Recently got back from a being over month on the road, towing my travel trailer. Covered over 4800 miles and averaged 14.2 mpg driving typically 60-65 mph.<br>My trailer has a double axle, with electric brakes, operated through an older style Commander controller. One thing I noticed, after putting a few miles under my belt, was that it felt as if the brakes were not letting go straight away, when I took my foot off the brake in the truck. My guess was they were hanging on for about an extra half second before letting go. As you can imagine, this gave me some real exciting times, when I had to drive across the mountains in West Virginia in a snow storm. A number of times I was in the middle of a line up of a dozen trucks, all running at about 15-20 mph, with none of us wanting to see a brake light.<br>Anyway, is this hanging-on of the brakes normal? Is it something sticking in the brakes on the trailer? Or, is it because I'm still using the older style controller?<br><br>John<br> <br>

 

Could be the controller or how you have it set.....if I set my gain too high my brakes hang also...I currently have a Voyager XP but I'm going to the Prodigy soon

 

I tried to set it up various ways, from being not very aggressive at all, when the truck was doing all the braking, to being quite agressive, when it felt that the trailer was braking for itself.<br>By that I mean that my pedal pressure in the truck was the same for the same stopping power, regardless of whether I had the trailer connected or not.<br>As I increased the aggressiveness, the feeling of hanging on got stronger.<br>In the end, if I set the braking for where I felt it aught to be, it felt like I was being held back when I wanted to let up on the brakes.<br>Does that sound like it's normal?<br>Since I have never had electric brakes before, I am not sure whether I'm expecting too much, or whether I have a problem. I can't go outside to pull any wheels right now, it's 10F and is going to stay below freezing for the next week at least.<br><br>John

 

Could be normal remember its electric back to the brakes then it magnetic that operates the brakes to apply there will be a delay on the magnetic/mechanical side...and some controllers are more sloppy with this function...the ideal setting is for the trailer brakes to assist with braking and not push the truck so your setting should be set so your truck is not being pushed... but feels like the trailer is not adding to the trucks braking load...of course this is hard to do with cheaper brake controllers

 

your's sounds just like how mine work. 8)

 

It could be that for your trailer brakes to work your brake controller is hooked into your brake lights. When you let off the brake pedal the lights stay on for a second before going out causing the brakes on the trailer to stay on for a second.

 

. <br><br>Yep, that's my experience. If you are going to tow a lot, you might try the Jordan. I have had several controllers, but none anywhere nearly as smooth as the Jordan.<br>george

 

[quote author=rc link=board=11;threadid=10507;start=0#101253 date=1044509087]<br>It could be that for your trailer brakes to work your brake controller is hooked into your brake lights. When you let off the brake pedal the lights stay on for a second before going out causing the brakes on the trailer to stay on for a second.<br>[/quote]<br><br>Just installed a Prodigy in my 99 a month ago. Have the same problem. I tied the Prodigy into the factory Dodge hookup under the dash that comes with the tow package. Something else I notice is every morning when I stop to feed my dog ;D, I can get out and walk to the back of the truck before the brake lights will go out on the truck, this is without the trailer being on. Been meaning to try to track down the problem but haven’t had time yet. Is this brake light staying on after pedal release by design or do we have a problem? ???

 

[quote author=Smokey link=board=11;threadid=10507;start=0#101298 date=1044536371]<br>Yep, that's my experience. If you are going to tow a lot, you might try the Jordan. I have had several controllers, but none anywhere nearly as smooth as the Jordan.<br>george<br>[/quote]<br><br>I'm with Smokey on the Jordan. Jordan is not even hooked to the brake lights. It only monitors what you are doing on your brake pedal - - push it harder, brakes go on harder - - let them off, brakes go off. Very smooth - - feels just like your truck brakes.<br><br>Bob

 

This evening, I found a web site that showed how electric brakes work. I didn't realize before that the shoe separation is worked by a magnet that gets dragged around by the brake drum, and therefore the trailer wheels have to be turning to get any braking.<br>Does your comment about the Jordan &quot;push it harder, brakes go on harder&quot; mean that they are pressure sensitive some how? That sounds a lot better than what I found.<br><br>John

 

I used to pull a 4 horse trailer that lagged also. Even with all new pads and magnets. That was with an old style controller. I now have a Jordan and it works A BUNCH better. Haven't pulled that horse trailer, but have pulled other trailers.<br><br>Mike

