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A break away deadman electric brake system

2

2510Paul

Well-known Member
I read the Trailer Tragedy with great interest. Chains saved me once. I trailer my tractor.

Anyway, I hook up the little electric break deadman cable but I am not sure how to test. I think it was Oregon Jack that said he always tested. What is best way to test?

Also, what do people use to clean their seven pin plug so all the electrics work? I have been using a certain electronic cleaner before I connect with some success.

Paul
 
to test the deadman, i dsconnect the trailer plug from the truck first (the manual for my tekonsha controller says to do that as activating the dead man switch may damage the controller) and pull the pin on the switch. you should hear the electric brakes activate.
 
Pull the emergency little cable from the emergency on the trailer,them try to pull forward and the tires shouls lock up. If not maybe a wire broke r a dead battery. Hope this helps
 
Good test advice above. One big problem is trailers that use the little sealed AGM battery for emergency brakes. If not connected to a tow rig often to recharge that little battery, it goes dead and remains dead for months, wrecking the battery. In the off season, I connect a good quality battery maintainer to the trailer plugs 12V + and ground terminals to maintain that little battery at full charge.

Some camper trailers use the large camper battery to power the emergency brakes, those seem to stay charged longer, but the little ones fail if unused / uncharged for many months.
Most any electrical contact cleaner works to keep the plug / soclet terminals clean.
 
About cleaning the connectors... Spray contact cleaner works as good as anything for cleaning. But the problem isn't the contacts are dirty, they get rusty and corroded. The connector tends to fill with water, gets trapped in the plug cavity and in the back side where the wires connect. Since one terminal is always hot, the moisture set up electrolysis and starts corroding the metal.

Back a page, Geo-TH,In was asking about the sealed connectors. He found one that was rubber molded, very expensive though. I found a Hopkins at Northern Tool that was epoxied in the back. Either design will solve the problem, tilt the bracket down so water will drain out the front, the rubber or epoxy will keep water out of the back. No more corrosion!
 
I upgraded all of mine to the type that has three status lights and a test button. The lights tell you discharged(red), charging(yellow) and charged(green) while you are connected to a towing vehicle. The test button will tell you if the battery is charged and good. If you push the test button and the yellow or red light comes on, it's time to replace the battery. I also do pull the cable switch as a final test. You should also have a newer type in-cab brake controller that will indicate if the brakes are connected. That is always a surprise when you go to stop and all you have are the brakes on the towing vehicle... Part of my dashboard scan as I drive also includes my brake controller.
 
Thanks everyone for your comments. I actually have the type of device Oregon Jack describes. I suspect my battery is bad due to sitting too much without charging. I will look into it.

Thanks again. Good topic for safety. When someone tows a trailer they take on a lot of risk and responsibility. And it is easy to forget something.

Paul
 
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