Stopping Electric Brakes

There are two major areas that cause problems with electric brakes

1. Inferior Brake Controller (usually have heat sinks and are plug-ins) 85% of the problem.
2. Inferior Trailer Wiring (usually from the factory) 15% of the problem.

Most brake controllers do not support the amperage draw required by 2, or much less 4 axle trailers. Even some of the most expensive ones on the market realistically only support 18 Amps with 10 Amps fade. In addition the technology they use requires HEAT SINKS to handle the current passing through the device. YUCK!

Check your brake controller to see if you have a metal bottom. Then you'll know that it's all a marketing scheme to give you an easily insertable or removable brake controller. These controllers are subject to weakness and burn out during high amperage and high usage conditions.

Also note having a removable brake controller means that you will have a power loss at the connection. Most very heavy connectors are only rated at 6 Amps. Soldered pigtails help reduce this problem. See our TruControl Gold Page to solve this problem.

TruBrake Wiring Harness

Now for your trailer wiring problem. Your trailer is usually wired in 14 AWG (weight - 14 AWG is to thin to support the power) and in a daisy-chained pattern from the factory. Note the thin blue wire below. Also note that the magnets ground wire is usually riveted to the frame.

This pattern forces the first wheel to get the brunt of the power which seems to lock up especially on gravel. Ever wonder why?

Before from the Factory	After Positive TruBrake Installation
After Positive (brake) and Negative (ground) TruBrake Installation

To solve this problem we offer a wiring harness that uses 10 AWG (blue) to 12 AWG (red) of equal length to each wheel. Note the image above on correctly wiring an electric brake trailer harness.

Important TruBrake Harness points:

• The TruBrake Harness wire is thicker to support the increased power through-put.
• The TruBrake Harness is heavily soldered at the junction to support power through-put.
• The TruBrake Harness kit ships with both the positive and negative trailer wire spider harnesses.
• The TruBrake Harness is color coded for easy installation.

Now each wheel receives the same brake signal and with the larger gauge more power than before. For the first time you will be able to lock up your electric trailer brakes (all of them at once) if you so desire during panic stops.

TruBrake Conclusion

Get the TruBrake™ System and help your trailer stop correctly for the first time! Shown below is the wiring harness for both positive (brake) which is one blue wire to 4 reds (one for each magnet) and one negative (ground) which is a white wire to 4 greens (one for each magnet). This harness has been heavily soldered at the connection to reduce power loss normally found using a junction box.

IMPORTANT POINT: Make sure all reds are the same length! Make sure all greens are cut to the same length (depending on your trailer). Cut any extra from the White and Blue wires where they connect to your trailer. Our recommendation is that you start from the wheels and work forward.

The install is made easier since you use the wire crimps from the green and red ends to the magnet. As long as each magnet gets one green and one red wire it's connected (magnets are non-polar). Then just connect the blue wire to the brake signal and the white wire to ground.

The toughest part of the install is running the wires under the trailer and using wire ties to hold them up. Note the soldered connections above have 2 sheaves of heat shrink for added protection.

Please NOTE: These harnesses are currently available in 2 Axle configurations. You may purchase 2 sets for wiring 3 and 4 Axle configurations.

Make your family’s safety your #1 investment. Call today at 800-410-6580.