2012 Surge Brakes Not Working??

[EricHill]

I have a 2012 518 with a single axle trailer. I've had a feeling for a quite a while that my brakes were not working.
- I have bled the lines and oil was perfect color (trust me I did it correctly and did not introduce air bubbles)
- i have never had discoloured fluid or had a leak or lost any break fluid on annual checks
- I can use a screwdriver (under the tongue in the appropriate hole) to actuate the solenoid until it needs to "released" by the spring loaded release button even with the bleeder relieve screw closed... and I can still turn my tires with ease
- I unplug my lights and try to back up a small hill and the trailer wheels are locked and cant back up
- my trailer has parking brakes "hand controled brake".. when engaged they don't hold the boat from rolling out of the garage (very weak)
- my brake pads look like new
- my rotors look like new.
- I put the boat on an incline and the actuator was fully depressed (see image)... then jacked up trailer and could easily spin both tires. 20190609_193311.jpg

Thank you for any help!

[CatFan]

- I unplug my lights and try to back up a small hill and the trailer wheels are locked and cant back up

Brakes are working.

[EricHill]

Thank you for the reply... but... I'm still confused,
How come I can turn my tires with out resistance when i fully compress my tongue?.. how come I can fully depress my tongue when I dont have any leaks?... how come my rotors and pads still look like they are one or two years old when they are 7years old?

[botrdav]

If the rotors are shiney the brakes are engaging if they did not engage the rotors would look rusty, check fluid level.

[howieranger]

The brakes locking when backing up with the lights unplugged is the key. I would check to see if the brake bypass solenoid valve in the trailer is powered all the time and not just when the backup lights are on. It is hard to comment on what your pads and rotors look like in terms of use without pictures and knowing how miles are on the trailer

[mibassranger]

When you backed it up an incline and the tongue was compressed, then jacked up and spun tires - was that when you backed up and they locked up? Or did you back up the incline to compress the tongue with the lights plugged in, so the brakes weren't activated before you jacked it up? When I back my boat in to the garage (up an incline) with the lights plugged in to deactivate the solenoid, then disconnect the trailer from the truck, even though the tongue is compressed the brakes are in "released" mode so I can move the trailer around manually. I don't know anything about the screwdriver thing - do you mean you can get the brakes to activate by pumping the lever manually? I think that's how it's supposed to work - if you had a leak, it wouldn't hold pressure and have to be "released"... not sure if any of this helps... And have you checked the cable tension on the park brake lever? I don't have that, so I'm not sure how it works - has to be a mechanism to adjust how much brake pressure it applies.

[buster502]

why not just make 6-7 hard stops and feel the rotors (easy or you will burn yourself or use a heat gun) ,if they have a shine to them i would say they are working,you might be able to slide them if its raining or a wet road

[EricHill]

Thanks guys, I chatted with a guy at waymire distribution today, he gave me some tips.. after some more testing I may have a reverse solenoid issue (it doesnt "click" when I power or unpowered it. It has 14v when rvs and 0v at fwd/park)... so it may be stuck partially open/close and bypasses brake fluid when it's all supposed to go to the brakes. .... maybe. Lol. Hope this is my cheapest replacement part before the master cylinder assembly or new calipers.
Thanks again for all your feed back.

[Ranger519VS]

If the slide goes all the way back in the slot when you reverse then the brakes are not working. Or at least not working right.
The slide pin should stop about halfway back in the slot when the brakes are fully engaged. If they bottom out in the slot something is wrong. Backup solenoid could be leaking or there is still air in the system

on second thought. Since you say you can back up an incline with the lights disconnected and the brakes lock up,that means the master cylinder working and the solenoid is working. There is still some air in the lines.

[EricHill]

on second thought. Since you say you can back up an incline with the lights disconnected and the brakes lock up,that means the master cylinder working and the solenoid is working. There is still some air in the lines.

Thank you for your reply....I'm not convinced they were fully locked up on the incline... so I ordered a new rev sol today, 69bucks... cheap first attempt at a fix... the sol may not be closing all the way and letting oil enter back into the reservoir.. and not giving full pressure to the brakes, I checked my electrical connections and voltage and not hearing the sol click concerned me enough to buy / try a new one... it's this or I still have air in my lines like you mentioned cause it sure seems this way. I'll post what I find after new part is installed and lines are bled thoroughly again.

[Ranger519VS]

After you install the reverse solenoid you will have to bleed the brakes again. It seems like I always end up bleeding mine twice to get things working right. I have been using the harbor freight power bleeder the last 3 or 4 years. It takes a lot of the pain in the butt out of it and you don't need two people to do it. Another thing I put on before is "speed bleeders". They are bleeder screws that have a check valve in them so they will push fluid out but not allow air back in. Speeds up the bleeding process. Car racers use them as they frequently replace brake fluid in the calipers that gets overheated during races.