Brake controller quagmire!

[Dkevdog]

Originally posted by Fred W Neise

t



Tagalong:

I have replaced several Jordon brake controlers in the past few

months. From a professional point of view (rv tech ) Iwould rather have

have either a Tekonsha or Drawtighte Act. II. My choice being the

Draw-tight .

Fred- I (and I'm sure others) would be very curious to know why you had to replace the Jordan Controllers... ... ... . What went wrong?



Kev

 

[wcaldwell]

Tagalong,



I'm probably going to show my ignorance here, but I was reading the posts of the pedal bracket and the cable sleeve having to be in an almost direct direct line with each other.



I have one of those exercise machines at home and, when putting it together, had to run the cables up, over, around, through, and under all over the frame with pulleys. Why can't you get a longer cable and mount a couple of small pulleys to allow you to mount the controller where you can and get the cable where you need?



(I have this terrible habit of taking designs from one thing and adapting them to a totally different application and trying to make them work. )



As an old Air Force supervisor used to say, "Nothing beats a success like a failure".



Wayne

 

[JMichelson]

Prodigy Controller

I towed the first real trip with my Prodigy this weekend, it worked as advertised. I turned on the 4 way flashers and used the brakes and no problem. As to the top mounted controls, I have mine mounted just below the ashtray and have no trouble accessing them. After the initial adjustment I never touched it. Throughout the trip it gave me safe sure stops when I needed them and didn’t jerk the trailer at low speeds like my previous controller. Jeff

 

[Tagalong]

Installation complete!

Well folks,

This evening I installed the Ultima 2020 in the Ram and it was a lot easier than I expected. At first I thought I'd install the controller in the ashtray but (thanks to the pictures posted) after I removed the knee bolster it became very clear how to position the cable bracket and run the wire. I mounted the controller in the same position I had my DrawTite. The cable runs just to the left of the hood latch, up and around the front of the steering column and down to the cable mount, and straight as an arrow to the pedal bracket. The three lower knee bolster mounting screws are stamped in a raised position so the area just to the left of the center screw was perfect. I wire tied the cable loosely so it didn't rub anything around the steering column. The Ultima instructions mention removing the brake pedal module during when you are not towing over a long period of time. Are you folks doing that? I'll adjust the unit sometime over the next two weeks when I do a dry run with the fiver. I'll let you know how things go.

dslcummings, I received your email but I'm new to private messaging and I just couldn't get it to send, but thanks for your information.

Dave

 

[klenger]

I never remove the cable from the brake pedel. I think that messing with it just creates more potential for mis-adjustments and problems. I tow often enough that it would be a pain to mess with.

 

[Dkevdog]

I tow every two weeks or so with mine and I do disconnect (remove) the cable most of the time in between tows. I've not ever had to adjust it for that reason yet. Been on the truck for 6 months. I have had to readjust it when I remove the dash panel to access anything, but to simplyfy things, I put a piece of electrical tape as a mark around the cable. It also keeps it from slipping around too.



Kev

 

[MikeBeggy]

I have had several of the magic controllers which rely on accelerometers and timing to give you braking current to your wheel magnets. I installed a Jordan last year before an Alaska trip. I mounted it below the ash tray after discussing with Jordan. The flex cable had a gentle S shape which was well within the mounting parameters. It worked OK but I noticed by my sensitive seat of pants that some jerkyness was occuring. To make a long story short, I ended up moving the unit to a less desireable location directly in line with the brake pedal. Although the manual button and display are less accessible, the unit now works smoothly and very linear with brake pedal movement. It's output is totally predictable and is not fooled by braking either uphill or down which usually messes up the other types of controllers. My 2 cents worth.

 

[Motorhead]

Jordan control

Go with the Jordan. I tow a 6K 28footer and I loved the way it worked. Thanks to fellow TDR members pics of their install, Mine went in in an hour. I had the factory wiring(Dodge)to the dash. I like the pedel hook up for the cable in that you can un-hook the cable when you are not using the unit and it takes about two seconds and no tools. I wish that they made the pedel bracket a little more stout. I worked a little while getting the mount at the right distance from the pedel piviot. If you go with the Jordan and want the distance measurement for the brake pedel bracket, E-mail me and I will measure it for you. Chris