Greg,
Yes, the magnet does rub the inside of the hub all the time as you correctly
analyzed.
That is the design. When your tow vehicle brake controller applies 12 volt
power to the magnets, they grab the inside of the hub which twists the
magnet rearward because of the direction of rotation. This actuates a lever
arm which spreads the brake shoes causing them to make contact with the
brake drum.
BTW, if you discover that your brake magnets are not working or your brake
shoes are excessively worn, it is possible to buy the entire backing plate,
called a "loaded backing plate" with new shoes, magnets, springs, clips,
arms, etc. for about $40 per backing plate rather than paying close to $30
each for magnets and probably another $20 - 25 per wheel for shoes.
You can test the brake magnets by applying power with a battery charger.
Harvey
----- Original Message -----
From: Greg Hankins <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Multiple recipients of VACList <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, June 30, 2001 11:54 PM
Subject: [VAC] Loosey Goosey Brake Magnet?
> Pulled the hubs off my '76 Trade Wind for the first time today, with the
> ambition of repacking bearings and inspecting brakes. Once I got the
whells
> off the ground, I noticed that they made one heck of a lot of scraping
> sound when I turned them by hand.
>
> Disassembled, bearing look great, so I'm ready to repack.
>
> But, I'm not sure I understand these brakes. I can see the shoes, adjuster
> wheel, springs top and bottom, and, finally, the magnet.
>
> What looks so strange is the looset goosey nature of the mount for the
> magnet. It seems to just hang loosey, held with a almost not there spring
> at the back and a loop around a short stud to the side. After I saw the
> first one I was sure something was wrong and pulled the other hub on that
> side just to check. Both exactly the same.
>
> You can tell I'm not familiar with electric brakes. Tell me. If the
> magnet's hanging in there so loosely, doesn't it just rub the inside of
the
> hub all the time?
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