Will electric trailer brakes work without battery?

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Top best answers to the question «Will electric trailer brakes work without battery»

Electric trailer brakes can work on a trailer that doesn't have a breakaway system. So the answer to your question is no, the breakaway battery would not affect how normal trailer brakes will operate under normal circumstances.

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Expert Reply: No, you do not need to have an auxiliary battery on the trailer in order for the brakes to work. The brakes are powered by a brake controller like part # C51110 which draws power from the tow vehicle's battery, not the trailer's battery. You will however need a battery on the trailer to activate the breakaway which is required by law ...

Battery Breakaways Kits, like # 20099, add extra wire connections by cutting in to the existing electric brake wiring of the trailer. Sometimes, when installed these connections may not have been properly grounded or may have come loose over a period of trailer use.

I then connected a car battery at the trailer connector that plugs into the truck and the brakes work good too. I thought it was a bad controller but Im getting around 10V to 11V at the truck connector when the brake pedal is applied. When the trailer is hooked up the lights work and the brakes are the only things that do not work.

If no power is found at the connector, the problem is in the wiring between the connector and the brake controller. Check junctions in the wire back to the controller; these tend to become corroded and fail to carry current. If power is found at the controller it's time to move on to the trailer.

Expert Reply: Electric trailer brakes can work on a trailer that doesn't have a breakaway system. So the answer to your question is no, the breakaway battery would not affect how normal trailer brakes will operate under normal circumstances. The only time the breakaway battery will change how the brakes are performing is when the pin of the system ...