Question for the smart ones

[BigDaddyMC]

I pull a 2001 Ragen Toy box. The thing runs about 6K empty. I own a 04 Ram Quad Cab 4x4 with the HO in it.



I had a 96 Ford with a PS in it. The question deals specifically with the brake controller and associated parts. Break Controller is about 3 years old and has worked perfectly, until three weeks ago. I had my 96 Ford and was pulling the trailer, when, in the streets of ST. George UT, i had to hit the binders pretty hard. I lost the breaks and couldn't figure out why. Fuse on the truck was fine and the Drawtite Activator break controller's light was very dim when I hit the breaks or used the test slide button.



Forward three weeks. Break controller is now in the 04 Ram and the breaks worked fine this morning towing the trailer in for service. Controller's light was nice and bright and the breaks as well as the slide control worked like a champ. I picked the trailer up and I got the dim light back with the breaks in operable. I didn't even mash the binder peddle but realized that they were dead before I even left the dealership where the service was being done. I hopped out about three miles down the road and checked the fuse panel - FINE, checked the connections on the plug from the trailer and gave them a little extra bite. Still no break function.



Any clues?



Do these things go out (break controllers) over time? Could a hard stop burn something up on the controller? Any body have an idea?



HELP!!!

 

[jgillott]

The fact that you had similar trouble in your ford, it tells me that it is something internal in the reese controller. I had installed on on my 01 CTD when the truck was new. I lasted exactly one day a failed. Again the light was fine and all connections looked ok, but it just wouldn't work. I returned it for another, and it has worked fine since. I don't have an answer as far as fixing it goes, but I would think that a new one is in your future.



Justin

 

[HBarlow]

You changed trucks but the same symptom was repeated. Two things remained constant: the brake controller, and the trailer. Either the brake controller has internal problems, or the trailer has brake or wiring problems.



It is easy to test the controller by reading the voltage at the proper pin on the seven pin female connector at the back of your truck.



If the pin shows 0 volts with no brakes applied and approximately 12 volts when the service brake is applied or the manual override lever on the controller is pushed, the problem is in the trailer's male seven pin connector, trailer wiring, or trailer brakes.



If 12 volts doesn't show up on the correct pin at the trailer connector, the brake controller is probably defective.



Harvey

 

[BigDaddyMC]

That's what I'm thinking Justin, I now have a control so to speak in that the exact same scenario has been duplicated in two different trucks... . this means that the problem is in the Trailer or the Controller. By the way, I edited the post, and its a Drawtite Activator controller - sorry bout that.



Anything in the trailer that could be popped? I can't come up with anything in my head.....

 

[Jumbo Jet]

SAME THING happened to me. My Kelsey brake controller was in it's 4th year. It went out two weeks ago on a short pull to the lake.



I just installed a Tekonsha Prodigy as a replacement this evening. Picked it up from www.rvwholesalers.com for the lowest price I've seen anywhere. Easy install.

 

[catoiler]

Double check your grounds!With a bad ground it will do the same thing.

 

[Eric_77]

I don't know which Draw-Tite you have but I have the activatorII that I would be more than willing to give away as a matter of fact I was going to put it on the pay forward area today. I had it installed for about a month did not like the way it applied brakes and ditched it for a Kelsy (sp?) that burned out when trailer shorted and now have a Brakesmart which I have found to be best controller I have ever pulled with (better than old 70's hydraulic) as it has more info (it knows number of axles and senses if trailer becomes disconnected as weel as many useless but nice info Date/time, daily messages, etc).

 

[BigDaddyMC]

I appreciate the comments. I'll check the connectors for various voltages. I hope that it's a controller now that the trailer is a possibility. I would think that the trailer would be an OUTSIDE chance, as all of the lights work and that even without the trailer hooked up, the controller doesn't always give me a bright activation light.



Wish me luck!