Trailer Brakes Stopped working??

[TStetson]

Well the other day I went to hook up to the car trailer. Plugged everything in and go in the truck and started to check my lights and stuff. When I checked my trailer brakes they did not work. None of the lights lit up on my brake unit. Now here is the stumping thing. When you press the brake pedle they dont work but, when you push the emergency button they work. Can anyone tell me what they are doing. If not i am going to trace wires.



Thanks

Tony

 

[RustyJC]

What brand of brake controller? If it's an inertial controller like a Tekonsha Sentinel, it won't provide any braking while stationary - only when it senses truck deceleration.



Otherwise, if it was working before under the same circumstances and if it uses the brake light wire (some, like the Jordan, do not) to sense braking, it may not be seeing the brake light signal to activate - maybe a bad connection, blown fuse, etc. Of course, there's always the chance that something has gone Tango Uniform in the controller's internal circuitry... .



Rusty

 

[TStetson]

Rusty,



It works weather the truck is stationary or moving. Heck it does not even have to have a trailer on it to light up. It has worked befor and it just stoped. I dont know the brand off the top of my head i will have to look. I dont like not haveing trailer brakes.



Thanks

Tony

 

[RustyJC]

Tony,



Well, in that case, the first thing I would do is unplug the trailer umbilical. Now, using a voltmeter or circuit tester, make sure that the brake light wire goes to +12VDC when the brake pedal is depressed. If it doesn't, you've found your problem.



While you're under the dash, unplug the controller pigtail and check the trailer brake (blue) wire from the controller pigtail socket to the 7-pin connector - make sure that it's not grounded (it should show infinite resistance to ground with the trailer unplugged. ) The reason for this check is that it's not unusual to have a low resistance short between terminals in the 7-pin connector due to the ingress of water and mud - the fix is to disassemble the 7-pin connector and its plug, clean it out with contact cleaner or WD-40, and pack it with dielectric grease to seal the water out.



Rusty

 

[rob10858]

if all else fails, check the 40 amp fuse in the main fuse box under the hood. the cover tells what is what, and it's hard to tell if one of these is blown. dont take for granted that one looks as good as the other, interchange them, remembering what fuse went where [very important] . if all else fails ask your dealer about the dreaded connector in the steering column, can't remember the name of it, maybe someone else can, but when i lost mine the only way to whoa down the trailer was manually through the hand control of the controller... hope that might help