hotfishtacos
Senior Member
Tried breaking in the brakes per the Dexter manual, I can not get the brakes to lock up even with the controller on max. After slamming the brakes on @ 20mph about 30 times the truck brakes read 350 degrees, the drums on the trailer at 75!
Think I need to try manually adjusting them.
I'm taking it that if I pull the emergency they should apply instantly, as opposed to the 6 second delay I reported above. I'll give that a shot when I get it jacked back up, whenever I can get to it.
Bob, I am reporting what I found after my recent brake job. I also just converted to electric self-adjusting brakes for my 19. It included everything including brake backing plates, drums, bearings, races and seals and I did the work. I used heat-sealing marine crimp connectors to reconnect the brake electromagnets that were far better than the standard crimp connectors ETI originally used.
First I followed Dexter's recommendations for burnishing the brakes by taking it out and applying quick braking from 40 MPH to 20 MPH about 20 times. This is supposed to help the magnets and shoes start conforming to their mating surfaces. The trailer stops really fast when I set the brake control high but I also could not get my brakes to lock up. I did a couple of additional tests;
1. Pulled the pin on the emergency disconnect switch and measured the resulting current. With 4 magnets rated at 3.2 OHMs each and a trailer supply voltage of 13.1 volts DC I measured 16 AMPS, just what is expected.
2. I ran the dual axles up on ramps with one wheel set suspended at a time, put on the parking brake with the truck in park and maxed out the manual lever on the brake controller after spinning the wheels by hand. In all cases the wheels stopped spinning immediately.
This tells me the brakes are working as expected. I expect it to take some time for the brake drums and magnets to fully mate with their mating surfaces and the brakes to fully adjust but the trailer stops really fast when I set the brake control high.
I plan to take about a 6 week trip up the Eastern Sierras in California soon and will report any changes in braking performance.