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HAYES BRAKE CONTROLLER FUNCTION


NeverEasy

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Some of you might have seen an earlier post where I showed the digital voltmeter/ammeter I put by the trailer trolley lever. Anyway, on my last trip to western SC I kept an eye on it. I was not very happy about how little amperage the Hayes Controller sent to the trailer brakes normal braking. Normal braking to a stop the Hayes only feed 1.4 amps to the trailer (that was with about 40 psi on the truck gage). If I pull the trailer trolley, it will dump the maximum it can which is about 10.6 amps.

 

While stopped, when I mash really hard on the brake pedal and put 90 psi on the truck brakes then the Hayes puts out maximum amps to the trailer.

 

Since the trolley and the truck brakes will make the Hayes put out maximum amperage to the trailer then I assume the air feed to the Hayes is good.

 

Then I tried turning the knob on the Hayes from full CW to full CCW. The difference it made was a disappointing .3 volts (nothing really noticeable on the amp meter).

 

I would think the Hayes ought to be sending something more proportional to the trailer. Like 40 psi brake pressure should send 3-5 amps to the trailer. post-27099-0-50000200-1468546226_thumb.jpg

Chet & Deb
'01 Volvo 660 w/ Smart
'19 Forest River Columbus 320RS 5th wheel
2022 Chev 2500HD Long Bed
Retired CWO4, USN and federal service
Electronics Tech/Network Engineer/Welder/Machinist

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Anybody ever wonder why the Hayes fell out of favour, originally? When they work, they're ok, but they're a mechanically actuated, analog electrical signal controller. Sell it on Craigslist, and get another one. The time you will lose out of your life isn't worth the effort to fix it.

I have been wrong before, I'll probably be wrong again. 

2000 Kenworth T 2000 w/N-14 and 10 speed Gen1 Autoshift, deck built by Star Fabrication
2006 smart fourtwo cdi cabriolet
2007 32.5' Fleetwood Quantum


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I would if I could find something else that was air over electric.

Chet & Deb
'01 Volvo 660 w/ Smart
'19 Forest River Columbus 320RS 5th wheel
2022 Chev 2500HD Long Bed
Retired CWO4, USN and federal service
Electronics Tech/Network Engineer/Welder/Machinist

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I mean another Hayes. They aren't particularly consistent unit to unit. The units that work, will work until the internals start to gum up, dust gets in them, or it's the 3rd Wednesday after a chicken flies in front of a full moon.

I have been wrong before, I'll probably be wrong again. 

2000 Kenworth T 2000 w/N-14 and 10 speed Gen1 Autoshift, deck built by Star Fabrication
2006 smart fourtwo cdi cabriolet
2007 32.5' Fleetwood Quantum


Please e-mail us here.

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X2 for, the direclink. I love it. Truck computer tells it how much to apply. You have a lot of adjustability. With our trucks we have a tendency to adjust it too much until we replace brake pads in one year then we learn to back it odd some.

Ron C.

2013 Dynamax Trilogy 3850 D3

2000 Kenworth T2000 Optimus Prime

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NeverEasy Just saying hello! Hope everything is going OK. Are you n town? We spent the weekend up at BethPage> Grandson had a great time but I had a real issue with the 5er and its sitting at East coast Trailer in Portsmouth. Its kept me so busy I haven't posted IRT what happened. I'm going to.Hopefully this weekend. Where is dinner tomorrow night??? I mean tonight! 646-1686. Pat

 

 

The Old Sailor

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The Direclink looks enticing but the price will keep me looking. Nuke-E (David) has me thinking about using micro-controllers for everything.

 

Pat: Friday night is always Dam Neck CPO Club night. We play cards until about 7 P.M. making it too late for me to eat. Let me talk to Deb when she gets up and I will call you.

 

Chet

Chet & Deb
'01 Volvo 660 w/ Smart
'19 Forest River Columbus 320RS 5th wheel
2022 Chev 2500HD Long Bed
Retired CWO4, USN and federal service
Electronics Tech/Network Engineer/Welder/Machinist

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Hi Everyone,

 

Does anyone know what brand of brake controller that Gregg from RV Haulers uses ? I thought it was something different then a Directlink unit. I remember seeing a video where Gregg talks about what brand he uses. But I don't remember what video the info was in.

 

NeverEasy, Maybe if Gregg uses and different unit then Directlink it could help you out.

 

Al

2012 Volvo VNL 630 w/ I-Shift; D13 engine; " Veeger "
  Redwood, model 3401R ; 5th Wheel Trailer, " Dead Wood "
    2006 Smart Car " Killer Frog "
 

 

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I think he likes the direct link. The problem is it does not work on anything newer than about 2013. They are working with volvo to make it work with the newer trucks. Supposed to be fixed soon.

Dan

2002 Beaver Marquis Emerald   C-12 Cat 505 HP

2014 Volvo 630 D-13 I Shift SOLD

2017 New Horizons SOLD

 

 

 

 

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If you are not going to use BluDot then the Direclink is the best available option. That is the one Gregg uses. But as noted - it does not work on newer trucks with the encrypted data links.

Jack & Danielle Mayer #60376 Lifetime Member
Living on the road since 2000

PLEASE no PM's. Email me. jackdanmayer AT gmail
2016 DRV Houston 44' 5er (we still have it)
2022 New Horizons 43' 5er
2016 Itasca 27N 28' motorhome 
2019 Volvo 860, D13 455/1850, 236" wb, I-Shift, battery-based APU
No truck at the moment - we use one of our demo units
2016 smart Passion, piggyback on the truck
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
See our website for info on New Horizons 5th wheels, HDTs as tow vehicles, communications on the road, and use of solar power
www.jackdanmayer.com
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  • 5 weeks later...

I took my Hayes apart yesterday and reworked it good.

 

There was a 3/16" gap between the ram and actuation lever which is about half of its travel and caused an audible click every time the brakes were applied. Made a shim to take this up and that solved the delay issue and the lever will actually move the whole distance of the slot now.

 

Next,it appears that the threaded pivot on the gain knob shift was installed improperly, so I turned it 90° and now it is even more responsive.

 

Last, I installed a slightly stiffer spring to allow more progressive engagement. As it seemed to go from nothing to too much real fast.

 

Lubed the pivot and screwed it back together.

 

Looking forward to hooking up and testing the difference.

1999 Peterbilt 385 C12 430/1650 13spd

2006 Dodge 3500 DRW 4x4

2010 Hitchhiker Champagne 36 LKRSB

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