch in the truck bed pulling the breakaway out. I felt like there was something wrong as the truck was struggling to pull the trailer but didnt put two and two together until about 2 miles later, when I looked out my mirrors and saw smoke billowing out the trailer brakes. Stopped truck and realized what happened and put breakaway plug back in and let brakes cool off. Started truck up and started moving.... NO BRAKES. Drove home very slow with no brakes on trailer. Tested in driveway and when pulling breakaway out trailer stops. When first starting truck and pulling trailer, brakes work for two or three times and then no more which tells me the Shortstop 50 amp circuit breaker in the trailer battery compartment is most likely tripping. Could there possibly be melted wires in the wheels from the overheating that is causing a short circuit and tripping that circuit breaker or anything you could think of ???

asked by: Joseph M

Expert Reply:

There are several things that could be causing your trailer brakes to no longer work but a circuit breaker in the trailer battery compartment would not be one of them as this should have no bearing on the brake output circuit if wired properly. The most obvious place to start would be by pulling each of the hubs and checking all of the mechanical components on the braking assemblies, linkages, springs, magnets, shoe lining etc.

If the braking assemblies check out which if the trailer brakes worked once the breakaway was pulled a second time then it would appear they will. Therefore, the most likely cause of your issue is with the brake controller. If you have the trailer attached while the breakaway pin is pulled, this can damage your brake controller. In order to test a brake controller you will first need to turn the power settings up to max, usually with a knob or buttons on the exterior of the unit. Once you have power at the max settings have a friend apply the manual override which is usually a bar or button on the exterior of the unit and then test the 1 o'clock pin on the 7-way. If you get 12 volts then you are good to go. If not you will need to replace the brake controller.

expert reply by: Conner L