Troubleshooting Brake Controller Wiring On 2004 Dodge Ram 3500

Question:

Break controller: I have two gooseneck horse trailers. The breaks works fine with my first horse trailer not built in US. However, the breaks do not work with my new Exiss trailer. I suspect that the problem may be related with the break controller. With the Exiss trailer I have no brakes on trailer when pushing the brake pedal. However, the hand operated parking brake on the trailer works ok. The “breakeaway” brake works ok. The outlet in the pickup bed has three connectors I thought four was normal?. When measuring the connection plug we find: The male connection is negative -. The two female connections are positive +. When driving the car without brake action: Both positive connections give 14,3V. When pushing the brake pedal: The right connector gives 14,3V and the left connector gives 0,2V. Is the the right normal? I have pictures of both the break controller and the outlet in the pickup bed if needed. I have a Dodge Ram 3500 2004 model and I would like to tow both my trailers with this pickup. I have friends that use Tekonsha break controller. The best solution would be that I could use both trailers with the same break controller. Do you have any suggestion? I find this puzzling and I would be very grateful if you can help me. Best regards,

asked by: Geir B

Expert Reply:

Since you said you have connectors on your truck I assume you have the towing package so there should be a port located next to the emergency brake pedal. This should be blue and is used to connect a brake controller like part # 90885 using a plug-in adapter like part # 3020-P.

For brake controller wiring in the US, you will typically have a 7-way connector on the towing vehicle and a matching wiring harness on the trailer. It sounds like you have 2 trailers that have different functions on the connectors.

I recommend starting with the truck and making sure you have a fully functioning 7-way connector. Then make sure the trailer is wired correctly and the connector is wired so that you have the same functions on all the pins as the truck has.

You can test the brakes on the trailer by using a 12V power source and a circuit tester, with the trailer unhooked from your truck. Test each pin on the connector to see if the brakes work and make sure the pins are matched to the pins on the truck connector. Check out the attached wiring help article that has a troubleshooting section that explains how to test the wiring on the trailer.

I have attached links to some helpful articles about brake controllers and trailer wiring you can check out.

expert reply by: Jeffrey L