Troubleshooting Clicking Sounds on a Hydrastar Electric Over Hydraulic Actuator

Updated 09/29/2025 | Published 05/14/2025

Products Featured in This Question

Hydrastar Electric Over Hydraulic Actuator for Disc Brakes - 1,600 psi

(246)

$928.52

Digital Multimeter with 42" Long Test Leads - LED Display

(3)

$23.22

Question:

Have a 2019 PJ gooseneck trailer and the electric over hydraulic brakes donfoot work. When throwing the actuator in the truck I get power to the blue wire and the HBA16 unit just clicks. When I open the bleeder valve I get nothing. Let me know what you think. Do I need a new actuator? Do these go out?

asked by: Fred G

Expert Reply:

Have you changed your tow vehicle or messed with your brake controller recently?

The HydraStar item # HBA16 clicking usually means that the trailer brake controller is either not compatible or not working properly. You can narrow down the possibilities by pulling the emergency disconnect on your trailer. If it's working correctly, and the breakaway battery is charged, the actuator should lock up the trailer brakes with no clicking. If you still have clicking be sure to check that the battery is fully charged and it holds a high enough voltage. A battery with voltage below 8.5 volts will not operate the motor properly.

If the HydraStar item # HBA16 operated as it should, then you have an issue with your controller or the wiring from the controller to the actuator. Check and make sure your brake controller settings haven't been changed.

If that's good, I recommend using a Multimeter like item # PT89ZR to test the brake controller output from the controller to the actuator to ensure that the power is not dropping off excessively along the wiring. You may see as much as a 1 volt drop due to resistance in the wiring depending on your vehicle. If it's more than that you've got a bad controller.

Let me know if this is able to resolve your issue and what you found when running the tests. We'll go from there if these steps don't sort out the clicking and get you up and running.

expert reply by: Jerred H

Jerred H.

9/29/2025

Hey, did you have a chance to run the tests with the Multimeter and check your brake controller settings? I'm eager to hear if these steps helped resolve the clicking issue, as it could guide others facing similar problems.