Troubleshooting Trailer Not Connected with New Brake Controller and Harness on 2011 Ford F-150  

Question:

Expert Reply:

The Prodigy P3 controller # 90195 is an absolute favorite. The fact that when you hit the manual override, your brake lights on your vehicle are working definitely helps. The issue is with the brake output wire somewhere between your controller and the trailer brakes because when it reads a power draw on that wire, it will read on the screen as trailer connected.

To determine where the short or connection issue is, I recommend you use a circuit tester with an incandescent light like # PTW2993. Use this to probe the blue wire from your brake controller when hitting the manual override. You should only get circuit tester light on that wire when you hit the brake pedal or use that manual override. If you don't have this, then your controller isn't working and should be bench tested. I've attached an article to assist if that is the case.

If you have proper wiring there, check the connection to your factory wiring to ensure there are no bent pins, and use a little dielectric grease # 11755 to help. Next, check the 5 o'clock pin on your factory 7-way when facing your controller. You should have the light only when the brake pedal is pressed or the manual override on your brake controller is used. If this does not work, then I recommend checking fuses and relays as outlined in your owners manual. If it doesn't work after that, then you will need to trace your wire from that 5 oclock location back probing every few feet with your tester to find the short and replace with # 10-1-1 as needed. Finally, clean the connections on your trailer connections on each side and apply some dielectric grease.

If that doesn't solve the issue, then let me know because we can troubleshoot the trailer at that point.

expert reply by: Jason S

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