Testing Tekonsha PowerTrac (POD) Brake Controller

Question:

I have just hooked up my POD brake controller. I do not have the trailer yet, towing a friends across country and am picking it up along the way, so need to make sure all is as good as i can get it on the system… I have a 1998 Ram 2500 truck. I plugged the POD into the factory harness for brake controllers. Without the trailer hooked up all I can do is check the output voltage on the blue wire. It jumps to about 7 volts and tapers down to about 5 over a few seconds when the brake or override is applied. No green or any color shows on the light since trailer is not connected. Is the 7 volts correct? Also, I thought the timed braking would send higher voltage the longer the brakes are on, and that the slider override would give higher voltage the more it was moved. Is this all due to no trailer connected? I need to get it working before I leave for trip. thanks

asked by: AJ

Expert Reply:

From what you've described, it certainly sounds like the controller is working properly.

The amount of voltage output by the brake controller with the brake pedal or with the override slider will depend on how high the power wheel is adjusted. If the wheel is adjusted to about halfway between minimum and maximum, the most voltage that will be output is 5-6 volts. This will not vary according to how long the override is held, and the override won't deliver more or less voltage than the brake pedal would.

As you suspected, the reason you're not getting any light on the LED is because there's not a trailer connected.

expert reply by: Mike L