How To Troubleshoot A Brake Controller That Recently Stopped Working

Question:

I have a 2003 Ford F-250, 4x4, 5.4l gas, with a Tekonsha Voyager brake control. Recently it quit working, and it no longer has the green light when the trailer is plugged in. I have tested the red and black wires going to the controller and they both have power. The red wire has power when I apply the brake pedal. But still nothing. We use this trailer on a daily basis to pull lawn care equipment around the valley.

asked by: Jason J

Expert Reply:

If your brake controller was previously working and just began to stop, their are a few things you will need to test.

The first thing you will need to check is that the brake output signal is reaching the 7-way on the back of the vehicle. You can do this by attaching a circuit tester like part # PTW2993 to the blue wire and activating the manual override on the brake controller. If the wire is receiving power, then the connection is bad on the trailer side. If power is not reaching the connector, then the problem will be on the vehicle side.

If it is determined that the problem is on the vehicle side, you will want to sever the brake controller wire a few inches back from the controller and ensure the power is passing through the controller, if not then you will need a new brake controller, if it is then you have a short somewhere on the vehicle's brake controller wire running to the back of the connector.

If the issue is on the trailer side you will need to make sure the ground wire is still properly attached to a bare metal surface on the frame. Then you will want to look for corrosion on the metal prongs of the 7-way. If there's corrosion present, use a wire brush to remove it and then apply a small layer of dielectric grease like part # 11755 to prevent further problems.

expert reply by: Conner L