Brake controller not working with pedal but works manually

[wrgrs50s]

I was driving home with the 5r in the rain and had to make a quick stop and it felt as though I had no trailer brakes. The truck skidded as I pumped the brakes before finally stopping. It about scared the crap out of me and the wife. Once I got out of traffic I started adjusting the controller and could not feel any difference in the braking. So, I then manually pulled the lever over and I could feel the trailer brakes stopping us. Has anyone else experienced anything similar? Is the brake controller going bad? Where do I start?
The controller is a Hayes Lemmerz

 

[danemayer]

In the manuals section of the forum, there's a Dexter Brake Diagnostic. Here's a link.

 

[Bob&Patty]

If you still have drum brakes on your 5er.......maybe they were just wet. Your brake controller might not be getting a signal from your brake light switch. Are your brake lights working on the truck?? BTW, pumping the brake pedal will make it stop any faster. In fact your defeating the anti-lock brake system on the truck. That could have been the cause of your truck skidding a little.

It's funny to me how we all forget how bad drum brakes worked when they were wet before the mid 1960's when disc brakes came out. I remember the mid 50's Buicks. If the brakes got hot or wet...you would drive, pedal to the floor, through 3 towns like a 7K cannon ball before you could get it stopped. Hitting a tree to stop it would only knock down the tree. Heck the front bumper weighed more than a Toyota, and the grilles were old cowcatchers from steam locomotives.

Their was a standing joke with the CHP about Buicks."They will out run anything on the road, but you can't stop them" When they would light someone up and the driver would pull over....the Buick would stop a 1/2 mile farther down the road. Poor ol' Brodrick Crawford... a few people on here remember him.

AAAH, the good ol' days

 

[wdk450]

Doesn't your brake controller have a numeric readout? It should show numbers (or other visual feedback) as you brake with the brake pedal, otherwise it has a problem.

Which MODEL (See link) Hayes controller do you have? http://www.hayesbc.com/?page_id=3

 

[greatwhitenorth]

You should just apply steady pressure to the pedal with anti-lock brakes, pumping them is old school before anti-lock brakes, that could possibly be your problem.

 

[JohnDar]

My lone problem with no trailer brakes was on dry freeway, heading to the 2013 Goshen rally. Turns out the connector for the umbilical had some oxidation on it, as well as the receptical in the truck. Sprayed some contact cleaner on them, worked them in and out a few times and no problems afterwards. If your trailer brakes do go out, use the manual transmission downshift button (if you're in manual and tow/haul) to help slow you down.

 

[hoefler]

Check the level adjustment for the pendulum. Chances are it has been bumped. By manually applying the brakes and getting braking action, indicates it is sending power to the brakes.

 

[jmgratz]

It is possible that the brakes on the trailer need to be adjusted. The brakes shoes could also have grease on them. I would suggest you check the brakes drums and brake shoes to see if they are clean and then adjust them properly (or have that done by someone who knows what they are doing). We recently changed out our brakes from the electric drum brakes to electric/hydraulic disc brakes. Now the trailer stops.

 

[wrgrs50s]

Thanks all for the quick response. You've gave me a number of things to consider. The Hayes model unit I have is the Energizer III which does not give a numeric readout. "hoefler" I think you may have hit the nail on the head, On the Hayes website I found a pdf guide for setting up the unit and It states that the position of the pendulum is very important in commanding the proper amount of braking power in relation to the brake pedal. I cleaned the dust off the brake controller while cleaning my truck before my last outing and may very well have moved the pendulum in the process, so I will start with a complete new set up using the Hayes pdf set up guide.

I will return with the results after I attempt a new setup.

 

[wdk450]

wrgrs50s:

The manual on your controller ( http://hayesbc.com/wp-content/theme...RGIZE III+XPC Operation Manual 051221-CAB.pdf ) says that the red light on the panel should come on during braking, the intensity of the light proportional to the braking intensity applied to the trailer brakes.

Since you have a controller with a manual pendulum, you may want to consider moving up to a brake controller with an electronic, solid-state, accelerometer IC device. These are used in high tech military inertial navigation devices as well as in IPads. These controllers (like the Tekonsha Prodigy series of controllers) are not as position sensitive as the mechanical pendulum types, and most have the digital readout for better braking visual feedback.

 

[wrgrs50s]

Update: I got a chance to hook up the 5r this weekend for a short trip. I found that the pendulum on my brake controller was the issue after all. I readjusted it and went through several readjustments before finally getting an even and smooth trailer brake. I found it was very sensitive from a point of no brakes to the point of sudden lock up. Thanks again for all the input. As WDK450 suggested, I may be looking into a higher quality controller in my near future.