OEM Electric Brake Controller Not Working when Brake Pedal is Pressed on a 2006 Ford F250

Question:

2006 F250....Checked every fuse that had to do with the brakes and OEM brake controller, all good, Checked all connections where aftermarket 7 pin was installed in truck bed, blinkers ok, lights ok, flashers ok, brake lights ok, power to electric brakes not there. Connected truck to trailer, everything checked out except electric brake power. Test Drive.....brake controller activated with slide control will stop trailer on a dime....step on the brake pedal...no trailer brakes. Looked at wiring under dash seems ok, no loose connections, unplugged connectors, etc. Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks.

asked by: Ed

Helpful Expert Reply:

From your testing and description of the problem it sounds as if your OEM brake controller is not functioning properly. Many of the 2005 and 2006 Ford OEM brake controllers had internal issues that cause owners to replace them with an aftermarket brake controller.

The best way to test this is to sever the output wire that exits the OEM controller and test it for power when the brake pedal is pressed. If no voltage increase is detected on the output wire when the brake pedal is pressed, this indicates that there is an internal problem with the brake controller and that the brake pedal circuit is not telling the brake controller to send power out to the trailer brakes.

If you find that the brake controller does need to be replaced, I would recommend the Prodigy P3 brake controller, # 90195, along with the Plug-In Wiring Adapter, # 3065-P. We have an article, which shows where the connections are and how to access them.

Once an aftermarket brake controller is installed, you will need to take the truck to the dealer to have a fault code removed and the TBC turned off, see article link. Once the TBC is turned off, the computer will no longer look for the factory brake controller and the code will not reappear.

expert reply by: Robert G