pull your break away line and see if you can pull the trailer . brakes should be locked up. also battery in trailer should be hooked up and charged . as that is where you get power to the brakes. that is one way.
al
Your breakaway switch might be inop being the trailer is 34 years old but like Al said, your house battery must be charged for it to work that way. You can hook your tow vehicle to the trailer plug and have somebody apply the brakes while you listen near the wheels for a click or humming sound to see if you are getting voltage back there. I would first make sure the trailer plug is wired correctly and matches the tow vehicle wiring (that might solve the running light problem too). I believe there is a thread here that outlines the procedures in detail including checking for the correct voltage.
Randy
Do you need to have the trailer battery opertional to use your trailer brakes if you have the power coming from the tow vehicle through the plug? I guess what I am asking is, will the tow brakes work with out batteries on the trailer?
__________________ Here is the link to Dingo's trailer: 1968 Avion T-22
A simple method to check the operation of any magnet is with a compass. Place the compass near the bottom center point of the wheel of the magnet to be tested and have someone activate the brakes. The needle of the compass should deflect indicating the magnet is energized.
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How can I test my electric brakes? 
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