Problem with your E-Stopp? Let's figure it out.

Rarely, one of our E-Stopps decides to have an off day. If your E-Stopp is not working or is acting strangely, these steps may help make things right.

ISSUE: It takes a very long time for my brakes to engage.

WHAT TO DO: If the E-Stopp takes more than 2 to 3 seconds to engage, there is likely too much slack in the brake lines.

  1. Disconnect the E-Stopp actuator from the brake cables and ensure that the actuator cable is not obstructed in any way.
  2. Engage the E-Stopp and then disengage it once. This will push out the cable to it's maximum extension.
  3. Reconnect the actuator to your brake cables.
  4. Ensure that the cables coming from your brakes have minimal slack in them when connected to the E-Stopp actuator cable. They should be just loose enough that you can slightly move them with a finger and they are not pulling on your brakes at all.
  5. Check for any places in the brake cable runs where the E-Stopp needs to take up slack before the force is transferred to your calipers. This can happen in sweeping turns that do not have enough bracket support as well as other places.

ISSUE: The E-Stopp does not hold my vehicle well enough.

WHAT TO DO: This can be due to one or both of the following problems.

  1. If your E-Stopp also takes a long time to engage, there may be too much slack in the line, which causes the controller to stop the actuator when the pull distance is exhausted. In this case, please follow the steps under "It takes a very long time for my brakes to engage".
  2. Ensure that the brake cable runs are not binding somewhere along the path or trying to make a tight turn. We recommend that turns be kept to a minimum and avoid any tight angles (greater than 45 degrees).
  3. Ensure that any brackets or other hardware holding the brake cables are not too tight. Any binding can cause the E-Stopp to reach its stopping force prematurely.

ISSUE: The buzzer sounds and the light flashes, but the brake does not engage.

WHAT TO DO: This can be caused by a problem with the power to the control box.

  1. Ensure that the control box is getting a full 12 volts and at least 10 amps of power.
  2. Ensure that the wires providing power to the control box are 16 gauge.
  3. Ensure that the E-Stopp control box power wires are not coupled to any other devices.
  4. Ensure that there are no breaks in the wires connecting the control box to the actuator and that all splices or connectors are solid.

ISSUE: The brake engages, but will not disengage.

WHAT TO DO: This can happen when the ignition safety wire is being used and the control module is connected to the actuator in reverse.

  1. Ensure that the control module wires are connected to the actuator wires correctly.
  2. If this does not resolve the situation, follow the steps below in "Nothing happens when I engage the brake" to ensure that the ignition safety wire is not causing the issue.

ISSUE: Nothing happens when I try to engage the brake.

WHAT TO DO: The blue ignition safety wire will stop the E-Stopp from engaging whenever it is receiving voltage.

  1. Ensure the vehicle is OFF when attempting to engage the E-Stopp.
  2. Disconnect the ignition safety wire and try to engage the E-Stopp. The ignition safety wire may be inadvertently receiving voltage. Even one or two volts can be enough to trigger the lockout mechanism.

ISSUE: The green wire will not activate my brake indicator light.

WHAT TO DO: The green wire is a low-current switched ground.

  1. Ensure that a low-current LED is being used. The green wire allows about 25 milliamps of power to flow, which is not enough to light an incandescent bulb or high-current LED.
  2. Ensure that the green wire is connected to the negative side of your LED.
  3. Ensure that dash/vehicle RUN power is connected to the positive side of your LED.

ISSUE: My button light flickers faintly when the brake is engaged.

WHAT TO DO: This is normal.

Still not working?

If your problem has to do with the brake not engaging or disengaging, you'll need to check whether the actuator itself is working. To do this, you'll need access to the wires that go to the actuator.

  1. Connect an external 12-volt (8-10 amp) power source to the actuator by connecting the positive source wire to the brown actuator wire and the negative source wire to the blue actuator wire. When powered up, the cable should extend.
  2. If it does not, disconnect the power source and reverse the polarity of the connection by connecting the positive source wire to the blue actuator wire and the negative source wire to the brown actuator wire. When powered up, the cable should retract. If it does not, your actuator may have failed and will need to be replaced.
  3. If the actuator is working, disconnect the power source and reverse the polarity again, ensuring that the cable is fully extended.
  4. When this test is complete, immediately disconnect the power source. DO NOT leave the actuator connected directly to a power source.

Now that you know whether the actuator is working, please contact our technical support department at help@estopp.com. Let them know the problem you are having and the steps you have taken to troubleshoot it. They can help you diagnose the issue further or issue you an RMA for a warranty replacement if you are within the one-year period.