Ram brake controller ?

[garyp285]

Does anyone know if there is a factory harness to connect an after market brake controller to on a 2018 2500?
My factory one will not even stop the truck from rolling in drive at an idle, and I've checked all the brake adjustments, on new FW, and they are good, but the wiring going to them looks very small like 16Ga.
I miss my max brake!

 

[Dan_69GTX]

Questions:
new trailer or old - to you and by year.
Have you tried another truck on this trailer?

My new truck with my older trailers had issues. It was the wiring in the trailer. After replacing rubbed through lines (which the max brake didn't complain about) I had good trailer brakes.

 

[GCroyle]

Just another SWAG what's new.

Is your ITBC smarter than we including me? Could it be saying uh we're not really moving no need to apply trailer brakes.

One of my oh yeah now we're cooking diagnostic tool on trailer brakes is an IR temp gun. If all wiring OK, adj OK, controller OK then when you apply brakes after several good runs than them drums better have some BTU's in them.

And using an older standard controller with the older truck sure will give you a shot at a baseline brake performance.

 

[garyp285]

It's new, only one trip 300 miles, and would take it to the dealer, but they are 5 hours away. The brakes seemed ok coming home with it, but now hardly nothing.
They are made an hour from me so I will get an appointment there, and In the meantime I'm going to check the voltage coming from my truck, and grounds.

 

[Dan_69GTX]

OK - before you drive an hour away -

Got another trailer to try? Or another truck to try on your trailer?

If not, hook up your trailer to truck REMOVE the electric connection from the truck (DO NOT HAVE IT CONNECTED TO THE TRUCK!!)
Pull the break away pin out, do you have trailer brakes? If not, you have a trailer issue! If you do have brakes, it could still be a trailer connector issue - or the truck.

There are lots of posts on here how to test trailer brakes and the truck.

 

[garyp285]

Thanks Dan, I'll try the break away.

 

[jhenderson]

Time to do a search on brake controller problems. There’s a good afternoons reading available. To the O.P., an aftermarket controller requires an adapter harness and a trip to a dealer to have the factory controller sales code removed from the bcm or you’ll have a M.I.L.

 

[jhenderson]

Just another SWAG what's new.

Is your ITBC smarter than we including me? Could it be saying uh we're not really moving no need to apply trailer brakes..

Try that theory at a stop light at the foot of a hill. That’s a really good way to get someone killed.

 

[GCroyle]

Try that theory at a stop light at the foot of a hill. That’s a really good way to get someone killed.

We had a big thread about trailer brakes a while back and Memorial weekend I used my new trailer brake system ammeter and volt meter on a couple year old F250. We read no output to the trailer. While stationary. The owner later reported no problem, brakes worked. So the question proposes is the truck/ITBC smarter than the driver? I don't have a manual on anything other than my, wait for it, Maxbrake and 4 piston disc brakes.

And now the OP has added that the brakes were "OK" on the drive home. Not real likely that the wiring crapped out in 1st run but may question were the brakes ever in correct adjustment?

garyp285 who made your axle/brakes and do you have manual adj or self adj brakes? Your 1st post says they are correctly adjusted, did you raise each wheel and spin/adj/test etc?

 

[garyp285]

I already did the search, and read 30 pages of discussion, with multiple reasons why are designed to work the way they do.
Thanks for the dealer advice, and yes I raised each wheel.

 

[garyp285]

Dan, I tried the break away switch, and it locks up the wheels.
I plugged in a 7 way pigtail with bare wires, and had my wife push the brake, but no voltage in blue wire, but it probably has to sense the trailer before sending voltage.
I guess my next step is to connect to the trailer, and probe the brake wires on the trailer, when I can get some help.

 

[Dan_69GTX]

Somewhere on here SAG2 explains how to use an old heater fan motor to test the controlller. The controller does need to sense a trailer and then will provided voltage, but it is a PWM (pulse width modulated) signal, not a straight DC voltage.

Good that the trailer isn't the problem (from the breakaway on back).

Did you check fuses?

I'm not positive, but most likely the basics are the same between 17 and 18.
Factory brake controller

 

[AH64ID]

I have read that below a certain speed the amperage to the brakes is reduced with the ITBC.

 

[garyp285]

Finally checked it today plugged it to the rv, and got 6.6 volts with the manual slider or brakes pressed. I guess I'm calling the dealer, and see if there is anything they can do before I buy an after market controller.

 

[jhenderson]

Finally checked it today plugged it to the rv, and got 6.6 volts with the manual slider or brakes pressed. I guess I'm calling the dealer, and see if there is anything they can do before I buy an after market controller.

Wasted time. Their reply will be performs as designed. Which it does. The problem is it’s a poor design.
They’re kind of expensive but I like the looks of the DirecLink controllers. All reports are they operate as a true progressive rate controller. The downside is a trip to the dealer for option code removal, but that’s for any aftermarket controller.

 

[AH64ID]

Wasted time. Their reply will be performs as designed. Which it does. The problem is it’s a poor design.
They’re kind of expensive but I like the looks of the DirecLink controllers. All reports are they operate as a true progressive rate controller. The downside is a trip to the dealer for option code removal, but that’s for any aftermarket controller.

if you know someone with AlfaOBD it can turn off the OEM controller.

It’s probably the same cost for dealer or AlfaOBD, so I’d vote Alfa.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Wasted time. Their reply will be performs as designed. Which it does. The problem is it’s a poor design.
They’re kind of expensive but I like the looks of the DirecLink controllers. All reports are they operate as a true progressive rate controller. The downside is a trip to the dealer for option code removal, but that’s for any aftermarket controller.

Maybe I don’t understsnd but I have had nothing removed on my 15. MaxBrake or P-3 have not been an issue???

 

[Dan_69GTX]

......... The brakes seemed ok coming home with it, but now hardly nothing.

I think people have missed this statement. So, they worked, now they don't.....something changed - the question is.....what! Proper troubleshooting is required - not just scraping the entire truck and trailer and starting new (ok, I exaggerated that last part - just a bit).

 

[Dan_69GTX]

Finally checked it today plugged it to the rv, and got 6.6 volts with the manual slider or brakes pressed. I guess I'm calling the dealer, and see if there is anything they can do before I buy an after market controller.

So, did you just check voltage or did you use the factory service manual to follow the flow chart on how to troubleshoot this issue?

Remember - voltage means not much if you just measured it at a stop. It is PWM!!

 

[crispyboy]

Are the brakes on the trailer manual adjust or are they the auto adjust type of brakes? I find that electric brakes on a trailer must be adjusted properly for good stopping power.
Check the wires and connectors on the trailer. Maybe a wire has rubbed through the insulation on the trip home.....