Trailer Brake Controller Adjustment

[JFitzgerald]

I'm at a loss on getting this set right. Just got my new 30 ft. flatbed gooseneck trailer. Over the weekend, I was getting the brake controller set up. I'm using a Tekonsha that was in the truck when I got it. The brakes work too good. When I first took it for a test ride, it would instantly lock up the trailer tires when I touched the brakes. So, I thought, OK, it needs some weight on the trailer. I loaded my 4,000 lb. Jeep right over the axles and took it for a ride again. It still locks 'em up. While trying them out, I was adjusting the wheel under the controller. It seems to only effect the point that the brakes come on, but not how hard they come on. Is this normal? This is a new setup for me, so I don't know if there is a problem, but it just doesn't seem like this is the way they should work. It just about puts me through the windsheild when I tap the pedal. I need to rely on some of your experience here! Thanks in advance.

 

[Thomas]

You might try Tekonsha Frequently Asked Questions. It sounds like the controller is improperly adjusted.

 

[JFitzgerald]

Thanks. Mine must be an older model. It doesn't look like any of the four models they show pictures of. I'll see if I can get a model number from it and ask Tekonsha.

 

[SJohnson]

If this was a new trailer the drums could be rusty inside due to condinsation,try driving it around for a while & see what happens.

also if it is an older brake controller you might have to put resistor in the power line to the trailer brakes.

 

[JFitzgerald]

Thanks SJohnson, That might be a clue, the resistor that is. The Tekonsha web site mentioned resistors. I don't believe there is one, since I traced the wires back to the 7-pin connector on the bumper, and didn't see one. Could be the rust, but I have used the brakes quite a few times now. My buddy picked the axles up from the factory as soon as they were built.

 

[HBarlow]

Tekonsha Brake Controller Misadjusted?

Does your Tekonsha controller have a round knob on each side, recessed into the controller body? Does it also have a small led indicator on the top which changes color from green, to red, and orange? If so, the knob on the right is "gain" adjust, the one on the left is "level" adjust. The level adjust is used to set the pendulum in the vertical position. I got tired of continually adjusting my old Tekonsha and replaced it with a different brand but, if I remember correctly, here is the adjustment procedure: Park on level ground with the trailer connected. Rotate the gain knob on the right to full clockwise (maximum position). Now, with the brake pedal depressed, rotate the level adjust full counter-clockwise, then VERY slowly rotate it clockwise while watching the colored led on the controller. Stop rotating immediately just as the led changes color from bright red to orange. The pendulum is set to vertical. Now drive it and adjust the gain to give the level of braking desired. You will become expert at this because a Tekonsha WILL NOT remain adjusted. Hope this helps.

 

[chuck3]

Harvey, I have the brake controler you spoke of, I hate it, I have to readjust every time I hook up plus its hard to get it set properly to begin with. What did you replce your's with as I'm going to be getting a new one come spring. Thanks Chuck.

 

[HBarlow]

Brake Controller Choice

Chuck,



I am using a new Hayes Wheel or Hayes Lemmerz ... . I have seen the company use both names. The company was originally known as Kelsey-Hayes and was (is?) a major manufacturer of automotive brake and wheel products. I don't remember the model name of the controller I am using now (it is snowing and a cold wind is blowing so I hate to run outside in a tee shirt) but it is a pendulum-style controller, similar to the Tekonsha but works much better in actual use. This opinion will probably offend someone and may result in someone expressing an alternate view point but any of the Hayes products seem to be far superior to the Tekonsha controllers I have used in the past.



My first choice, and I have a new one, is the old-style Kelsey-Hayes hydraulic-electric controller that dates back to the '60s. It requires tapping into the hydraulic brake lines with a tee fitting. When I bought my Dodge a few months ago I couldn't find a tee fitting of the right size in time for a trip so I purchased and installed the electric-electric Hayes controller which works fine. I have a tee fitting now but since the new Hayes controller works well and I am a little nervous about tapping into the brake line with the electronic brake proportioner on my truck, I haven't changed to the hydraulic-electric controller.

 

[WMeyers]

I'm not offended -- but do have the alternative view. After one year trying to get my Hayes controller to work properly, I replaced it with a Tekonsha Sentinel which I've had for over a year and have not had to readjust it. I decided later that the Hayes might have been OK if their adjustment instructions had been better -- particularly in the area of warming up the trailer brakes before doing the initial setting, which Hayes instructions didn't mention.

 

[Tilesetter Too]

I'm with Wayne, I have the sentinel and the only time I adjust it is for the varying trailer weights I have. I can vary 5000lbs in a day. It takes abiut 3 seconds at a stoplight to adjust the thing. If I'm soft on brakes, at the next light, I increase the power level to the brakes, and with a quick turn of the gain(?) I can aadjust the light back from red to green in a heartbeat. Done.



Shawn

 

[chuck3]

sentinel

Is this the top of the line for Tekonsha? I don't remember the name of mine but it's the cheaper one that was thrown in with the deal on the trailer, but I don't like haveing to adjust it all the time and it seems either too much brake or not enuf I can't seem to find the right spot and if I do its not the next time, oh well thanks.

