Cant back up!!!!

[Mike Tosello]

OK, i'm a bricklayer not an electrician.... When i back my trailer up the surge brakes are activating and stopping me. Took me an hour to get up my driveway last night. I tryed pushing the release tab behind the ball on the tongue but i still could not back-up. Checked all the wires going to the trailer and everything seems fine, i'm getting power to all wires when i should be.... Is there something in the tongue of the trailer that can go bad? I know nothing about these surge brakes but have a feeling i will know all about them in a few days.... Please help, thanks in advance!!!



Mike

 

[mike chip]

Is your trailer a 4 pin or the new 5 pin?

if its a four pin are your reverseing the cap to allow you to reverse? If its a 5 pin then you need to rewire you truck to allow the reverse feature to work.

 

[Staci Matheis]

Mike -



I ocassionally put a c-clamp on the section of the tongue that goes into the rest of the frame to keep it from actuating the brakes. But I don't have problems backing on level ground either.....



How did you do at Rend Lake?



me!

 

[Mark Weichold]

Ya need to add a additional wire spliced to your back up light, this will serve as your fifth wire in the five wire plug-in on your trailer. Then you attach the new extra wire with a female plug to the trailer wires. Takes about ten minutes to install.



Mark

 

[Carlos Hathcock III]

As a cheater if you have a 4 pin on the vehicle and a 5 pin on trailer, put the BLUE wire to the BROWN wire and turn on your running lights to turn off the surge brakes.

Had to learn that on Tox's trailer...surge breaks work really well!!!!



Carlos

 

[Ken Neeley]

If it's a 4-pin on your vehicle, before you back up, unplug the connector and insert the LAST male pin into ANY one of the 4 holes on your vehicle.

 

[Bryan Craft]

My trailer has the cap on the top of the goose neck. I thought you were to turn that or take it out.



Bryan

 

[Bob G.]

Mat,



It sounds like your electric solenoid valve for the surge brakes is not functioning properly. If you have 12vdc and ground going to the valve, it should "close" so the surge brakes cannot push the brake fluid. I'm not even sure how to get to the valve, cause I never looked. I would check the wire on the trailer as far as you can to make sure it is not damaged.



I think the the mechanical lockout works by pressing and turning the thing on the tongue so the coupler cannot push in when in reverse. You may not be getting this to turn far enough. I would try getting the electrical lockout working as it is the easier on a daily basis than getting out and turning the mechanical lockout everytime you want to go backwards.



Bob G.

 

[Gerry Gerry]

I hear your pain. I have had the same problem with backing, but my comes and goes. It's been the same with three different pig tails on my truck. My resolution is to unplug and plug until the solenoid decides to work. It works best with the vehicle in reverse and partner risking life and limb to do the plugging. Good luck.

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

My 929 can be a little finicky but I have always been able to just put in reverse, if it doesn't release put back in drive, then back into reverse. Never have had to do this more than twice.



TOXIC

 

[Anotherdink Scott Chambers]

well I also learned this when they went over my boat, If you manually lock it out and you pull forward to say correct steering the manual lock out will disengage and you have to get out and redisegage it. just antother .02