An electric trailer brake controller is a device that installs in the cab of your tow vehicle and activates your trailer's electric or electric-over-hydraulic brakes when you hit the brakes in your tow vehicle. It's not a binary activation. There are two main types of controllers out there.
A proportional brake controller senses how the tow vehicle is slowing or stopping and applies the trailer's brakes with the same intensity. So if you slam on the brakes in your tow vehicle, the controller... view full answer...
The first thing I recommend doing is to use a circuit tester like # PTW2993 and test the functions of the wires on your brake controller adapter # 3035-P.
The red (Stoplight) wire should show power only when the brake pedal is pressed. The black (Power) wire should show constant power. The white is ground, and the blue is trailer brakes.
If the light on the brake controller is on and you have no trailer brakes when using the brake pedal or the manual control, you will want to check the... view full answer...
It sounds as if you might try to adjust the power settings on your brake controller. There is only one adjustment on the Tekonsha Power Trac Brake Controller, part # 39523. It is the power gain setting and should be adjusted so the trailer brakes are close to but do not lock up, with each different load on the trailer.
The Power setting is turned up and down to increase or decrease the amount of power sent to the trailer brakes. If you have the power setting set too low on a time delayed... view full answer...
According to the owner's manual for a 2015 GMC Sierra, the "Service Trailer Brake System" error message can appear on models equipped with the factory integrated trailer brake controller (ITBC) and represents a problem in the trailer brake module or wiring that will not allow power to be sent to the trailer's brakes. It is okay to drive the vehicle with this error message present but you will not want to do any towing until it is fixed. Unfortunately, third party support for the factory... view full answer...
First thing to do is look for and clean any corrosion on either your vehicle's 7-way wiring and the trailers connector.
Testing the brake controller is fairly easy. You will need to be able to access the brake controller wiring which should be behind the dash area near the controller's location. Sever the blue brake output wire near the brake controller leaving enough room to reconnect it and then apply the manual slide. Using a circuit tester like part # PTW2993, you should get output... view full answer...
The 5 amp fuse that you pulled is the fuse that is the brake signal that goes to the brake controller. This would only remove the brake signal of you pushing on the brake pedal and telling the controller to activate. There is a 30 amp fuse under in the engine fuse compartment that would deactivate the controller.
It does sound as if there is something possibly wrong with the controller or the truck wiring. You can test the voltage and amperage output of the brake controller to the trailer.... view full answer...
When the trailer is connected to your vehicle and the brake pedal or manual lever is not activated, the Pilot Electronic Brake Controller # 80550 should display a ".C" to indicate that the controller is reading the trailer. If your controller only ever shows the dot, the brake controller is not recognizing that the trailer is connected.
The first thing I recommend checking is the trailer connector at the back of the vehicle and on the trailer. You will want to make sure that the connector... view full answer...
Your brake controller's "no trailer connected" error message indicates an issue on the brake circuit. Your lights can all work fine since they are on separate circuits, but that error message tells you that the wire/circuit for the trailer brakes has a fault such as a loose connection, a short, a faulty controller or that the trailer plug, or vehicle socket have a corrosion problem on the contacts for the brake circuit. The linked photo shows you which contacts on the trailer plug relate... view full answer...
So in order for a brake controller to not sense a trailer connection that means that there is a break somewhere on the blue wire of the controller back to the trailer's brakes. Typically this is a dirty or bent brake output pin on the connector of the vehicle.
Have you checked the condition of the 7-way pins on the vehicle?
Testing the brake controller is fairly easy. Sever the blue brake output wire near the brake controller leaving enough room to reconnect it and then apply the manual... view full answer...
Before you do any switching of your wires you will want to use a circuit tester and test the functions of the wires on your brake controller adapter.
With the adapter plugged into the port on the junction box the red (Stoplight) wire should be located in the top right position and show power only when the brake pedal is pressed. The black (Power) wire should be located in the left middle position and show constant power. The white (Ground) wire is located in the bottom right position... view full answer...
