Trailer Brakes Not Activating with Brake Pedal Using OEM Brake Controller on 2009 Ford F-250

Question:

My 09 F250 has an integrated brake controller. I recently rewired the electric brakes on a 30 ft stock trailer my wife bought. The brakes work fine if i manually activate the controller but the brake pedal does not get an reaction form the controller. When I activate the controller manually, The brakes apply and the brake lights come on on both the trailer and the truck, The self diagnostic built into the dash display says it sees the trailer connected and the gain set on the controller. Any suggestions?

asked by: Bill H

Expert Reply:

Are you moving when you try to activate the brakes with the pedal on your 2009 Ford F-250? My understanding is that the integrated brake controller on your F-250 is essentially the same as the Tekonsha Prodigy P2 # 90885 which is a proportional controller and won't send power back to the trailer brakes if it senses that the truck and trailer aren't moving via the inertia sensor.

Since you are getting power to the brakes with the manual override I would try testing the brake action with your towing setup moving to see if that changes things. Just be sure to start off slow and with your hand near the manual override just in case the brake pedal doesn't work.

If you are still having issues let me know and I can help you troubleshoot further.

expert reply by: Jon G