Troubleshooting Trailer Brake Controller That Causes Trailer Brakes to Surge When Pedal is Released

Question:

What would cause my travel trailer to surge when letting off the brakes. It gives a jerking motion. I had my brake controller in a 2006 ram 1500 with no problem and then switched it over to a 2016 ram 1500. Trailer was parked over the winter before I hooked up to the new truck. I have no problem buying a new controller if it will fix the problem. Any suggestions.

asked by: Sammy

Expert Reply:

The best troubleshooting method for determining the issue is to substitute either another truck or another trailer to see if the issue remains.

Since your brake controller is a few years old it is possible that it could cooked, but it is also possible that the trailer's brakes may have an issue. Depending on the nature of the storage conditions you might have an issue in the trailer brakes themselves.

If you happen to have a time-delay type brake controller, such as the Tekonsha PowerTrac # 39523, and you have a voltmeter like # PT89ZR you can apply it to the blue output wire at the back of the controller to check the output. If you can detect a sudden jump in the output voltage level when you let up on the brake pedal then this likely means the unit is toast. If the voltage reading is normal then I would check the trailer.

If you can get a friend to tow your trailer with his or her truck and brake controller this will tell you if the issue is on the trailer. If the trailer behaves normally with the other vehicle then you do need a new controller. You can refer to the two linked articles for more on troubleshooting.

Among the best options is the Prodigy P2 # 90885 which is among the most reliable brake controllers on the market.