No Brakes

[daneboy]

Hey Brad,
Sorry to hear your brake problem. It's happened to me twice. The first time it was the wireing to the female connector, near the TV bumper The second time it was a wire pulled out of the connector at the axel. Did it work OK going to the lake? The Ford brake controler won't let you forget about it. You'll get the bugs out and enjoy your new rig all summer.
Take Care,
Jerry

[bsmeaton]

Hi Jerry,

It failed right before we got to the lake. We enjoyed our trip, and then I left it in Loveland to fix. Gave me a dry place to put the JTs on as well. Got one more fail for about 6 blocks on the way home, then fine the rest of the way. I think I'll insist new wire be pulled from the pin box to the axle connections.

Brad

[noneck]

Reading this thread, I believe the black/white with red jacket is original brake circuit. Mine has that going to the left side and makes drops from belly pan to each axle. At each connection point there is a unjacketed pair going into each axle to traverse to right side. I have reworked all of this on my 2002 as looked similar to your mess and I was worried it would get snagged. Mine is now nice and neat, drapped with a coil to allow for suspension movement and nothing comes close to hanging by axles.
I have always worried about taking it to someone else with less talent and then having to do it myself, having this used unit just fixes that decision point as I get no warranty.
Chuck

[bsmeaton]

Chuck,

Thanks for the info on the red jacketed wire. Any idea why they would also have a blue wire connected at the same point? It dissapears down in the frame. The red jacketed wire connects to both axles.

Brad

[noneck]

Brad,
There is no electrical reason to have a single conductor running anywhere else. Which leg of the brake circuit was it connected too? I think the white is ground and the black is current feed from brake controller.
Chuck

[noneck]

Oh, one more thing...I would guess that "blue" wire was someone debuging an electrical problem and as you suggest, abandoned when real problem was found. This circuit for brakes is simple...

[bsmeaton]

Thanks Chuck,

It is just too simple. I'll think I'll check it out and clean it up some more now that it's home.

Brad

[hazmic]

Brad
There is NO excuse for that kind of work. I would let Keystone know of the workmanship and how displeased you are with it. Keystone no dought has seen this thread. I redid mine when it was new because I thought that the wire coming from the frame to the axles was too short and replaced it with longer wires and heavier gage. The wires running in the axles has a funny insulation on it and if you strip the wire be sure you are down to the bare wire. Also when I redid mine I soldered them and be sure to seal or tape them so not to get water in it.

[sailer]

i think keystone has to up grade there quailty control , of its not brakes , its axels , they are both a safty issue and has to be addressed
john

[richfaa]

Although the ultimate responsibility is keystone's these are vendor supplied items and come into the factory as a assembled unit.Apparently Keystone does not monitor vendor quality and apparently the vendors know that.

[bsmeaton]

Rich,

I'm pretty sure this was a Keystone error. The red jacketing brake wiring may have been provided by Lippert, but Keystone would have had to disconnect/reconnect to get the belly pan on. It is this connection that was messed up.

Sent photos and email to Darrell and the Dealer and pointed out the poor quality and risk they put us in. I didn't ask for a response, and I didn't get one from either party either. Guess there is just not much to say without committing to something they don't want to do.

[noneck]

Sounds about right...if not asked specifically...they are going to avoid liability.

[richfaa]

I understand now..Doubt if you will get a response from the folks you E mailed..This is a legal issue and they are no doubt hoping you will go away.

[bsmeaton]

I think you're right! However, I also don't want them to commit to fixing it either. It would only leave me further doubting what kind of job was done. Fix was reasonably simple and I know in my mind how it was done.

BTW, the second blue lead wired into the trailer is actually a lead coming up from the break-away switch. If you think about it, the red 2-conductor cable that runs all the way from the pin box to the brakes means you not only have a dedicated power run, but also a dedicated ground. If other grounds fail or become corroded on the trailer, at least the brakes have direct power and ground to the TV.

[dscott]

Brad,
After your brake problem,I checked under mine,Wow the under belly is hanging in some places, teck screws are missing,holes around the springs are cut way to big.Brake wires are not covered.Is this the norm?I'am pulling the panel to check the wires by the wheels.Mine has very poor workmanship on the under carrage. I'am getting ready to take a trip,and do not need brake problems.Thanks for the pictures and sharing your brake problems with us it was a real eye opener.

[richfaa]

Unfortunately that is pretty much the norm.Brads problem was in the underbelly mine was at that same point but outside the underbelly.My underbelly was dropped when we had our meltdown in Quartzsite and we nearly had a heart attack when we saw the mess under there.We have done a lot of re routing re wiring on the brakes and have not had a problem for a very long time. We did have a intermittent trailer dis connect after they worked on the 7 way plug wiring at the service center but I think we got that straightened out.Haven't had a error for about 500 miles.This thing just passed its s 1 year mark and we are beginning to feel that most all the bugs are worked out.

[bsmeaton]

Rich, those Ford brake controllers are unforgiving aren't they! Not sure if my old controller would have even sensed the problem.

[noneck]

Yes! There are others out there just like me...doing the fix yourself when we are well versed in the art leaves the worry behind verses letting someone else try to fix it on a timeclock with maybe less incentive to do the job with extra care.

[richfaa]

You bet they are.We still had our previous TT when we got the 05 Ford and the first time we hooked it up we got steady Trailer dis connects. Turns out 1 wheel had no brakes and the brake controller on our Previous Truck never indicated it. I will take the Ford controller.