Electric brakes weak on New Imagine 2600RB?

[Guest]

I like the new front cap design. Very nice.

Jim

[Bob Davis2]

My brakes were awful on my 2021 2600RB when I picked it up. These trailers do not have self adjusters. I had asked my dealer to check and adjust the brakes the first time I brought it in for warranty work, and of course they didn't do it, they just told me that the brakes were fine. I was an old time brake mechanic in a prior life when drum brakes were the norm, so I simply bought a brake spoon and adjust them myself every 3000 to 5000 miles or so, and they work adequately (I do want to upgrade to disc brakes soon). I have a Prodigy P2 controller.

Thanks for that info Mike. If I change the settings on my truck to the "Heavy" setting as some have suggested and the brakes do not work any better, I will likely take it in to the dealer since it is so new. I also have changed out many a brake shoe and pads as a do it yourselfer, so I know what you are saying.

[AZMike]

My brakes were awful on my 2021 2600RB when I picked it up. These trailers do not have self adjusters. I had asked my dealer to check and adjust the brakes the first time I brought it in for warranty work, and of course they didn't do it, they just told me that the brakes were fine. I was an old time brake mechanic in a prior life when drum brakes were the norm, so I simply bought a brake spoon and adjust them myself every 3000 to 5000 miles or so, and they work adequately (I do want to upgrade to disc brakes soon). I have a Prodigy P2 controller.

[familytruckster4]

Very little chance of that.

[Scott'n'Wendy]

Wow!
Well....at least it wouldn't rust?

[familytruckster4]

This was the worst one on our 337RLS built July 2020

[Guest]

Bob Davis2 - by 'heavy' are you referring to the 'brake effort' setting on the factory TBC? For what it's worth, I have our effort set to high, with a gain setting of 6.5 to 7.5, depending on how much 'stuff' we have on the trailer. IE, if we are going on a longer trip with a tank full of water, I'll set the gain higher since there is more weight behind me that I need to have slowed down. However, I can really feel the higher gain when the trailer is empty, and will turn it down to ease the braking force, so it's not so aggressive. Regardless of what gain I am using, I have never needed to changed the effort setting. Also, I was never able to get the TBC to lock up the wheels doing the 40kph 'test' on pavement. Could I feel it slow down the trailer doing that test? Sure. Would the wheels ever lock? Nope.

Just wondering, what gain do you have your system set too?

StephenO This is an excellent post from first hand experience with the Ford system IMO. We should never assume we will see or expect brake lock up on dry pavement. In fact if lock up is seen it will most likely occur on the front axle only which would indicate the gain is set too high. For rain, snow, gravel and other low traction surfaces, the gain would be reduced to ensure lock up does not occur, but rather maximum braking for those surfaces is accomplished without lockup. Lockup would result in greater stopping distance.

I like to set my gain where TV braking effort (feel at the pedal) feels the same with the trailer connected to when it is not connected. With your Ford System Effort set to High, your gain is very close to my gain setting.

Jim

[Bob Davis2]

Bob Davis2 - by 'heavy' are you referring to the 'brake effort' setting on the factory TBC? For what it's worth, I have our effort set to high, with a gain setting of 6.5 to 7.5, depending on how much 'stuff' we have on the trailer. IE, if we are going on a longer trip with a tank full of water, I'll set the gain higher since there is more weight behind me that I need to have slowed down. However, I can really feel the higher gain when the trailer is empty, and will turn it down to ease the braking force, so it's not so aggressive. Regardless of what gain I am using, I have never needed to changed the effort setting. Also, I was never able to get the TBC to lock up the wheels doing the 40kph 'test' on pavement. Could I feel it slow down the trailer doing that test? Sure. Would the wheels ever lock? Nope.

Just wondering, what gain do you have your system set too?

Yes, I have my "Effort" set to medium. There is a Low, Medium and High setting on my 2017 Lariat. I read on the Ford Forum that High will increase the current to the electric brakes. I will check this setting out, next time I take the RV out. Hopefully, that is all that is needed. Thanks! Oh, these 3 settings are in addition to the Gain setting of 0-10 for each range.