 

[HBarlow]

Trailer Brake Controllers

Chuck,



Your experiences with a Tekonsha exactly describe mine. I used a Tekonsha for about six years towing a 34' 9k pound Airstream approximately 40k miles with a '94 Ford F250HD with gas EFI 460. After a frustrating four years, I called Tekonsha and they authorized a local RV dealer to replace my controller free of charge although it was out of warranty. The replacement produced exactly the same symptoms. I called Tekonsha again and was told that some Fords with factory towing package provided insufficient electrical ground for the trailer brake controller and suggested routing a separate ground wire from controller back to battery. I did. Same symptoms. Tekonsha seems to be a friendly, helpful company, I just don't like their product. I raised a discussion on this topic a year ago on an Airstream discussion list. The numerous opinions expressed convinced me that the Tekonsha controller works fairly well when the puller has surplus braking capacity for the GCW of the truck and trailer and when the trailer is of light to medium weight. With my Ford-Airstream combo the truck lacked the braking capacity to provide sufficient negative acceleration to swing the pendulum and start the brake controller without assistance from the trailer brakes. I adjusted my controller about 10,000 times using all the language I learned in 27+ years in the US Navy and never got it adjusted permanently so as to brake as called for by the driver under varying conditions. If I adjusted it for light easy braking to avoid jerking, I had inadequate braking for rapid stops and ran into several intersections before I got the rig stopped. If I adjusted the controller for hard braking, I got jerking and trailer brake locking. If I tried my best to set it mid-range, I got either inadequate or excessive braking. And hang on tight if you run over a bump or railroad tracks while braking. The trailer jerked so severely I thought it might break the hitch ball. Since I removed the Tekonsha and put it on a shelf in my garage I like it fine. It has not caused me anymore annoyance. I installed and used a new but old-fashioned Kelsey-Hayes hydraulic-electric for a year until I replaced the Ford. The old K-H works perfectly providing exactly the braking called for in all conditions. As I said previously, I have not installed it in the Dodge yet because the Hayes-Wheel or Hayes-Lemmerz controller works well but nothing duplicates the smooth and perfect control of the hydraulic-electric controller and I plan to install it in my Dodge Ram. My intention here is not to criticise Tekonsha, just to discuss my own experiences with various products and let everyone make his or her own choices. I expect that Tekonsha has capable engineers in their employee and they are probably working diligently on a solution. The company may already have a newer model on the market which performs better.

 

[RustyJC]

Been There; Done That; Got the T-Shirt to Prove It!

I fought the battles with the electronically-ramped single output controllers (Reese Brakeman I) and the inertial controllers (Tekonsha Sentinel) before installing the proportional Jordan Ultima 2020. Since it controls trailer braking as a function of brake pedal travel, it's as close as you can get to the old hydraulic controllers. Once it's dialed in, you don't have to mess with settings - best thing since sliced bread!



JM2CW.



Rusty

 

[JFitzgerald]

Wow, I guess I'm not alone...

HBarlow,



Thanks for your reply. I must have an old model. It has just one light, a red LED. It flashes very quickly when I touch the brake pedal and goes steady if I move the lever on the front. There is an adjustment wheel on the underneath of the control. No knobs.



One thing I got to thinking about is the pendulum. If the control relies on a pendulum, I would think that the angle that the control is mounted would effect its' operation. Mine is mounted to the lower front of the dash at maybe about a 20* angle. Could this be at least part of the problem?? Should it be mounted level?



I would like to see if I can get this setup to work before I give up and buy another. Hopefully I'll learn some things along the way.



Thanks to all.

 

[HBarlow]

Electronic Brake Controllers

You may have the simple ramp type controller. Try locating the model name or model number on your brake controller and inquire at an RV dealer who carries the Tekonsha product. Or maybe you can find Tekonsha on-line. If you have only one adjustment knob, it would be the gain control which indicates your controller does not have a pendulum to sense deceleration created by truck brake application. If your controller is the ramp type, it takes it's input from the puller's brake light circuit. When the brake lights are energized. the brake controller energizes trailer braking at a very low level, depending on the gain setting, then slowly increases trailer braking to maximum while the driver's foot remains on the brake pedal. Viewed on a graph, the voltage applied to your trailer brakes would look like a ramp. These controllers are inexpensive and simple, but the downside is you cannot directly modulate trailer braking. If you call for slow, gentle braking by holding your foot lightly on the brake pedal, trailer braking force will start gently then slowly increase until maximum braking occurs. You can reset the ramp by removing your foot then reapplying the brakes. Your question about mounting the controller at an angle may not be relevant. The mounting angle does not matter on a ramp controller because it has no pendulum. If you have a pendulum-type controller, that is the purpose of the rotary knob on the left side of the brake controller that I wrote about earlier. You mount the controller at any angle desired, then set the pendulum to vertical by rotating the left side knob until a specified color of light appears.

 

[JFitzgerald]

Very good explanation. I must have the ramp type because the red wire connects to the brake light switch on the brake pedal.



Problem is, it sure doesn't ramp from gentle to hard. It's just instant lockup. There must be something else wrong. This weekend I'll get the model number and go from there.



Thanks a bunch HBarlow.

 

[chuck3]

Harvey,

Thanks for the info. I have fought this thing for three years myself, was begining to think it was just me but my son got the same unit with his trailer and has the same problem as we did. So I will be getting a different unit for sure now. Thanks Rusty I will check out the unit you spoke of.

 

[HBarlow]

Electric Brake Controller, again

JFitzgerald



Your knowledge and understanding has quickly expanded so I'll add one more piece of information.



Actually, the wire connection to the brake light switch is common on both types of controllers. The brake light switch also "turns on" each brake controller as it lights the brake lights. The difference between the controllers is in how each applies braking after being energized.



The ramp type simply begins at a minmum level and increases over a short span of time. Rate of increase is determined by the electronic circuitry independent of driver input. The height of the ramp or maximum braking is determined by the gain setting.



The pendulum controller is also initiated by the brake light switch but the rate of increase in braking is determined by the angle around which the pendulum swings from vertical and the total amount of braking is determined by the gain setting.



Have I completely confused you yet?

 

[JFitzgerald]

Not confused, but the more I learn, the more I like the sound of the Jordan or Prodigy type controllers. Sounds like it may be money well spent. Thanks again.