2018 Bighorn 3970RD - No Brakes

[mlpeloquin]

Looks normal there. In fact a lot cleaner than mine was. How are the connections inside the connectors and are the contacts oxidized? Next would be to inspect the wiring at the brakes themselves for pinched wiring or cut insulation. You may want to follow the wiring down to the first break that it is connected to first. While under the rig you will find that the break wires actually go into the center of the axles. The openings are sharp and several have had intermittent shorts there. The solution was to cut and jumper the wire on the outside of the axles. As described above the problem could be pinched wires inside the break assemblies as well.

One more thing to add is to do as suggested and pull the break-away switch. You should hear the magnets hum. When pulling the switch it applies 100% of the battery voltage to them. So only do this for a short period of time as stated in the above post.

 

[cookie]

If you notice the light blue wire goes into a gray sheathed cable. There is a white one in there as well.
These two wires in that gray sheathed cable go to the brakes.
Somewhere along the line, probably underbelly near the axles, they splice into the wires that feed your brake magnets at the axle.
You can trace voltage along those wires.
Have you listened for a click at the axles when someone applies the brakes? You can also pull the breakaway cable to achieve that but someone has to be listening at the axle.

Peace
Dave

 

[SNOKING]

One more thing to add is to do as suggested and pull the break-away switch. You should hear the magnets hum. When pulling the switch it applies 100% of the battery voltage to them. So only do this for a short period of time as stated in the above post.

Jack up a wheel and see if in turns with the break-away switch is pulled. Chris

 

[qmrichardson]

Ok here’s a picture of what the brake wires look like at thebackside of the tires. The wires gointo the axle and into to the back of the hub assembly. I know ya’ll say I should check them but whatam I supposed to do, take the whole drum apart? I’m afraid I’m about to just break out my wallet cause trying to getinto the drum assembly is something I’ve never done before.

 

[danemayer]

Ok here’s a picture of what the brake wires look like at thebackside of the tires. The wires gointo the axle and into to the back of the hub assembly. I know ya’ll say I should check them but whatam I supposed to do, take the whole drum apart? I’m afraid I’m about to just break out my wallet cause trying to getinto the drum assembly is something I’ve never done before.

It's not a slam dunk that this is an electrical problem. It could be something else. So before you take anything apart, get one wheel off the ground, pull the emergency breakaway cable to see if it locks the wheel. That would tell you the electrical components are working. If one works, try the others.

This just verifies the electric operation. It doesn't mean you have any stopping power. So for example, if there's grease on the drums for some reason, they'll lock up in this test but won't feel like they're doing anything. If for example, the brake shoes were never broken in, they may feel like they're not doing anything.

So take the easy path and verify that the brakes are getting power and trying to function. If one works, run the same test on the diagonally opposite wheel. If that one locks from the breakaway circuit, you can stop looking for electrical problems and move to mechanical issues.

Remember to not leave the breakaway switch unplugged for more than a very short period.

 

[qmrichardson]

It's not a slam dunk that this is an electrical problem. It could be something else. So before you take anything apart, get one wheel off the ground, pull the emergency breakaway cable to see if it locks the wheel. That would tell you the electrical components are working. If one works, try the others.

This just verifies the electric operation. It doesn't mean you have any stopping power. So for example, if there's grease on the drums for some reason, they'll lock up in this test but won't feel like they're doing anything. If for example, the brake shoes were never broken in, they may feel like they're not doing anything.

So take the easy path and verify that the brakes are getting power and trying to function. If one works, run the same test on the diagonally opposite wheel. If that one locks from the breakaway circuit, you can stop looking for electrical problems and move to mechanical issues.

Remember to not leave the breakaway switch unplugged for more than a very short period.

When the emergency breakaway cable is pulled, where does thepower come from to lock the wheels? Does it come from the tow vehicle, or fromthe RV battery?
Next, the trailer is currently leveled with the automaticleveling system and setup on my campsite. Can I just use a jack and lift up onetire to perform this check?
Lastly, the brake controller reading in thetruck is “not connected” when connected to the trailer. I have connected to a different trailer andit worked fine with a “connected” reading, so this leads me to believe theproblem is somewhere in the trailer. Knowing this, is the emergency breakawaycable test still necessary?

