Boat trailer brakes locking up
 

I have a Zieman tandem trailer with surge brakes (2007) and the brakes are locking up on me in reverse. Brakes release when I go forward and fluid is good, was in heated garage all winter. Pretty sure it’s a wiring issue. Had to put a c-clamp behind the pin so it wouldn’t lock up. Any ideas on how to troubleshoot the wiring? I’m currently looking for wiring diagram online.

Check your fuses on your tow vehicle. I am not sure what you are towing with but my Nissan has a set of three relay fuses that on my old vehicle blew all the time causing the power to be cut to the hitch assembly resulting in no override for the surge brakes. There are a couple ways to trick it but depending on your plug assembly and trailer harness setup it can be a pain in the but.

Will check. 2016 Ram 1500 is the tow horse.

Some people with rams have to turn off their back-up sensors, otherwise, it doesn't power the reverse lights in the trailer plug (which is what activates the solenoid in the trailer coupler to lock out the brakes. If it's not that or a fuse, then your lock-out solenoid has probably failed.

My 2500 ram had the same issue, trailer tow fuse was blown.

Arent surge brakes supposed to lock up in reverse ? Hence the little device that stops that from happening . Or does this unit have a solenoid that cuts the fluid flow from the master cylinder?

There is an electronic override through the trailer and hitch harness that tells it not to lock up when in reverse. Most send that signal from the reverse lights or brake light signal. If that fuse blows then power is not being sent and the brakes lock up every time. I do keep a lockout tool on my trailer now just in case.

Any Idea what year that feature started ? I have no electronic override on mine . But mines also old .lol

I am not sure when this started, we had it on our 09 Boatmate trailer so know it was in play at that time.

I'd start with CALIV210's idea. Are you using a round 5 or 7 pin plug, or a 4 flat. On the side of your brake actuator housing should be a slide opening where a small plug in inserted to prevent the brake from engaging. That is also an alternate plan in case you are indeed using a round plug, and it's a wiring issue. At least you can get to where you need to go.

If you are using a 7 pin plug, and have a 5 pin available on your tow vehicle, there is a work around to quickly determine if a fuse is the problem. In the tongue of the trailer there is a 5 pin plug that plugs into a 7 pin adapter whip. Unplug the whip and pull the 5 pin out of the tongue to the tow vehicle. Flip it upside down so the four female ports are on the four male poles on the tow vehicle end. The male pole of the trailer line will be left unused. Turn your lights on the tow vehicle to the on position, not auto. This will send power to the trailer and override the surge brakes. If this works you know you have a fuse issue on the tow vehicle.

Cali, do you have disc or drum brakes? If you have drums, they'll reverse just fine so long as you're not backing up a steep incline. If you have discs, you either need the lockout key in place or the lockout solenoid. If you want to add the lockout solenoid, it usually involves replacing the slide member (for UFP actuators)

Checked my truck fuses all good. Took my boat in for a fix stemming from last year, ecu module. I told the dealer to look at it as I’m guessing it’s a solenoid issue and should be a cheap fix. Haven’t heard back from dealer yet so gonna call them tomorrow.