Troubleshooting Trailer Running Light and Electric Brakes Connected to 2014 Ford F-350  

Question:

Expert Reply:

Since your turn signals and brake lights work, but other functions do not, I recommend checking those functions at the 7-way of your 2014 Ford F-350. The brake controller output will be at the 5 o'clock pin position on your truck and you will need to use a circuit tester like # PTW2993 to test the pin while having a friend hit the manual override on your electric brake controller. Hitting that override is necessary for proportional brake controllers because just hitting the brake pedal when the vehicle is stopped will not generate any braking power due to a lack of motion.

Your running lights will be at the 11 o'clock position and can be checked using the circuit tester. If you have power from your truck then the issue is likely in the connectors so I recommend cleaning the connectors with sand paper or steel wool and then using dielectric grease # 11755 to keep moisture and debris out of the connections.

If that doesn't solve your issue, then you will check the ground connections on the trailer to make sure you have a bare metal to metal connection clear of dirt, rust, or debris. Remove the connection, sand it down and reconnect it. This is for all the connections including the main trailer frame ground, the ground at each tail light (often thru the mounting hardware), the brake magnet connection to the frame, and can even be at each clearance light. If there is issue after each of these checks, it is likely there is a wiring short and that will need to be traced using the circuit tester probing wire ever couple feet to determine the short location.

expert reply by: Jason S

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