Reflection Brakes/Wiring/Quality Control Issues

[jeffdawgfan]

I am posting this as a reference for people having similar issues and will also be sending this to GD regarding QA issues...

Background. I bought a Refelction 2017 303RLS back in April 2017. We purchased about 250 miles from home so had a good tow on the way home after the PDI. On the way home the brakes just did not feel right to me. The TT I had just traded, If I turned the gain up to about 7.0 on the brake controller it would lock up the trailer brakes. On the 303RLS at max gain and power boost I could barely feel any drag. This was probably compensated by the excellent and overly designed brakes on my new 2017 Nissan Titan Diesel tow vehicle. I could stop if I paid attention, but the brakes did just not feel right.

In June I finally got around to pulling my brake hubs and found all four assemblies contaminated with grease...same issue as others have found. I figured this was the problem and wrote Lippert and they mailed me four new assemblies which I replaced myself. This was at no cost and under their warranty. I have a great mistrust for the work quality of dealerships due to previous issues with with other RV's so prefer to do my own repairs and maintenance.

After replacing all brake hubs I tested brakes by having a side jacked up with trailer hooked to truck. I found the rear brakes worked great but the front brakes did not respond at all. So then I tested brakes by pulling breakaway switch and no brakes worked. There was obviously something amiss in the wiring for the brakes. I started tracing wiring and this is what I found:

1) The breakaway switch was so corroded it was frozen in open position. Would not work and wonder if it ever worked. I replaced with a quality switch shown below. I then had brakes upon breakaway for rear wheels only. Still no front brakes.

https://www.amazon.com/Fastway-80-00...eakaway+switch

I then started tracing the break wiring from tow harness back to the axles themselves. The wire from the 7 pin connector is blue and a 10 gauge wire. (All brake wiring should be 10 gauge). In the junction box just aft of the pin box the blue wire is joined with a ground in a flat red two conductor cable. The inner wires in this red flat are blue and white. (You can see in later photos.) This wiring is 14 gauge (should be 10 gauge). Anyway, I traced that red flat all the way back to the front axle by loosening and peeking under chloorplast bottom of trailer. I finally found where the wires branch out to the front and back axles. The manufacturer (Lippert or GD?) simply cut the red flat and spliced in three way connectors. They then ran two (20 gauge...yes 20 gauge) wires to the front axle. About two feet further back there are two more black wires tied in (20 gauge) to the rear axle. For connectors they used these cheap...I call them guillotine connectors. The connectors are supposed to work by slicing into the insulation and making contact with the conductor. The problem is, on small gauge wiring they do not make contact or worse yet they simply cut the wire. You cannot use these connectors for this small wire they used without problems...which I found. One of the black wires in the three way connector was either never inserted properly or the blades of the connector did not even cut through the insulation. THe result was that the front brakes on this trailer HAVE NEVER WORKED. This is a real problem GD and Lippert. People could die because of this lack of quality control. Were the brakes ever tested??? At PDI I have never requested that they place trailer on jacks and test each individual brake. I doubt others have either. Also the wiring is sub-standard. 18 or 20 gauge wiring should not be used on trailer brakes!!!

The front splice at front axle showing missing black wire:


Notice the loose black wire has no marks at all from the guillotine connector. It was never connected and thus the front brakes never worked from the factory.


So....I replaced all the substandard wiring going to each axles with 10 gauge wire. I used some heavy duty low voltage DC patio lighting wire that I had already that is water and weather resistant. I cut all the guillotine connectors out and used either crimp or twist tie connectors with heat shrink over the connection and then heavy electrical tape for good luck. I made sure all the wiring exposed at axles was tie wrapped away from tires so it could not be rubbed and frayed. I will be writing both GD and Lippert to find out who does the wiring for the brakes and the issues I have found. The small gauge substandard wiring is just a fatal accident waiting to happen for someone when it fails the way I have discovered.

IT is only a recommendation, but if you look at your axles and see those two small black wires coming down then you probably have the same type wire and connectors and I would replace that wire and associated connectors. This same wire/connectors probably used on other models (Solitude/Imagine???)

Also check your breakaway switches, if the same cheap model I have they contacts may be corroded open and unit will not work. Replace and lubricate the new one real well with a good dry lubricant.

