Ram brake controller ?

[garyp285]

jhenderson, you were right, I went to the dealer this morning, and they said its working fine.ha
I will be going to an after market controller for sure, this is bs, someone needs to contact the highway safety board. The earliest I could get in to the rv manufacturer's service center is December, and will add this to my list.
Thanks for the advice, and I will update if I find out anything.

 

[Dan_69GTX]

Did the dealership paperwork say what they did to test it?

My dealership is not very effective at troubleshooting, much less fixing things.

 

[garyp285]

No, this was on the ticket.
Electric trailer brakes inop
Tech: RS, no problem found, all readings at trailer plug are correct.

 

[Wiredawg]

jhenderson, you were right, I went to the dealer this morning, and they said its working fine.ha
I will be going to an after market controller for sure, this is bs, someone needs to contact the highway safety board. The earliest I could get in to the rv manufacturer's service center is December, and will add this to my list.
Thanks for the advice, and I will update if I find out anything.

Installing an aftermarket controller is really easy. Plug and play. You might need an Alpha OBD to uninstall the ITBM though.

Cheers, Ron

 

[jhenderson]

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

Did your 15 come with the ITBM? Without having the option code for the factory controller removed most trucks show a MIL with the trailer hooked up.

 

[jhenderson]

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!!

This has all been discussed adnauseam. He’s getting the same readings everyone else has gotten during actual road tests. The factory controller pulls voltage as the vehicle slows below about 30 mph.

 

[Wiredawg]

Friends,

I thought I would share I went to Fort Worth from San Antonio last week towing my 21KLb 5th wheel and 12.2KLb Ram 5500. I was traveling 65MPH cruise control on when a car passed and cut in front of me just as traffic came to an abrupt stop. There was a wreck on the other side, darned rubber neckers. In 20 years of RVing, I've not had a panic stop as severe as this. It was straight interstate, clear conditions, and I was actually surprised my rig stopped as fast as it did. I owe a lot to the 5500's big brakes, the disk brakes on the RV, and the factory brake controller. Like JH mentioned, this has been discussed a lot, and not too much figured out about it.

JH, did you ever remove your factory controller and replace it with an aftermarket one? I don't recall seeing you post it.

Anyway, OP and others good luck working a brake controller solution.

Cheers, Ron

 

[Cummins12V98]

Installing an aftermarket controller is really easy. Plug and play. You might need an Alpha OBD to uninstall the ITBM though.

Cheers, Ron

Why does everyone say you have to uninstall something???

 

[Cummins12V98]

I can say from personal experience the MaxBrake I used on my 15 WAS DA CHITS. I had the controller updated. Its better but I can tell you the P3 is no better! PISSED MaxBrake died.

 

[Wiredawg]

Why does everyone say you have to uninstall something???

Ron,

I'm not sure if you don't like the term uninstall as opposed to remove or replace OR if it's in reference to the OP wanting to install an aftermarket brake controller?

I can't help you if it's the former and if it's the latter, I merely pointing out that the ITBC has to be unprogrammed in the body control module, as I've read.

Bottom Line, just wanted OP to avoid throwing CEL(s).

So, I hope I've helped all understand what I am trying to do.

Cheers, Ron

 

[jhenderson]

Why does everyone say you have to uninstall something???

That’s not what I said. Answer my question.

 

[jhenderson]

Wire. No I have not, yet. I’m cautious as hell and have learned how to drive around the deficiencies in the factory unit. I would gladly if there was a trustworthy dealer near me to remove the option code. And before anyone says it, the alpha unit won’t play with my iPad.

 

[Wiredawg]

Wire. No I have not, yet. I’m cautious as hell and have learned how to drive around the deficiencies in the factory unit. I would gladly if there was a trustworthy dealer near me to remove the option code. And before anyone says it, the alpha unit won’t play with my iPad.

JH,
I hear ya. If you lived near San Antonio TX I'd give you a hand with it.

Cheers, Ron

 

[Cummins12V98]

That’s not what I said. Answer my question.

Sorry did not see your question.

My 15 did come with the factory controller. Installed MaxBrake and then P3 zero issues.

 

[Cummins12V98]

Ron,

I'm not sure if you don't like the term uninstall as opposed to remove or replace OR if it's in reference to the OP wanting to install an aftermarket brake controller?

I can't help you if it's the former and if it's the latter, I merely pointing out that the ITBC has to be unprogrammed in the body control module, as I've read.

Bottom Line, just wanted OP to avoid throwing CEL(s).

So, I hope I've helped all understand what I am trying to do.

Cheers, Ron

Just wondering if you had an answer.

 

[Wiredawg]

Just wondering if you had an answer.

Ron,

I guess I have empathy for the folks who have ITBC and they're not functioning well. This is a tenuous issue and for my part, just want to facilitate them. If any of these folks lived near me, I would certainly invite them over and help them look ar their existing setup and/or replace it with an aftermarket.

Not sure if that answers your question or not, but that's likely as close as I'm going to get if not.

Cheers, Ron

 

[AH64ID]

I think it’s fairly well documented that the ITBC is for more sensitive to trailer wiring condition. From what I’ve read and experienced a weak ITBC is due to trailer wiring and not the ITBC.

reminds me of when the dodge software updated for the WTS light due to return flow. Everyone was convinced it was a software glitch and injectors were good... fast forward and it turned out that the software was good and the injectors were not.

point being that wiring is worth looking at when the ITBC feels weak.

 

[Dan_69GTX]

This has all been discussed adnauseam. He’s getting the same readings everyone else has gotten during actual road tests. The factory controller pulls voltage as the vehicle slows below about 30 mph.

John - you are correct - in ANOTHER thread. Even so, that doesn't negate the question I asked the op as to if he followed FSM troubleshooting procedures.

 

[jhenderson]

I think it’s fairly well documented that the ITBC is for more sensitive to trailer wiring condition. From what I’ve read and experienced a weak ITBC is due to trailer wiring and not the ITBC.

reminds me of when the dodge software updated for the WTS light due to return flow. Everyone was convinced it was a software glitch and injectors were good... fast forward and it turned out that the software was good and the injectors were not.

point being that wiring is worth looking at when the ITBC feels weak.

Trailer wiring has absolutely no effect when discussing low voltage available at the truck side receptacle. If the truck only puts out 7 volts the brakes won’t function properly no matter what condition the trailer system is in.

 

[jhenderson]

Sorry did not see your question.

My 15 did come with the factory controller. Installed MaxBrake and then P3 zero issues.

That gives me hope. All the controller manufacturers I’ve contacted have told me the option code needed to be removed so the truck wouldn’t show a fault code.