On 12/27/20 10:57 AM, Tom Rymes wrote:
I?€?d say that, if it has the word ?€?trailer?€? in front of it, it?€?s a bad idea. Trailer brakes, trailer tires, etc.
Can they be made to work? Sure? Should they? No, if for no other reason than the fact that you?€?d lose brakes if something went wrong electrically (short, fuse, whatever).
Just like hydraulic brakes will fail if a line corrodes enough to leak. Had that happen to me in my '75 Datsun 280Z at about the 300,000 mile mark. Fortunately all modern cars have dual circuit brakes so only 2 wheels failed. The other two continued to work.
If I designed an electric brake system, I'd use the same dual redundant system as hydraulic systems. And I'd store enough energy within the controller to achieve at least a couple of stops if a fuse blew. Hopefully the engineer would use a self-resetting PolyFuse. Airbomb detonators do the same thing. I won't touch a modern car's yellow wiring (code for air bomb wiring) until the battery has been disconnected for at least a half hour.
Details like these are what separate engineers from great engineers. And they are what would make an electronic so complex to design and test on all 4 corners of possible failure.
John
NeonJohn