I hope this can be a resource and warning to others having issues.

[BabyBober]

Thanks for the write up. So the 100k question is with the wiring changed can you lock up the trailer brakes now? I have always wondered if some of the weak brake issues may be related to voltage drop between truck and brakes. I just haven't torn things apart yet to test that theory.

Jim

[jeffdawgfan]

The breakaway at full voltage will lock them up. It held them for 10 minutes...did not want to kill battery so that was as long as I tested. Wiring did not even get warm.

We are going on 60 mile trip this weekend so I will break in new brakes and adjust my gain and boost all over again on that trip. As for locking them up while towing I cannot answer that yet. I will find out this weekend though.

[Gold Country Livin']

Please report that to us after the trip as to the brakes abilities. Thanks for a very informative write up. We can only hope that this is not the new "norm" and that you got a bad apple but my gut feeling is not. Why, oh why, is this happening? Are we going from the forever grease seal issue, to now, "How many of you have partial or poor brake performance" thread? Inferior wiring gauge and missed connections? Really?.....for BRAKES! Lippert and GD, what is going on?

[Cate&Rob]

Good write-up . . . this definitely should go in the Library.

I can add that this is not a "new" situation. My nearly three year old 2015 Reflection has exactly the same wiring and my break-away switch was also seized open as I mentioned on an earlier thread. All my brakes did work, so I did not have to discover the questionable connectors that are undoubted the same since these are the connectors also used at the axle brake wiring connections. Buried in another thread from way back, is information from Pat Wardell on how he increased the gauge of his cross-axle brake wiring to improve braking on the right side.

The connector issue belongs with GDRV since the axles are assembled to the frame at their facility . . . although they would be building to whatever LCI specifies for wire gauge and connectors.

Rob

[gbkims]

The wire from the 7 pin connector is blue and a 10 gauge wire. (All brake wiring should be 10 gauge). In the junction box just aft of the pin box the blue wire is joined with a ground in a flat red two conductor cable. The inner wires in this red flat are blue and white. (You can see in later photos.) This wiring is 14 gauge (should be 10 gauge). Anyway, I traced that red flat all the way back to the front axle by loosening and peeking under chloorplast bottom of trailer. I finally found where the wires branch out to the front and back axles. The manufacturer (Lippert or GD?) simply cut the red flat and spliced in three way connectors. They then ran two (20 gauge...yes 20 gauge) wires to the front axle. About two feet further back there are two more black wires tied in (20 gauge) to the rear axle.

Thanks a lot for the good detective work.
I've noticed how small the wires get by the time they reach the brakes, on my to do list to upgrade the size.

OMG! 20 Awg, what are they thinking? Those smaller wires look like how light fixtures are wired internally, except these brake wires have to extend for several feet still.
I guess the installer didn't know what to do with some many wires and only 3 conductior IDC connector.

I agree, 10 Awg should be run from jct box all the way to axles, even though 14 Awg can pass the amps it'll have a bit more voltage drop.



Gene

[WhittleBurner]

Checked an e-trailer site and they also say the brakes should be with a blue wire. They say 12 gauge though, not 20 by any means. We had one of the connectors under our trailer break. Our son is a mechanic who does work on commercial trailers. According to him when they have a trailer come in with brake problems, more often than not they will find breaks at the connectors. He said they automatically replace all of the little connectors because of how bad they are for having problems.

[Chiefblueman]

Thanks for the write up Jeff. I've corrected several wiring issues due to loose or improperly crimped connections but none as critical as brake wiring. Just finished tidying up the wiring behind the Nautilus panel where I found a loose common to the water pump among others. Thought I had it whipped. Looks like brake wiring is next up.

[TucsonJim]

Jeff - Superb job. Thanks for sharing. I have closed your previous thread and inserted a link to this thread. I've also placed a copy of your write-up in the reference library as Rob suggested.

Jim

[gbkims]

I have 2 sizes of wires dropping down from the coroplast to each brake on left side, looks like 16 Awg and 18 or 20 Awg. Axle internal wires are 16 Awg.

Found trailer brake wire chart in a dexter axle operation & service manual, 12 Awg was the min size recommended.