A'van Electric Brakes

A'van Electric Brakes

Last month we ran a bit of a horror story by Peter Bishop from Perth. You may remember he appears to have bent both stub axles because the magnets appear to have come adrift. Peter's photos only showed you a mangled brake set up. The photos above are of a brand new assembly. The magnet slides on a spigot which is welded to the arm. The only way for the magnet to come off is to remove the drum. A real mystery this one. We have received several emails on Peter's story, but luckily this disaster has not befallen anyone else as yet. For those who haven't a clue how electric brakes work, the oval magnets when energised are attracted to the inner face of the drum producing a turning motion which moves a lever and applies the brakes. A truly ingenious mechanism, BUT one which requires regular inspection. If you have worked on brakes before it is a doddle to replace the magnets, but really not a DIY project and best left to the experts if you have no previous experience, as checking bearing free play requires special skills. What makes Peter's case a mind bender is 12 volt power has never been applied to the brakes, so it can't be wear and tear.

We have found the Alko brakes on our van to be absolutely fantastic and wouldn't use anything else. They really do give you a wonderful feeling of security. Only last week we were in the middle lane of an expressway at the legal limit and a guy started to cut in front of us before he had passed us. For the first time the ABS came on in the Forester and the whole rig slowed in a straight line. Thanks to the strength of the A'van, Alko and Subaru we are still here to tell the tale!

Bob Eustace