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08-19-2018, 11:27 AM
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#1
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Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: California
Posts: 5
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Defective brake controller?
I have a question for those of you that have been there done that.
Within a month of having the bearings on my Hideout 24RLS repacked I had a wheel bearing burn out. The shop that did the repacking took responsibility for the problem and replaced the brakes and bearings. Then 11 months later I had the same wheel in that location burn out again. I then had the axle replaced and repacked and aligned all wheels. On my next trip I checked the tempature of all wheels every 30 miles and found that the same wheel location on the new axle was heating up about 50 degrees hotter than the other wheels. I pulled into a highly recommended shop on route. I explained the problem to them and within 15 minutes they had diagnosed the problem as a defective OEM brake controller.
The Ford dealer checked my controller and said that it was ok. As a work around I installed a Tekonsha P3 after market controller and took a 1500 mile trip and had no problems. The brake wiring has been checked and found to be good.
Have any of you experienced this problem? I would like to replace the OEM controller so that the truck computer would connect properly with all its diagnostic info but don’t want to invite problems.
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08-19-2018, 12:56 PM
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#2
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Site Team
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: W. Texas
Posts: 17,692
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I've not encountered your issue but I'm curious to see what the responses are. I'm not aware that a brake controller can direct current to individual wheels so I may learn something.
__________________
Danny and Susan, wife of 56 years
2019 Ram 3500 Laramie CC SWB SB 6.4 4x4 4.10
2020 Montana High Country 331RL
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08-19-2018, 05:47 PM
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#3
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Site Team
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Joppa, MD
Posts: 11,752
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The factory brakes on the trailer and the brake controler activate all the brakes at the same time with the same voltage. I would suspect the tech overadjusted the brake on that one wheel so it was grabbing harder and doing the majority of the work causing it to overheat.
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Marshall
2012 Laredo 303 TG
2010 F250 LT Super Cab, long bed, 4X4, 6.4 Turbo Diesel
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08-19-2018, 07:05 PM
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#4
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Site Team
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Gaylord
Posts: 26,996
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There's one wire from the brake controller through the 7 pin connector to the one wire in the trailer wiring harness. That one wire goes back to the front axle. At the axles it splits to two wires, one to the front axle and one to the rear axle. At the roadside wheel (on most trailers), it branches through the axle shaft to the other wheel on each axle. Nowhere is there any capacity for the brake controller to "control independent braking action" to any one wheel. All are provided the same "one wire current" when the brake controller (either OEM or aftermarket) sends the signal to stop the trailer.
Any repeated malfunction of the braking system on any specific wheel would probably be a mechanical issue, not a electrical issue (assuming all 4 wheels are correctly connected and the magnets are operating properly). All 4 wheels receive the same electrical current.
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John
2015 F250 6.7l 4x4
2014 Cougar X Lite 27RKS
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10-14-2018, 10:18 AM
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#5
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Junior Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: California
Posts: 5
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We just back from a 1500 mile trip to Washington and Oregon using the Tekonsha P3 aftermarket controller. During the trip I checked the wheel temperature several times a day and didn’t experience any significant temperature differences between the wheels. I do agree that logic would dictate that the problem is mechanical ie: over tightening. What contradictes this conclusion is that the problem surfaces using the OEM controller and doesn’t when using the aftermarket controller. I should also mention that the shop that first diagnosed the bad controller called the shop that did all the work on the trailer bearings/ axle and shared the symptions with them and they both agreed that it was a bad controller.
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10-14-2018, 06:18 PM
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#6
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Site Team
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Joppa, MD
Posts: 11,752
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rstarr8415
We just back from a 1500 mile trip to Washington and Oregon using the Tekonsha P3 aftermarket controller. During the trip I checked the wheel temperature several times a day and didn’t experience any significant temperature differences between the wheels. I do agree that logic would dictate that the problem is mechanical ie: over tightening. What contradictes this conclusion is that the problem surfaces using the OEM controller and doesn’t when using the aftermarket controller. I should also mention that the shop that first diagnosed the bad controller called the shop that did all the work on the trailer bearings/ axle and shared the symptions with them and they both agreed that it was a bad controller.
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Well then, good luck.
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Marshall
2012 Laredo 303 TG
2010 F250 LT Super Cab, long bed, 4X4, 6.4 Turbo Diesel
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10-23-2018, 06:06 AM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Midlands of South Carolina
Posts: 277
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This actually sound like a compound problem involving both the brake controller and the one brake with the higher temperature.
On the mechanical side, it sounds like a maladjustment on the brake pad clearance in that the clearance was closer than the other three brakes.
Add to that a minor fault of slightly higher leakage current from the brake controller that provided just enough overall power to the brake circuit to move all brakes a millimeter or two. Just enough for that one brake to make contact and increase drag.
Just my thoughts, YMMV, glad to hear that the problem was resolved.
__________________
Bill & Anne, Athena (cat), Jada (pup), and Cupcake (cat)
Retired Navy CPO, Vollie Firefighter and Industrial Maintenance Specialist
Wilson III: 2015 Ram Tradesman 2500 6.4l CC 4x4 SB
the gypsy, Belle III: 2018 Sprinter Limited 3531 FWDEN
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