Boatmate trailer locks up when reversing

[Z1Fan]

Here is a pic with my do dad raped on

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[chpthril]

So I should state the brakes lock up even when the 7 way is not connected

That makes complete sense. Certainly no voltage going to it with it unplugged. The electric lock-out solenoid is a N/O (normally open) actuator. It normally allow brake fluid flow to the wheels when there is no voltage to it from the trucks reverse circuit. When the truck is put into the revers, voltage goes to the solenoid, energizing it. It closes, preventing brake pressure to the wheels.

[Matt Garcia]

The brakes should always lock up when backing when the 7 pin is not connected. When the 7 pin is hooked up and everything is wired correctly, the reverse light power a wire that powers the valve to bypass the surge brakes. When not hooked up, this power obviously cannot be transmitted to the valve allowing the surge breaks to function as they should.

I would guess that either your wiring is not passing power correctly back to the override or you have a defective override. I would contact your dealer or the trailer manufacturer. I have contacted BoatMate a couple of times with questions and they have been more than helpful. If it is a BoatMate trailer, they can probably walk you thought testing the components.

Good Luck

Ah ok. Hmm strange, I tried it on my 08 Silverado and my buddys 13 F-150 and we both had the same results. I will try giving Boatmate a call and see what they can do.

Okay Matt , see the little sticker on the side , read it , and underneath is a little lever , push it to release the pressure in the line , then just push on the assembly and then you will be able to insert and tape in place the little lever !!!

I did try that but it did not work for me.

Thanks for the help everyone.

[Iwndr]

Ah ok. Hmm strange, I tried it on my 08 Silverado and my buddys 13 F-150 and we both had the same results. I will try giving Boatmate a call and see what they can do.



I did try that but it did not work for me.

Thanks for the help everyone.

I think the wiring issue is on your trailer, Bad pin on the plug, broken wire or bad solenoid. Do all of the lights work? You have the same truck you used to pull your previous RZ2 with no issues correct? And the Fords come completely wired for towing if they have factory 7 and 4 pin receptacles installed.

[rensink]

You may not be able to get the pin in to lock the brakes out if sitting on a downward slope as the boat is pushing against the truck applying pressure. You can either try and hit the gas and jump the truck forward pulling the tongue all the way out or you'll have to find somewhere flat to get the room required.

[Timmy!]

I am interested to hear what Boatmate says.

[ddutcher]

I have not had a problem with my new trailer but my 05 trailer I could never back up when there was a incline. After a year of dealing with putting the pin in place I talked to a mechanic and he checked both of my vehicles and they were fine so I pulled the actuator out and found that the wire going to the solenoid had come loose. I guess it was a bad crimp. I hooked it back up and never had a problem again.

[Stingreye]

You may not be able to get the pin in to lock the brakes out if sitting on a downward slope as the boat is pushing against the truck applying pressure. You can either try and hit the gas and jump the truck forward pulling the tongue all the way out or you'll have to find somewhere flat to get the room required.

I have destroyed some cheap wal-mart chocks using them to separate it enough to lock them out. My trailer is only a 4 pin and does not have the electric solenoid lockout.

[Matt Garcia]

I think the wiring issue is on your trailer, Bad pin on the plug, broken wire or bad solenoid. Do all of the lights work? You have the same truck you used to pull your previous RZ2 with no issues correct? And the Fords come completely wired for towing if they have factory 7 and 4 pin receptacles installed.

Yes same truck I used to tow my previous RZ2. I dont see any reverse lights on my trailer when reversing though. Are they supposed to have reverse lights?

You may not be able to get the pin in to lock the brakes out if sitting on a downward slope as the boat is pushing against the truck applying pressure. You can either try and hit the gas and jump the truck forward pulling the tongue all the way out or you'll have to find somewhere flat to get the room required.

Ya I tried hitting the gas to get the lockout pulled all the way forward but there was still a little bit of space that needed to move. Quite possibly the trailer was still pushing forward on the truck.

[Tulsah]

Yes same truck I used to tow my previous RZ2. I dont see any reverse lights on my trailer when reversing though. Are they supposed to have reverse lights?

The Boatmate trailer takes power for the bypass solenoid from the reverse light pin on the 7-way plug. If you're not getting reverse lights on the trailer (you should), this may be the root of the problem.

On the other hand, I have the same reversing problem with my trailer, but I do have reverse lights working and also 12V at the solenoid. I'm suspecting that my solenoid body ground isn't good enough or that the solenoid itself is bad. Has anyone replaced theirs?

-Tulsah

[JohnnieMo]

The exact issue happened when my dad tried to move my boat trailer for me. We figured it is an electrical issue on his truck. My truck works fine.

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[Ewok]

Something else to look at, under the tongue, is how the wires are connected to the 7 pin plug. I was looking around to see how easy or difficult it will be to replace the solenoid and I saw that the 5 blade pin connects into the 7 pin wire and the connection was lose. I cleaned up the contacts and zip tied the connection so it won't get lose again but my trailer could have been like that since I bought it and I always had the intermittent problems with backing up the trailer. I haven't tested it yet but what I think has been happening is the last pin on the right is the wire going to the solenoid and it had the least amount of contact. If so it was intermittent but the cylinder wasn't getting as much pressure on flat land as backing up a hill or maybe the angle of going up a hill is slightly disconnecting that wire. I suspect that on flat ground the solenoid might be getting intermittent locking and unlocking signals and it's transparent to me in the truck, but when backing up a hill, when the signal to the solenoid is lost, it slams on the brakes hard and stops my movement up the hill until I pull forward and release the pressure. I'll let ya'll know if that is the issue with me or if I need a new solenoid.

[Dan and Christy]

If you have a break away tongue open it up and make sure you don't have any pinched wires. This happened to me, super easy fix but such a pain to realize.

[Iwndr]

Yes same truck I used to tow my previous RZ2. I dont see any reverse lights on my trailer when reversing though. Are they supposed to have reverse lights?



Ya I tried hitting the gas to get the lockout pulled all the way forward but there was still a little bit of space that needed to move. Quite possibly the trailer was still pushing forward on the truck.

Yes you should have reverse lights on a Boatmate

[Tulsah]

Here are a couple of files from Boatmate that may prove useful to others ...

https://www.boatmateparts.com/manual...1217072303.pdf

https://www.boatmateparts.com/manual...1217073137.pdf

-Tulsah