Losing Trailer Brakes while on the Road

[TucsonJim]

DieselJ - I ran into the axle wiring issue when working on my son's pop up camper. I clamped the wire at the upper rear part of the axle tube using hose clamps. I placed a hose clamp every 12". I protected the wire insulation with rubber material from an old bicycle tube. It's been on there for many years now and still works great.

[ericpillsbury]

So just an update for all of those that might encounter the same problem - I started at the front and worked my way back. The Truck and trailer were evaluated at RAM and RAM again reiterated that the truck is functioning properly. Replaced 7pin to the proper blade setup (single blade not the alligator type), unfortunately the problem still persisted. Checked junction box in head of 5th wheel, no problems there. So I moved to the brakes and axles. And there the problem was found, the wire running through the rear axle had been worn away and was fully exposed causing the short. Replaced the wiring today and everything is working as it should. Though I consider this a temporary fix. Trailer is only a few years old so I imagine the wires will continue to rub and wear on the inside of the axle so I'll need to re-route these to not run through the axle. Very poor (and dangerous) design...

Thanks to this community for all the great ideas and suggestions - I definitely would have gone crazy trying to trouble shoot this myself.

Thanks for the update on this! I have the same issue on my 2022 Transcend 265BH. Towing with our 2020 Ram 1500 and have been getting the "Trailer Brakes Disconnected" craziness. Interestingly, your post is the second one I've found where the wiring in the axel was the culprit. I'll be getting some wire and shrink connectors shortly. So thankful for your sharing of your situation!