OK, so I know how electric brakes work in theory, but I am having an issue with my open trailer on one wheel is giving me grief. The trailer isn't all that old, but on one of the first long trips I discovered that the brake on one side was dragging and getting quite hot. I backed off the adjustment some (they are manually adjusted, no auto adjustment ratchets) and didn't think much more about it except that they really don't work all that well.
So I have pulled the drum on the problem side and it was sort of a mess with some nasty grooves and roughness. I bought a new drum with new bearings but now I seem to have an issue with it. Even when the shoes are backed way off, so they are nowhere near dragging, I am still getting a dragging feel and sound when I rotate the drum. I think, but am not sure, that it is the magnet that it contacting the drum and making it drag.
When these things are working properly, is the magnet supposed to actually contact the drum? The trailer isn't connected to the truck and has no power, so I know the magnet isn't energized. Should the drum just rotate freely with the shoes backed off completely, or is there always going to be some drag?
BTW, the other side is similar, but when the shoes are backed off the residual dragging is much less than the troublesome side.
