Brake install -INSTALLATION/ADJUSTMENT/WIRING

[Sharon Lee]

O.K. We got our replacement brakes from Inland RV and started to put them on.
There are two wires that are both white that connect to the magnet. And two that connect to the trailer.
Does it matter which one goes where? (The brand is AL-KO)
Please help!
Sharon Lee

[Fatt Ratt]

Hey Sharon,

I did mine from Inland and it did not matter. The problem I found was that the trailer wires were very corroded and I had to do a little wire modification. - Ray

[Sharon Lee]

The old wires were red and the new ones are white.
83 excella says one's ground and the other power, so I would think it would matter which one went where.
New problem. we cut the wires so there is no way of knowing which one gets power to the magnet. (unless someone has a suggestion).
We can hook up power to the trailer and use a tester to find the hot wire on the wires coming from the trailer. I's the magnet that we can't find.
Any Ideas?
Sharon

[PeterH-350LE]

not polarity sensitive
See this post:
http://www.airforums.com/forum...=&threadid=173

What makes and will make this forum such an incredible resource?
Members starting a thread using a very specific title. When Jim (JW84345) started a thread about the very same problem, he called it "Electric Brake Wiring".
A simple search entering any of the above words will yield his thread with the answers to his questions.
To help your fellow Airstreamer, please use very specific titles.

[83Excella]

Also, be sure to keep the wire slack tight in the drum or the wires can chafe against the drum breaking the wire.

Sharon, I guess it was wrong what I told you. .

John

[Sharon Lee]

Thanks for the reply.
Peter, I performed several searches before asking the forum. Nothing of any use came up. But thanks so much for the lesson- real nice of ya.

Sharon

[Inland RV Center, In]

Sharon. The electric brake magnets are not polarized. Therefore, which wire goes to which, doesn't matter. What matters most is how you attach the backing plate wires to the trailer wires. They should be connected with wire nuts, and taped up with a good electrical tape, to keep water etc, from attacking the connection.

Andy
inlandrv.com
airstreamparts.com

[Sharon Lee]

Andy, Thanks for your help
We bought 4 AL-KO repacement brakes from Andy@ INLAND RV (they sure are pretty)

When we went to put them on we had some questions about the polarity of the magnet.

I want to make sure that my information is correct:

The electric brake magnets are not polarized, so it doesen't matter which wire it is connected to.

The trailer is wired in parallel so make sure that one side is grounded to the trailer frame.

For adjustment- The adjusters should apply some drag, and then backed off 3 to 4 notches. At that point no drag should take place.
One notch represents about 1,000 miles of wear.

Is there anything else that we need to know about??
Thanks for all your help.
Sharon

[Inland RV Center, In]

Sharon. Sentence # 5, should say the trailer "brakes" are wired in parallel.
Other than that, "perfect."

Andy

[Jim Clark]

Originally posted by Inland RV Center, In
Sharon. The electric brake magnets are not polarized. Therefore, which wire goes to which, doesn't matter. What matters most is how you attach the backing plate wires to the trailer wires. They should be connected with wire nuts, and taped up with a good electrical tape, to keep water etc, from attacking the connection.

Andy
inlandrv.com
airstreamparts.com

I solder mine using rosin core solder a little bulb grease over the soldered area and two layers of shrink tubing. I do the same on my boat and don’t have any problems. The little propane soldering irons are great for this type of work.

[Sharon Lee]

We finished the brakes today!!
It took all day but now it's done.
Sean (my hubby) got the old bolts off -some were a bear to loosen, and put the new brakes on and got them adjusted with no problems.
I cleaned and repacked the bearings- it's a messy but fun job!
We are both glad that we repaced all four brakes at once.
He found some shrink tubing and connecters at work, so the wires are
secure.
Thanks so much for everyones help!
Andy at Inland RV- YOU ROCK!!
-Sharon