My Brake Controller Is Turned All The Way Down But It's Still Too Much Braking For My Trailer

Question:

I have my gain turned all the way down and it still is too much when I haul my camp trailer How can I adjust the gain even lower

asked by: Terek

Expert Reply:

Hey Terek, that doesn't sound fun at all. What brake controller do you have? I see you were looking at the discontinued Hayes Syncronizer 81725. If that is what you have, then there is only one adjuster wheel on this model, whereas some other controllers like Tekonsha Primus IQ Trailer Brake Controller # TK90160 have 2 - 1 for gain (power to brakes) and 1 for level of intensity.

It sounds like the full voltage is getting sent to the brakes due to an issue. Either the controller is defective, or there is a wiring issue causing full voltage to be sent to the trailer brakes. I would take a circuit tester like # PTW2993 and verify if you have full 12v on the controller's blue wire when you touch the brakes at all. It should not be full 12v unless you push the manual override slidebar or are in a full braking situation, so if it's full 12v when tapping the brakes, the controller is likely faulty. But as I said, the wiring should also be looked over to make sure it is wired properly and there are no shorts. I attached a wiring diagram for brake controllers.

As a sidenote, it doesn't hurt to make sure the brakes themselves are working properly. This would be something to check after checking the above voltage levels on blue wire.

expert reply by: Andrew N