 

[quote author=John H link=board=11;threadid=10507;start=0#101683 date=1044583274]<br>I didn't realize before that the shoe separation is worked by a magnet that gets dragged around by the brake drum, and therefore the trailer wheels have to be turning to get any braking.<br>Does your comment about the Jordan &quot;push it harder, brakes go on harder&quot; mean that they are pressure sensitive some how? That sounds a lot better than what I found.<br>John<br>[/quote]<br><br>The magnet receives a variable voltage from the brake controller; this is how the brakes are applied on the trailer in varying degrees. They are not simply on or off. I’ve not used a Jordon but all controllers adjust break pressure at the trailer by adjusting voltage. I have used various types of controllers on various vehicles. Our problem with “brake hang-up” after pedal release is coming from the Ram, not the controller. I hope someone who can shed more light on this will chime in.

 

[quote author=99 guy link=board=11;threadid=10507;start=0#101695 date=1044585034]<br>[quote author=John H link=board=11;threadid=10507;start=0#101683 date=1044583274]<br>I didn't realize before that the shoe separation is worked by a magnet that gets dragged around by the brake drum, and therefore the trailer wheels have to be turning to get any braking.<br>Does your comment about the Jordan &quot;push it harder, brakes go on harder&quot; mean that they are pressure sensitive some how? That sounds a lot better than what I found.<br>John<br>[/quote]<br><br>The magnet receives a variable voltage from the brake controller; this is how the brakes are applied on the trailer in varying degrees. They are not simply on or off. I’ve not used a Jordon but all controllers adjust break pressure at the trailer by adjusting voltage. I have used various types of controllers on various vehicles. Our problem with “brake hang-up” after pedal release is coming from the Ram, not the controller. I hope someone who can shed more light on this will chime in.<br>[/quote]<br><br>Install a Jordan, get it set right and forget it. It has the most secure feeling. I keep mine to apply trailer brakes first and you can feel the trailer go on and know that all is well. Saves the tar out of the truck brakes and I have over 100,000 on the trailer brakes with no replacement. Best brake system is air... next is Jordan controlled electric.

 

[quote author=John H link=board=11;threadid=10507;start=0#101683 date=1044583274]
This evening, I found a web site that showed how electric brakes work. I didn't realize before that the shoe separation is worked by a magnet that gets dragged around by the brake drum, and therefore the trailer wheels have to be turning to get any braking.
Does your comment about the Jordan &quot;push it harder, brakes go on harder&quot; mean that they are pressure sensitive some how? That sounds a lot better than what I found.

John
[/quote]

John,
The Jordan uses only three wires - - hot, ground, and trailer brake. It does not monitor the brake light for &quot;when&quot; to hit the trailer with an initial surge or when to think about braking. It also does not rely on the brake light being extinguished to say &quot;OK, I can quit&quot;. Jordan has a physical connection to the brake pedal in the form of a wire. When the pedal is depressed, the controller starts to work. The farther the pedal is depressed, the more voltage is applied to the trailer brakes. In other words, the trailer is braking in direct proportion to the amount of brake pedal being applied, exactly like the truck brakes.

Another feature I love about the Jordan is that is monitors the current being used by the trailer brakes, not the voltage being applied to the trailer. You can apply voltage to an open circuit all day and not have braking as does happen in our trailers if a magnet opens or a wire breaks. Jordan gives you the ability to know just how effective the current drain is during braking which is a great check on your brakes. Each magnet draws between 2.5 and 3 amps. If you have 4 brakes, you should be showing around 10 to 12 amps. Mine draws 11.2 amps when all is working correctly. If I suddenly see a drop to 9 amps at maximum braking, I know one brake just quit working.

The Jordan can be mounted in any position. The criteria is to put it in such a place as to allow good flow for the control wire. It is similar to hand brakes on a bike. You will not get the sometimes squirrely effect the Prodigy can give you when you suddenly crest a steep hill and start down the other side and have no brakes. Also, I found the Prodigy overbraked when coming down a steep incline with exhaust brake on when you needed just a touch of braking.

I really like the feel of the Jordan. I had a Prodigy before - - I like this Jordan better. I am not knocking the Prodigy in that statement - - I was very happy with mine. I just like the feel of this better. Smoother and I am in control.
Bob