Here is an excerpt from a fellow on the Ford Forum:


"Just played with this last weekend.

15 F-350 w/ 32ft Ft wheel, about 12K lbs.

The Test
Gravel Road. All test 10-15MPH to 0.

Using the Brake Controller ONLY / Manually. (AKA did not touch Truck Brakes)

Setting Low / Gain 10. Almost No Trailer Brakes.

Setting Med / Gain 10. Trailer Brakes, slowed down but no lock up.

Setting High / Gain 10. Trailer Brakes, LOCKED UP Instantly.

My Final Setting for the 5th wheel
Setting High / Gain 6.5 Just the right balance."

Bob

[StephenO]

Bob Davis2 - by 'heavy' are you referring to the 'brake effort' setting on the factory TBC? For what it's worth, I have our effort set to high, with a gain setting of 6.5 to 7.5, depending on how much 'stuff' we have on the trailer. IE, if we are going on a longer trip with a tank full of water, I'll set the gain higher since there is more weight behind me that I need to have slowed down. However, I can really feel the higher gain when the trailer is empty, and will turn it down to ease the braking force, so it's not so aggressive. Regardless of what gain I am using, I have never needed to changed the effort setting. Also, I was never able to get the TBC to lock up the wheels doing the 40kph 'test' on pavement. Could I feel it slow down the trailer doing that test? Sure. Would the wheels ever lock? Nope.

Just wondering, what gain do you have your system set too?

[Guest]

For a half ton, I would think you want to be set to heavy. My OEM controller does not have the three ranges but I am set to a gain of 6 with strong trailer braking on my 2600RB if this helps. You will not hear much from the brakes when activated sitting still since the magnets attract to the drum then rotate on a pendulum to activate the brake when rotating. So the wheel needs to rotate to apply the brakes.

Jim

[Bob Davis2]

I went out to the storage stall today and measured the resistance of the brakes to gnd and it was approximately 0.7 ohms which is about correct for 4 brake coils in parallel. Then connected to the truck and had my wife operate the brake controller only off and on, off and on. I could hear slight spring squeek at the trailer wheels but couldn't say if all 4 wheels are operating. So I think the wiring is good. The next thing I will do is try bumping up the setting on my brake controller. It has Light, Medium and Heavy settings, presumably for light, medium and heavy trailers. If I change to Heavy and the brakes are still weak, I will schedule a dealer appointment and let them evaluate the brakes on the trailer. It is still well under warranty since it has only been 3 days ago we bought it and drove it home. Could be grease on the shoes too as familytruckster4 states. Thanks for all the tips.

[familytruckster4]

My 2018 GD 2600RB and our 2021 337RLS both came with the brake shoes covered in grease due to overzealous use of a power grease gun prior to us receiving it. Both required considerable effort to make right, the 337 has all new brakes on Dexters dime.

[Bob Davis2]

Great info again, thank you Jim and Neil! I will check this when I can get it out again.

[ncitro]

Bob Davis2 Hi Bob, you've got done great advice so far but I have a few other tests you can do. My trailer from the factory had a broken wire feeding one of the axles so I had weak brakes for the first few months until I tracked that down. The compass is a great test, but at a more basic level you should be able to hear the brakes come on if somebody holds the pedal down and you're walking around. If you've got no or weak brakes on a current model trailer I'd suspect a broken wire someplace, although modern trucks usually give an error on the dash when this happens. There was a run of over greased axles four or five years ago that caused brake issues but that's been resolved for a long time. If the tests advice show the brakes are getting power and working I'd pull the wheel apart and see what the brakes look like.

[TucsonJim]

Howard had some great tips. Sometimes, the distance from the brake magnet to the outside of the wheel can cause the magnetic field to be pretty weak which will make the metal trick difficult to assess.
A method that I use is to hold a magnetic compass next to the hub while someone applies the brakes. If the needle deflects, the brake in that wheel position is getting enough electrical current to activate the brake magnet. If the compass does not deflect, then I'd suspect a problem with the brake wiring.

JIm