Brake Wires???

[extiger]

Upon looking under my newly acquired 2000 25SS, I noticed loops of 2 wires hanging down in the vicinity of the brake drums. I have two questions, first is this normal? It seems to me like the hanging wires are an opportunity to catch on something. Second is that on one wheel, the wires were not connected. Should they be? Below are pictures

[3Ms75Argosy]

Oops! YEs, those should be connected. You won't have brakes to that wheel without them. It looks like two wheels are disconnected? Are they on the same axle? I'd reconnect them and figure out if the brakes work or not. My gut tells me that your brake springs are probably broken in there as well - pull the hub and check.

There needs to be slack for the hubs to articulate, but not that much.
Welcome!
Marc

[azflycaster]

I don't know where all the extra wire came from, but mine have just a few inches of slack. After you fix the wires and verify that the brake do work, see if you can push the excess wire back into the trailer. With that much wire it will (and has) catch something going down the road.

[HowieE]

First guess is someone has replaced the magnets and did not make a Good Connection on those that have become disconnected. As for the loop Length of wire, yes that should be dressed up so the wires follow the arm back to the brake drum. I use a tie wrap to hold the wire at the drum end of the arm and at the axle making sure that the wire has freedom of movement between the 2 but not drooping to a point that snagging is a problem.

Considering the last guys work I would brake all of those connections and either solder them or use wire nuts. I use wire nuts,tape them with electrical tape and put a wire nut over the end of the tape to keep from unwinding. This allows me to open the connection on the road if I have to isolate a brake problem. I also position the wire nut connection with the tie wrap at the spindle end of the arm to hold the nut in an upright position to prevent water from entering the connection.

[thecatsandi]

Improper crimps. Wires broke. They should be physically supported.

[HowieE]

Some after thought my wordy discription could use a picture. The Airstream brake wire is routed along the arm to the rear of the spindle. Note the tape wrapped wire nut standing upright. There is a larger tye wrap around the spindle base and a smaller one holding the wire nut to the larger tye wrap. The smaller wrap also keeps the electrical tape from unwinding, a common problem with electrical tape.

[enduroryda]

Also you should note your brake controller will not work if one of brake lines is loose or not connected....at least on mine that was the case. I had the same problem.

[extiger]

Thanks for the good info. It sounds like it is time to get acquainted with the brakes. Thanks HowieE for the pictures. I wil redo mine like yours. Also thanks Enduroryda for the tip about the brake controller. I hadn't thought of that.