Troubleshooting Draw-Tite Activator 5504 Installation in 1994 Ford F-350

Question:

All has been working great, all of a sudden last weekend when I put my 4 ways on to back into the driveway my trailer brakes came on. I unhooked the trailer and found that the red light comes on glows with the four ways on without the trailer. This only happens if the truck is running. I have it wired in the factory harness with the ford supplied plug and has been working fine for the last 14 years. I am suspecting the controller, but want your opinion. Thanks,

asked by: Don S

Expert Reply:

If I understand things correctly the indicator light on your Draw-Tite Activator # 5504 is now coming on, even with the trailer disconnected, when you have your flasher/hazard lights on. If this is the case then I would suspect that there is a corrosion issue in the truck's 7-way or within the wiring/plug leading to it. This could also explain why the trailer brakes engaged without you applying the brakes since corrosion can cause adjacent circuits to become bridged together; what happens is that the light signals from one circuit bleed over to the brake circuit and activate the brakes without you applying the pedal. You can inspect and clean the 7-way if needed or replace it with a new one # 20023.

You can also test the controller itself by severing the blue output wire a few inches from the unit (leaving enough wire to allow you to re-connect it) and use a tester like # PTW2992 on that blue wire at the back of the controller. You should detect an output signal only when you press the pedal or the manual control on the Activator. If there is output from the controller on the blue wire without you doing either of these things then the controller has failed.

If you want to replace the Activator with a proportional type brake controller that will give smoother braking I suggest the Primus IQ # TK90160 which plugs in using wiring adapter # 3035-P.

If I am misunderstanding things please let me know and I will try again to assist.