 

[danemayer]

When the emergency breakaway cable is pulled, where does thepower come from to lock the wheels? Does it come from the tow vehicle, or fromthe RV battery?
Next, the trailer is currently leveled with the automaticleveling system and setup on my campsite. Can I just use a jack and lift up onetire to perform this check?
Lastly, the brake controller reading in thetruck is “not connected” when connected to the trailer. I have connected to a different trailer andit worked fine with a “connected” reading, so this leads me to believe theproblem is somewhere in the trailer. Knowing this, is the emergency breakawaycable test still necessary?

Breakaway switch power comes from the trailer battery.
You can usually use manual leveling to raise a wheel off the ground. You can use a jack instead, but don't but the jack on the axle tube as it can cause damage to the tube.
Is it necessary? You have a good point that the not connected message suggests an electrical problem. But checking wheels may help you localize the problem even if electrical. You may find one axle's brakes working and the other not. Or perhaps one wheel not working.

 

[qmrichardson]

Breakaway switch power comes from the trailer battery.
You can usually use manual leveling to raise a wheel off the ground. You can use a jack instead, but don't but the jack on the axle tube as it can cause damage to the tube.
Is it necessary? You have a good point that the not connected message suggests an electrical problem. But checking wheels may help you localize the problem even if electrical. You may find one axle's brakes working and the other not. Or perhaps one wheel not working.

Ok, thank you for the information. I definitely would have put the jack directly on the tube... If you don't put the jack on the tube, where do you put it?

On another note, I just got off the phone with Heartland and they think I should buy a new Brakecontroller even though mine works well while connected to other trailers. He told me they have been seeing lately thatnot all brake controllers are able to communicate with the newer model Heartlands.I told him no problem, I’d be happy to buy another, but please tell me whichone will work for sure. So he’s going togo check and get back with me.

 

[danemayer]

Ideally you would jack the frame, which is what's recommended by Heartland and Dexter (and Lippert).

What I've done is put blocks under the jacks on the side I want to lift. Then use the Level-Up system in manual mode to lift the rear of the trailer. As the jacks on both sides extend, the side with the blocks comes off the ground first.

 

[mlpeloquin]

What the Heartland person told you doesn't seem to make sense. The break controller applies a voltage to the brake magnets. You do not have disk brakes. Some brake controllers will only work with disk brakes when a load is applied across the brake lines. The load tells the controller that the trailer brakes are connected. It is not needed for drum brakes and any brake controller will, if not defective, will work with drum brakes.

You could be dealing with an intermittent open at the truck or trailer cable connector as well. Since you have not had any problems with other trailers, I would look closely at the trailer connector where the wires are connected to the contact pins. I do not remember if this back of the connector opens up for inspection. If it does, you need to verify that the blue wire has a good connection there.

 

[carl.swoyer]

Ok, thank you for the information. I definitely would have put the jack directly on the tube... If you don't put the jack on the tube, where do you put it?

On another note, I just got off the phone with Heartland and they think I should buy a new Brakecontroller even though mine works well while connected to other trailers. He told me they have been seeing lately thatnot all brake controllers are able to communicate with the newer model Heartlands.I told him no problem, I’d be happy to buy another, but please tell me whichone will work for sure. So he’s going togo check and get back with me.

You can place a board on the jack and transfer the weight across the u bolts. Lifting one tire at a time is all you need. Do this while hooked up to the truck.( When I said hooked up I mean just the pigtail) Spin the wheel and apply the break with the truck brake pedal and the again with the brake controller.
Do you have a trailer sales place nearby? Not Rv trailers but large utility trailer sales. The usual test is done with a portable break test kit.( Most trailer places have one so that they can test their own Trailer before they deliver to to customer.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[Gary521]

You can place a board on the jack and transfer the weight across the u bolts. Lifting one tire at a time is all you need. Do this while hooked up to the truck.( When I said hooked up I mean just the pigtail) Spin the wheel and apply the break with the truck brake pedal and the again with the brake controller.
Do you have a trailer sales place nearby? Not Rv trailers but large utility trailer sales. The usual test is done with a portable break test kit.( Most trailer places have one so that they can test their own Trailer before they deliver to to customer.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

I agree that you can place a jack by the spring U bolts and lift one tire. You are NOT lifting the trailer but just putting force against the springs to slightly lift the tire off the ground. However, as been suggested, The easiest thing to do is lift one side by the Level up system.