Troubleshooting Horse Trailer Brakes that Lock Up When Brakes are Touched

Updated 11/01/2021 | Published 10/31/2021

Question:

When I step on brake pedal the trailer tire or tires drag and brakes are very grabby Im not sure if thats locked up or what. Could this be the brake controller problem. It is a Voyager $35 and has a level knob and power knob and manual slide. I have paid $1500 after buying this 2011 Circle J 2horse trailer for $10000. And still cant get the brakes to work smoothly. please help me!

asked by: Renee S

Expert Reply:

Since you said it's a horse trailer, and horse trailers use the 6-way connector I would be willing to bet that your right stop/turn circuit of your trailer wiring is shorting to the brake output circuit since the pins are next to each other. You can test this easily by putting on the right blinker and seeing if the brakes pulse with the blinker. To fix that you'd just need to go over the wiring of the circuit and look for any cut or exposed wire and fix as needed.

I attached a help article on troubleshooting trailer wiring for you to check out as well.

expert reply by: Jameson C