I recently rewired a trailer and truck for the usda with a Hoppy Impulse brake controller not the most expensive but no sense in wasting taxpayer money. Anyway the controller has a short circuit protection in it and i am using it to hook up to a 6 brake trailer. the brakes work intermittently and the rest of the time the controller shows the short circuit on brake wire. i just rewired the entire trailer and the only thing that is not new is the brakes which i am guesing at least 10 yrs old. if anyone has any suggestions please let me know.
PS does anyone know if brake magnets can cause the intermittent short?
Alright heres to add to the conundrum. the pickup up to another trailer and it works just fine if you use the slide on the brake controller and there is juice to the brakes. but if i press the brake pedal it comes up with an error of the trailer disconnected but there is still juice to the brakes.
You would need to look at the amperage draw of the brakes (total) and the amperage output of the trailer brake controller.
Amperage is how much "force" is required to activate something. Like a little motorcycle trying to pull a big trailer, maybe not enough "power" to pull it.
And trailer brakes typically are 2 or 4. I would imagine 6 to be not very common. Thus I would imagine that there would be brake controllers out there which can handle 2 or 4 brakes, but not 6?
The thing to do is call the brake controller manufacturer and see if the controller can handle 6 brakes? Maybe be adjusted for 6? Or perhaps a different model is needed?
And thank you for saving tax payer money! (Yours and mine!)
The first thing I would check is the compatibility of your brake controller with a six brake set-up. From my experience, a six-brake set-up does require a special controller. Other than that, I would disconnect the rear axle's brake wiring, then try using the unit with the two axles. If you have not fried the controller by now, see if it would work with just two axles. If it does--TA-DA! The six brake set-up will be the problem. This would go back to the amperage draw part described by Billy_Bob.
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