Archived Trailer Brake Issue

[DHalbrooks]

OK, I towed my New(Old) 2008 fifth wheel toy hauler this week. My 16' 2500 kept throwing warnings. I was getting "check trailer brake" and "Trailer brake not connected" the whole trip. The previous owner never had any issues with connection. I changed out the 7 pin cord hoping that would fix issue, it did not. Checked all wires and there seemed to be nothing loose. I did not pull all 6 hubs and look at brakes. When i called the local trailer place they said that the new vehicles can sometime be very finicky with the Integrated trailer brakes. I ended up driving over 300 miles with no trailer brakes on a 15K trailer. Took it slow as i had no option in the middle of Alaska. My question: has anyone heard of this finicky stuff or is it a bunch of crap? I dropped it off to my local Rv place t0 look at wiring. Any ideas?

 

[p-Bar]

Well have the trailer checked with a known good source to start with . Maybe you can plug your truck into another trailer at the RV place to verify . Haven't heard of any issues they metioned.

 

[klcammie]

Have a friend with an 11 that does same with one of his trailers. Told him to check grounds on trailer. ITBC is picky about grounds.

 

[bigblock_doc]

Make sure the wires to the magnets are connected. Mine looked good but a little pull and the wire came out of the magnet.
Had three bad ones.

 

[Dan_69GTX]

Well, did you ever resolve anything?

My new 2016 just did the same thing - only intermediately towards the end of a short trip (40 miles). Then it started to work again. In the driveway I could get it to fail every now and then. Noticed the brake lights did NOT come on when manually applying the trailer brakes when the unit was not working.

 

[LandShark]

I have had this same problem with my 2015. Problem continued even after replacing the axles (and brakes), and replacing the trailer plug cord and end. It happens with using both the in bed 5th wheel plug and the bumper plug. It happened this last month in the middle of a 4000 mile tow. I pulled the connector out of the socket and reinserted several times and the message went away. This makes me think it's a poor connection; most likely the ground. I'm thinking of adding a separate ground from somewhere in the bed to the trailer, but it's hard to trouble shoot because it happens for only a few minutes in a week of towing.

It's interesting to me that the computer is smart enough to know that the trailer is connected, but something needs to be checked. To bad it's not smart enough to be more specific.

 

[LandShark]

I've towed the 5th wheel 3000 miles since my last post, with no problems. I've been towing for the last two weeks with no problems. The problem come back while towing yesterday, in the middle of a 400 mile run. The 'check trailer wiring', 'brakes disconnected' came on and off during one hour ( about 100 times, with a very annoying chime) and then everything was fine for the last 2 hours of the day. The trailer brakes don't work when the 'brakes disconnected' light comes on.
Any ideas would be appreciated. Spoke to a friend with a Ford, with the integrated brake controller, and he has the same problems.

 

[Dan_69GTX]

I would guess you have the same problem as others have had. You have a wiring problem on the trailer. If you check the resistance for continuity of the trailer wiring it will probably show to be fine. However, most likely you have a spot that's worn in the insulation, that will intermittently connect to ground. That would cause your issue. I recommend that you rewire the brakes on the trailer. Specifically the wire that is in the tube of the axle. I had the wire worn in several spots on one axle tube, and on one place in the other axle tube. After I rewired the trailer, I have not had any other problems. Your other brake controllers would probably work fine. However, you're braking efficiency will be diminished when that wire shorts. I had that problem where one brake didn't always work properly. I thought it was the magnet. Now, after replacing the wires, it works just fine.

Please forgive any grammatical errors. I used voice to text on this stupid phone..

 

[LandShark]

Thanks Dan. Axles and brakes are only a year old: maybe 12,000 miles on them. Doubt the wire is bad but will go ahead and remove the in tube wires and replace with marine grade outside the tubes when I get a chance. I did rig a bulb holder on a trailer plug that fools the system into thinking there are brakes in the circuit. I may use it next time I get the error messages and see if it helps to keep from losing the brakes totally. I can use it in the bumper plug since I have the 5th wheel setup plug. The tester even shows the circuit pulsing when used with a led bulb, but doesn't have the amp draw to fool the system; a regular bulb is needed for that. Can't do much trouble shooting because brakes are working fine for now. Will be on the road again tomorrow.

 

[bigblock_doc]

I had the same problem, but it wasn't the main wiring . It was the wires that go into the magnet.
They looked connected but a little pull on them and one just slid out. New mags solved the problem.

 

[Dan_69GTX]

Hey Doc, was the issue at the magnet itself or where the magnet's wires attached to the main harness?

 

[bigblock_doc]

It was where the wires enter the mag.

 

[LandShark]

I recently replaced the axle wiring with 12 gauge marine (tinned) double insulated wire. Crimped and soldered the connections. I couldn't find any actual breaks in the old wire that was internal to the axle, but it was pretty torn up from the factory (Dexter) pulling it through holes with very sharp edges. Disappointing for axles only a year old!

`I've since towed another 4,000 miles with no error messages. I still plan to pull the drums, when it gets warmer, and inspect the internals. Brakes are still a bit erratic; sometimes very strong, sometimes not so much.

 

[HarryKunkle]

you may even might want to check the truck plugs and wiring too some times it the truck and not the trailer , you never know !

 

[SCClockDr]

Rather than assume, I'll ask. Are the trailer brakes electric (magnets, drum brakes) to electro-hydraulic (electric hydraulic pump, disc brakes)?