2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission brake/abs warning lights

[FClanton]

While towing my travel trailer the brakes became very soft almost going to the floor. The brakes on the trailer worked and helped slow me down. Thank goodness I was on a dirt road and not on the highway. The brake and abs lights came on in the instrument panel. When I got it to a shop the brake switch and the abs module were basically melted according to the mechanic. The brake switch was replaced and made the truck driveable. The abs module, an $800 part, had to be ordered from Dodge. Does anyone have an idea if the truck can safely operate without the abs module? I am using a quest brake controler which the mechanic said they had seen problems with. Any ideas as to why these parts would fail? I have been pulling the trailer for about two years about once every eight to ten weeks modyly less than two hundred miles each way. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. The trailer is a 2011 Keystone 27 RLS Cougar X-Lite.



Fred...

 

[KRStone]

Putting in a new $800 part when the last one unexplainably "melted"???

Uh uh. I can't afford to throw away that kind of money.

Sounds like the shop figured out What happened, but the real question is Why it happened.

 

[KRStone]

Soft pedal can mean several things, start with those. Fluid level. Master cylinder. Etc.

 

[Road Dog]

I'm not clear on how the brake controller would affect the brake switch (which is simply connected to ground). I guess if the controller is allowing direct +12V then you'd have a short but that's an odd failure mode.

The brakes should be fine with a nonfunctioning ABS module.

 

[FClanton]

Sorry, I should have noted the brake fluid was up to the full mark.