NorthTrail owners- CHECK YOUR BRAKE WIRING!! Heartland engineers-READ THIS.

After my first trip with my 09 21 FBS (only 100 miles , round trip), I decided to adjust the brakes. While doing so , I discovered that both sets of wires to the brakes on the street side (left) were rubbing on the wheel or the tire, due the rather haphazard way the wires were routed between the frame and the underbelly covering.

The rear brake wiring was rubbing on the tire and had worn entirely through the insulation, exposing about 3" of bare wiring.

The front brake wiring was rubbing on the wheel, and had rubbed off about 2" of the insulation.

If I had not discovered this, the brakes would have soon failed, as the wires would have worn completely in two!

I re-insulated the wires and used wire guides to route the wires clear of the wheels and/ or tires and also to take up some of the excess slack.

Heartland, take note: The wiring should exit the frame directly centered on the wheel ( mine were both several inches to the rear) and any slack wiring should be secured in such a manner that it can't contact the wheels or tires. Obviously, this is a safety issue!
 

jbeletti

Well-known member
I have passed this along to Heartland Engineering and Production. Thank you for advising on this.

Jim Beletti
 

jbsiii

Member
Interesting. My Tekonsha P3 has been complaining about an overload condition, which didn't start until after about 1500 miles on the trailer. My 21FBS is in the shop right now, and I've asked them to check into the brake wiring. I'll let you folks know how it goes.
 

davebennington

Senior Member
Wires that are routed incorrectly are, and should be the factories responsibility, however wires that are just loose or slack and blowing in the wind should have been caught by the dealer.
IMHO.

Dave
 

Nell

Active Member
On returning our brand new 31QBS to it's storage facility our brakes went out on us completely - the controller had been given intermittent error codes and we were "limping" along but didn't make it. It was scarey. When my husband checked underneath he too found that the brake wiring had been rubbing on the tire and had worn entirely through. He made a temporary fix and our dealer sorted it out.
 

Bobbert

Member
Thank you so much for the post on brake wiring!! I took delivery of 2009 21FBS in mid-June. Have been going over it and finding areas that need attention. After reading your post I checked brake wiring.. Looked at right side4 first...no problem..Then left side and same as what you discovered the two wires were much too lone(@8-10 inches) and rubbing on the inside of the wheel and exposing 3 inches of copper wire and one wheel had several strands worn through!! I made the repairs. As a side note, when I arrived home with this my SO(Significant Other) heard a banging coming from the wheel area as I was backing up. I dismissed this as the new brake springs returning shoes to normal position as I released brakes. I will re=test and find if the bare wires were causing this!! Thank you again for your post!!! Bob
 
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