Weak brakes & battery box confusion.

[Dftodd]

It also pushes through the inner bearing at the same time. They both have spaces between the rollers.

But..... your pressure when using a grease gun should relieve out through the outer bearing.

The little hole for the grease to enter the axle cavity is between the lip seal and inner bearing.

If a grease gun is pushing out the lip seal, then there is a clog somewhere between the inner and outter bearing.

Any decent mechanic should recognize that fact and address the issue instead of blaming it on the tool

 

[Sid Post]

Been there, done that!

Look for rust on the 2" receiver housing. In my case, the Dodge Ram 2500 came with a 2.5" receiver with a 0.5" spacer so it would accept 2" receiver components. That sleeve and the trailer hitch connection collected water and rusted, breaking the circuit to the trailer brakes in my case. Like a light switch some turned off I went from excellent brakes to absolutely nothing!

 

[Hay Dude]

Maybe not adjusted correctly when you bought it?

Worked great in March when I brought it home. Breaks would fully lock when empty. Adjusted nicely. Now just lightly working.

 

[Hay Dude]

It's a prety simple wire circuit that anyone can diag fairly easily..I wouldnt be giving up and taking it some where just yet.

Also those batteries can be stone dead and the brakes work totally fine because there powered by the truck not the battery.

I understand that.
I’m saying there’s 2 problems
1. Brakes are weak
2. Battery box indicator light says “recharge”, but electrical tester says 12.4V.

 

[Dftodd]

I understand that.
I’m saying there’s 2 problems
1. Brakes are weak
2. Battery box indicator light says “recharge”, but electrical tester says 12.4V.

I would try googling the manual for the battery box for your trailer. It should say what voltage will trip the recharge light. Does the recharge light go out after it's hooked to your truck for a bit???

Light was on on my landscape trailer after I hooked my truck to it. Of course the trailer had been sitting for 1.5 years

Light was out when I returned the trailer to my son's the next night. It had been hooked to my truck for about 14 hours solid. I did disconnect the trailer lights when I got to my house and parked it for the night. Hooked them back up in the morning before leaving for work.

I didn't want to take a chance on the trailer battery drawing the truck battery down overnight.

 

[RustyA]

Is it possible the ground from the 7 pin trailer wire to the trailer itself is not secure or a dirty connection? That would cause an undercharge from 12v charge wire as well as poor voltage to electric brakes. A properly grounded trailer circuit should not rely on hitch, drawbar or ball for it's ground. With your truck running and trailer connected your breakaway battery should show 13.9-14.2 volts from truck alternator. That's where I would start looking if it was mine. Might solve both problems with one ground.

 

[aircommuter]

Worked great in March when I brought it home. Breaks would fully lock when empty. Adjusted nicely. Now just lightly working.

Maybe adjusted right at the borderline. At any rate proper adjustment now would eliminate that item. In order to solve a problem you must understand the problem and take an analytical approach.

 

[Sid Post]

Brake loss is not related to the emergency braking battery.

Verify you have a good ground and power from the connector on the pickup and then through the trailer wiring. If the brakes are good but, not working, you are most likely looking at a ground or power problem between the pickup and the trailer.

In terms of slinging grease or oil on the brakes, that seems pretty unlikely on a modern trailer in reasonable shape. I would tend to think a more likely scenario is a fractured brake pad or broken drum/disc which should be pretty obvious so, like my problem most likely electrical in nature between the pickup and trailer. And further, the emergency braking battery is not required for brakes to work normally; if it was I would need to travel with a working battery to move most trailers!

 

[Hay Dude]

Brake loss is not related to the emergency braking battery.

Verify you have a good ground and power from the connector on the pickup and then through the trailer wiring. If the brakes are good but, not working, you are most likely looking at a ground or power problem between the pickup and the trailer.

In terms of slinging grease or oil on the brakes, that seems pretty unlikely on a modern trailer in reasonable shape. I would tend to think a more likely scenario is a fractured brake pad or broken drum/disc which should be pretty obvious so, like my problem most likely electrical in nature between the pickup and trailer. And further, the emergency braking battery is not required for brakes to work normally; if it was I would need to travel with a working battery to move most trailers!

Yeah I know that. As I have said many times, I have 2 issues going on.
1. Breakaway battery box light reads recharge, but electrical tester says 12.4 volts. Thats one of the issues.
2. Brakes suddenly became weak. That’s the other issue.

I’m very aware the battery box is not related to the brake loss.

 

[Dftodd]

Yeah I know that. As I have said many times, I have 2 issues going on.
1. Breakaway battery box light reads recharge, but electrical tester says 12.4 volts. Thats one of the issues.
2. Brakes suddenly became weak. That’s the other issue.

I’m very aware the battery box is not related to the brake loss.

Here's a screen shot from a quick Google search on the recharge light stsying on.