Brakes...

[mesteve]

So I finally crawled underneath and adjusted my brakes (on one side so far).

I had to go back and do it again since I had them way too loose so as not to lock up at all, even on gravel. Got it done the second time, tested it and it appears that I got it right this time.

My question is this, I noticed that when I tested the brakes on the gravel, it appears only the front tire on each side actually locks up. So the possibilities as I see them are:

-This is normal (seems counter-intuitive to me as weight shifts forward should allow the rear wheels to lock first)
-Could both rear brakes still be too loose, one of my doing, one that has been like that since the factory
-My rear tire carrying that much more weight (doubtful as its pretty empty and tools etc are up front in the battery bay)

Thoughts?

 

[cookie]

The question is, how did you adjust them? Do you have a slight drag, or nearly so?

Peace
Dave

 

[mesteve]

Yes, however I noticed the amount of drag varies as the wheel turns. I backed off 7 clicks from lock up.

 

[SJH]

From what I can gather, the general consensus regarding brake adjustment is...

Turn the adjuster until the brake locks up, i.e. you can no longer rotate the wheel by hand. This centers the brake shoes on the brake drum so that they are in the correct position. Then back off the star wheel 8 to 10 clicks or as specified by the manufacturer. The wheel should spin freely with no apparent drag to slow it down. A slight scraping noise is normal as the wheel turns.

HERE is one (of many) Youtube videos showing the process.​

 

[GOTTOYS]

Brake seminar in Goshen they said to tighten the star wheel inside the backing plate until the adjuster is tight and it won't turn anymore. The back it off 6- 10 clicks. You do one click at a time until there is almost no resistance when turning the wheel. Mine took 9 clicks. Then tighten each wheel the same way and back off each wheel the same amount of clicks. I did mine this way and it worked well. Probably due for another adjustment...Don

 

[mesteve]

Well, took a volt meter to the wires on the rear axle, nothin, nada, zip! I have 12V at the front axle. I am venturing a guess that the rear axle is daisy chained from the front one rather than ran back to the front. Are there any known palces to check the wiring outside of checking any connectors?

 

[jnbhobe]

Sounds like you have it under control, there is only one line running back to the brakes, wires run thru the axels to the other side.

 

[cookie]

Pull the belly material down and check the wiring. As Jon said, there is only one wire coming from the front. There is most likely some splicing on the door side, as that is where the wire runs. Check all the splices.

Peace
Dave