Troubleshooting a Dump Trailer that the Brakes Lock Every Time the Brakes are Touched

Updated 03/10/2014 | Published 03/09/2014

Question:

Hello there , I recently bought a activator 4 installed it and it works just like its suppose to when hooked up to my car trailer it has brakes on one axle. I bought a brand new dump trailer and just the decimal point comes on with brakes on connected to the dump trailer or not. However the brakes work but they just lock up and seem to come on before the truck brakes do..I have synced it with minimal power butch the brakes just lock up. Any ideas how to remedy it?

asked by: Rich

Helpful Expert Reply:

It sounds like the problem you are experiencing is in the wiring. It sounds like the brake light circuit is somehow wired to the brake output circuit of your trailer and every time the brake lights come on your trailer brakes are locking up.

I wouldn't be surprised if when you turned on one of the blinkers the brakes of the trailer locked up to the rhythm of your blinker.

It sounds like the problem is in your trailer wiring since you said the controller worked fine prior to this trailer. I would recommend you go over the wiring of you trailer and make sure that all of the circuits are run correctly to the 7-way of your trailer. I attached a picture of how the trailer should be wired.

I also attached an FAQ article on trailer wiring for you to check out as well.

One way to check the wiring of your 7-way would be to use a 12 volt battery and apply voltage to each circuit and see what trailer wiring functions activate and then compare that to the picture I attached.

expert reply by: Jameson C