Electric Brakes Receiving Power w/o Truck Hookedup??

[overlander66]

Went to replace all magnets on a Overlander 1966 notice that when I cut the wires and touched them together there was power to them..truck was not hooked to airstream?? and magnets got hot if left wires connected. Should it be receiving power with the truck not connected to the airstream??

[overlander64]

Greetings overlander66!

Welcome to the Forums and the world of Vintage Overlander ownership!

Originally Posted by overlander66

Went to replace all magnets on a Overlander 1966 notice that when I cut the wires and touched them together there was power to them..truck was not hooked to airstream?? and magnets got hot if left wires connected. Should it be receiving power with the truck not connected to the airstream??

When the tow vehicle is disconnected from the coach your brakes should not be energized. You likely have at least one or possibly more problems that could be causing this condition. My first thought was defective Breakaway switch - - this has been an issue on both of my vintage coaches that was caused by corrosion within the device. My second thought was corrosion within the Bargman connector bridging between the 12-volt power line and the brake line. There could also be possible issues with crossed wires or other problems - - my suspicion is that the breakaway switch is the likely culprit. This problem could seriously damage the magnets as it has been posted in a number of related threads in regard to testing the Breakaway switch that the magnets can withstand no more than five minutes of continual power via the Breakaway switch.

Good luck with your investigation!

Kevin

[eubank]

Originally Posted by overlander66

Went to replace all magnets on a Overlander 1966 notice that when I cut the wires and touched them together there was power to them..truck was not hooked to airstream?? and magnets got hot if left wires connected. Should it be receiving power with the truck not connected to the airstream??

Ha! This reminds me of my dad's big utility trailer and his truck: We hitched it up to drive to Colorado and get his big farm tractor. Turned on the left turn signal -- and found that both brakes on the trailer would lock on and off with the signal! Talk about a goofy feeling! (The result was that I drove my dad, his truck, and his utility trailer, and his monster of a farm tractor all the way through the mountains without trailer brakes. It was really, really fun.)

Anyway, the moral is to check the wiring carefully. In my dad's case, he'd screwed up the wiring on the truck side and had a "leak" from the signal wire to the brake wire. In your case, the suspect area is on the trailer side, obviously. I'd start with the plug that goes into your tow's receiver. Unless any other areas of the bundled wires at the front have been damaged (causing an exposed brake wire to touch an exposed hot wire), that's the most likely place for an error.


Lynn