Help with Trailer Brakes

[Skirugger]

Strangest thing just happened..... we stopped for lunch, and the trailer brakes got SUPER sensitive! We had the gain on 8.0 (which was quite a bit higher than the 4.5 we had before we had the entire axle assemblies replaced months ago). We’ve been on the road almost a month. Luckily there was a large parking lot to test, and the 8.0 was violently stopping us. I dialed it down, and now 3.0 is about what I’m used to, and 1.0 does nothing noticeable. WHAT is going on? And HOW could this have happened? I checked everything, all looks normal. Thanks in advance for your advice!

[TheGuy]

Strangest thing just happened..... we stopped for lunch, and the trailer brakes got SUPER sensitive! We had the gain on 8.0 (which was quite a bit higher than the 4.5 we had before we had the entire axle assemblies replaced months ago). We’ve been on the road almost a month. Luckily there was a large parking lot to test, and the 8.0 was violently stopping us. I dialed it down, and now 3.0 is about what I’m used to, and 1.0 does nothing noticeable. WHAT is going on? And HOW could this have happened? I checked everything, all looks normal. Thanks in advance for your advice!

Did they get cold or wet or anything? Leaving from my last trip, mine did that until they warmed up. It was weird. We had been parked for days though.

I dialed the boost down on the TBC (Tekonsha P3) for a few miles and then everything was fine.

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[Skirugger]

Did they get cold or wet or anything? Leaving from my last trip, mine did that until they warmed up. It was weird. We had been parked for days though.

I dialed the boost down on the TBC (Tekonsha P3) for a few miles and then everything was fine.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

It did rain some last night, not a ton, clear skies today, and had driven about 70 miles before it happened. Temps are mid 60’s. This is so strange!

[cfowler55]

First of your new brakes work better after some use to seat them. Second hot brakes work better than cold brakes - to a point. I usually start out around 7.5 gain , then drop back to around 6.0 after a few miles. 3.0 does sound a bit low , but whatever works.
I have seen on rare occasion an elec brake that will cam over suddenly and grab due to adjustment.
Charlie

[jkwilson]

Seems to me you have two possibilities:

Something was wrong before and somehow self-corrected. Are they self-adjusting brakes? Maybe loose wiring made a better connection on the road???

Or something went wrong to make the brakes want to grab. Likely mechanical issue with the brakes.

I would make a good long stop like an exit ramp and check brake temperatures to be sure the are even and you don’t have one really outdoing itself.

[Skirugger]

Seems to me you have two possibilities:

Something was wrong before and somehow self-corrected. Are they self-adjusting brakes? Maybe loose wiring made a better connection on the road???

Or something went wrong to make the brakes want to grab. Likely mechanical issue with the brakes.

I would make a good long stop like an exit ramp and check brake temperatures to be sure the are even and you don’t have one really outdoing itself.

That’s a good point, I do not believe they are “self adjusting” but will look into it. As soon as we stopped I took temp gun to brakes, rear axle brake were 200-210 both sides (driver and passenger) and front axle brakes were about 40-45° cooler. This did not seem odd to me.

As we pulled into Rapid City, lady decided to walk
Across the street, 3.0 wasn’t quite enough, so I went up to 4.0 now.

Again, this is just strange to me as we are 2,000 miles into the trip, no crazy elevation change or temp or moisture change. I’m disconnecting now, and will see again in a week or so. Thank you!

[Skirugger]

Update: I’ve towed twice (about 500miles) since the brakes became much more sensitive & I guess 4.0 gain is the new 8.0 gain on the trailer brakes. I check them every time, and they function properly now at a much lower setting than before? Nothing else has seemed odd, or different, so....... I’ll keep them at 4.0 unless something changes (again).