Troubleshooting Tekonsha Voyager Brake Controller

Question:

Hello I have a 1988 k1500 with a tekonsha voyager brake controller. The light is not lighting up green when a trailer is plugged in. I know the trailer brake work because on my other truck they work fine. I reran the ground wire to the white wire just to be sure. I have 12v to the black wire on the unit and I have coming out of the blue wire. If I disconnect the black wire the blue wire does not have power. Should the blue wire have power when the control or brake pedal aren’t active?

asked by: Dustin

Expert Reply:

The black wire is going to be the power supply to the Tekonsha Voyager Trailer Brake Controller # 39510 so the controller will not have any power if you disconnect it, so there are a number of troubleshooting steps I recommend taking.

You mentioned your brakes work on your other truck with this trailer so it is likely the Voyager or the wiring on your 1988 K1500 causing the issue. To test the brake controller, sever the blue wire a couple inches from the back of your controller. Then use a circuit tester such as # PTW2979 to test the end of the blue wire coming out of the controller. It should only have power when you apply the manual override; if it shows power at idle then there is an issue with the controller and it will need to be replaced.

If the controller tests fine, reconnect the blue wire and move on to the truck side trailer connector. Often, corrosion or dirt may be the cause of a short in a trailer connector. Check the plug to see if there is any type of corrosion built up that may be hampering its functionality.

You will also want to test the brake output pin on the 7-way socket; it should only show power with the manual override. If it shows power any other time then there is a short somewhere between the connector and the brake controller you will need to find.

I have also attached some help articles on testing and troubleshooting brake controllers for you that I highly recommend checking out.

expert reply by: Kyle S