Weak Brakes

[Calbar]

I think I need to try it with another truck... Results to follow.

I think that is a good idea. I recall reading that there were a lot of people with the RAM factory brake controllers that were having much the same problem that you are having. Trailer not braking properly but trailer brakes are fine. I am not sure if this has been fixed by FCA or not but maybe do an internet search. I just did a quick search and found quite a few issues. This link is just one person having issues but might start you process to get it fixed.

https://www.ramforumz.com/showthread.php?t=240415

Good luck. I hope you get it fixed.

Rob

[cfowler55]

Have you confirmed you have a good ground connection from the truck all the way to the magnets?
Charlie

[gsfitzsr]

There are some good articles on this site about poor brake wiring done by GD. One member posted photos of how GD split the wiring in front of the axles using these quick crimp connectors and how one wire to one axle never got crimped. And, GD downsized the wires from 10ga to 14ga at the crimp connector. Because of this I'm taking down the underbelly plastic on my 2017 303RLS and pulling out all the brake wiring and replacing it all the way back to each brake magnet.

My axles are Dexter and on their website they mandate wire sizes and what GD used is smaller. The magnets will draw 4amps each based on their resistance. My tow vehicle is a 2018 RAM and when I engage the emergency stop lever the trailer brakes do grab but not so much in my opinion. I've tried many different settings and no matter what, they just seem weak overall.

I did open all the brake drums and found no grease leaking inside. All shoes looked good. Each magnet was worn quite a bit from trips to California and Colorado from Houston. My brakes are auto adjusting also. The exhaust brake on the Cummins diesel works so well, I hardly ever used the brakes in the mountain passes of Colorado.

I think it's a great idea to try another tow vehicle, maybe one with an aftermarket controller to see how it works. I plan to redo all the wiring and then check with a volt/amp meter the current draw and voltage drop at my brake magnets. I will also do this before and after making any wiring changes. I hope to post the results within the next few weeks.

Good luck.

[RVRunners]

Have you adjusted them? Have you taken the hub off and looked at the brakes? My brakes did not work well a year or so after I bought my fiver and I pulled the hub and they were all covered in grease, all four brake assemblies, I had to replace everything, bearings, hubs, pads, backing plate. I never put grease into the hubs, so it came like this from the factory.

You say they lock down hard when the pin is pulled, so maybe not your issue, but possibly worth checking.

DAN

Yes I do recommend you pull your hubs and inspect. If you have Lippert axles as I expect you should this is worth checking. I believe the date the Lippert grease issue was resolved was 5/9/17 so if your axles were manufactured prior to this date you may have the issue. Our 2017 Reflection 367BHS was a July 2016 build and we took delivery on August 31, 2016. We had the issue and I ended up getting the components, repacked our bearings and upgraded to the self adjusting backing plates at the same time. I use the Lucas Oil Red-N-Tacky grease and it does a great job. If you do a search on this forum you will find quite a bit of discussion about the grease on brakes issue. Good luck I hope you are able to resolve your issue quickly.

[ChasHall]

Sorry, I just now saw this thread. I also have a 2012 Ram 2500 Cummins. My trailer 2019 GD 5er will set the brakes hard if I manually apply the brakes while idling. Someone mentioned earlier to check to see if you have set up the controller for the heavy trailer. With the key on and in park, access the settings for the truck instrument panel and change the setting to Heavy trailer. When I shifted to the 5er from a TT, I had to make this setting change to get sufficient braking.

[happytravel]

I purchased a 337 about two and a half years ago and had the same issue. From day one the brakes were unsafe. My problem was grease on the brakes. This is a well document on the reflection 337. Never could get it corrected. To resolve the issue I installed disk brakes. An unnecessary large expense on my part but I had to resolve before someone was injured of killed. I fell I now have great braking and the controller is set a 6 instead of 10.

[SolarPoweredRV]

I did adjust the brakes one time only to discover they did not need it. The voltage of 11.4 versus 12 was probably because I taped the manual override levers together and they were not completely tight. Plus you should never need 12 volts except in an emergency... like trailer separation going down the road. That's where the safety pin comes in. The 2010 Ram does not have the light / heavy option. I have a slider hitch and when I need to move the slide back the brakes often times will not hold the 5th wheel in place so I have to chock a wheel. That's with the gain set to 10 and fully engaged. Again, pull the safety pin and it isn't going anywhere. Made a sharp corner at low speed one day and the safety pin wire caught on a bolt head and popped out. Truck and 5th wheel came to a very abrupt stop. The brakes are good. So the power is good leaving the junction box which of course is located very close to the emergency switch, and the power from the emergency switch to the brakes is good which should be using the same circuit as the brake controller. So I am thinking it may be a connector related to the controller wire and the emergency switch wire coming together which is hidden inside the pin box and or behind the fiberglass shell on the nose.

"The power from the emergency switch to the brakes is good which should be using the same circuit as the brake controller." is not actually correct. Whenever the pin is pulled on the Break Away Switch, the power is supplied by the trailer's 12v battery and not the Brake Controller.

You need to get voltage measurements at your wheels to determine if you are getting the same voltage at the wheels as you have at the 7-pin connector (as well as from the 7-pin to the junction box on the trailer).

[2goods]

When we get to our final destination later this month I plan to unplug the 7 pin connector from the truck and apply 12 volts from a spare battery directly to the blue brake pin and white ground pin on the 5th wheel pigtail. Then I will try to pull the trailer a foot or two. If the brakes a locked up I will know the problem is in the truck.

[Jillanddon]

I had the same problem after 2 years and less than 4000 miles. Grease all over the drums and pads. Complete replacement and still weak brakes, adjusted properly. Questioning the final wire sizing at 20 gauge which the tow shop said was unusually small.

[terrysawchuk61]

Just replaced four brake assembly. Over greased at factory