Could a Locked Brake Cause a Broken U-Bolt  

Question:

Expert Reply:

If the u-bolt was pretty weak to begin with and the wheel was locked and skidding with wheel-hop I could see how things might break.

I would not say it is a common occurrence, but I could see it possibly happening. I would definitely go over the trailer suspension looking for other damaged components and fix as necessary. Since I do not know which u-bolts you will need I attached a link to a page that has all of the u-bolts we carry.

To determine why the brakes are locked up I would begin by checking the brake feed wire close to the trailer brakes themselves with a circuit tester, item # PTW2993 if needed, to see if there is power going to the trailer brakes when the trailer is connected to the vehicle. If so then there is a problem somewhere on the vehicle that is sending the power to the brakes. If there is no power on the brake feed circuit then there is a problem with the trailer brakes themselves.

Checking the controller would be next, you should have power in to the controller on the black wire and power leaving the controller on the blue wire when the brake pedal is pressed or the manual slide knob is activated. The red wire should have power on it only when the brake pedal is pressed. The white wire needs to be connected to a solid clean ground or preferably the negative battery post.

Finally, if these functions are working correctly you will need to check the trailer connector on the vehicle and be sure it is not shorted and is wired correctly. If the brake controller is applying power on the blue wire circuit without the brake pressed or the manual slide activated then the brake controller itself must have a problem. Brake controllers have no internal user serviceable parts.

expert reply by: Jameson C

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