There can be several reasons for your brake controller not to be sending power to your trailer brakes. If the controller seems to have lost power then the problem is either on the ground or power wire for the controller. You will want to verify that it's connected securely to the wires under your dash on your 2006 Chevy Silverado.
If you just installed the controller you should note that there are a few connections under the hood of your vehicle that need to be made to make the controller... view full answer...
It sounds like there is an issue with the inertia sensor on your Hopkins Agility Trailer Brake Controller 47295. With this being a proportional controller it uses the internal inertia sensor to adjust the amount of braking force sent to the trailer. If this sensor inside the controller is damaged or stuck, the controller would see an input from the brake switch through the red wire but without the inertia sensor working it would not brake the trailer. This is similar to how the controller... view full answer...
First, you will want to figure out where the problem is occurring. Test the voltage from the brake controller at the vehicle end trailer connector. What you have your brake controller set at is what the voltage should read at the connector. If you are getting more voltage at the connector than what the brake controller set at, you will want to move your troubleshooting to the brake controller. If the voltage is reading correctly at the vehicle end trailer connector, then the problem is... view full answer...
I am so sorry to hear about your Insight controller! In this situation, I recommend making sure that the red brake controller wire is connected properly to the cold side of the brake light switch.
Also, you may potentially have an issue with the brake controller itself. On the back of the controller, there is a blue wire that you can cut and test to see if you still have power from the brake controller. If you get pulsing power from the wire, you can single out the issue that it is the... view full answer...
First you need to determine which type of brake controller you have. A time delay brake controller like the Tekonsha PowerTrac Electronic Brake Controller # 39523 will always send the required voltage no matter if the vehicle is sitting still or moving. Whereas the Tekonsha Prodigy P3 Trailer Brake Controller # 90195 is a proportional brake controller and will only send the power to the brakes when it senses the inertia of a vehicle stopping.
If you have a proportional brake controller... view full answer...
If your trailer brakes are locking up when you touch the brakes even on the lowest setting that normally indicates a short between a stop/turn circuit of the trailer lighting and the brake output that runs to the trailer brakes.
Normally if you inspect the wiring at the trailer connectors you'll find where there's a short and you'll be able to fix it pretty easily.
In some cases the problem could be a bad brake controller so here's how to test that.
Testing the brake controller is... view full answer...
If you have a proportional brake controller like the Tekonsha Prodigy P2 Trailer Brake Controller part # 90885 then this is normal. The reason for this is because a proportional brake controller is not going to send very much power to the trailer brakes while at a dead stop because there is no inertia for the controller to sense. However, if you are getting no power at all at the trailer connector while using a multi-meter then there might be an issue with the stop light switch connection.... view full answer...
Sounds like something is mis-wired either on your trailer or truck. Which pin has current all the time when the controller is plugged in? it should be the pin in the 5:00 position. You might also test the controller to as Curt brake controllers are more likely to have internal problems we are finding.
Testing the brake controller is fairly easy. Sever the blue brake output wire near the brake controller leaving enough room to reconnect it and then apply the manual slide. Using a circuit... view full answer...
The green light indicates that the there is a trailer connection. Then, when you are braking the light will turn from a dim orange, to dark orange, and then to red at full brake power.
It could be that the gain on the brake controller is not adjusted or turned up high enough. What I would recommend doing, is unplugging the brake controller for a few minutes to reset it and then setup up as if you were setting it up for the first time. You will want to activate the trailer brakes a few... view full answer...
The fact that the trailer brakes will lock up with the first trailer when you apply the manual override lever indicates that the trailer brakes are probably just fine and that the issue is in the settings of the brake controller.
Since I do not know what kind of brake controller you have you might try adjusting the sensitivity of the controller up if it's a proportional controller or the ramp up speed if it's a time delayed. That should allow the brakes to lock up sooner when you apply... view full answer...
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