There Power Light On the Curt Echo Has Stopped Working on a 2016 Mercedes GL350

Question:

Hello, I have successfully used my Echo about 5 times since my purchase around 4 months ago with my Mercedes 2016 GL350 diesel. On 09/04, I towed a my daughters horse about 4 hours and had zero issues . On a positive note, she won first place and a Wild Card entrance to the National Barrel Race Championships, which save me about $700. Well on 09/05 I was going to tow the trailer to get cleaned and could not get the power light to light up on the Echo. The folks that own the stables where we keep our horses and trailer to all the races hooked up a device that tested the 7 way simulator and all was good, power, ground, lights. What would be the next step if any? As you folks know, among many risks associated with trailering, first and foremost is the ability to control the trailer. Though the echo has been rock solid till now, I think it is the weak link in my set up and have decided to go with a wired set up. If a return or refund is possible, I am interested in the Curt Spectrum model. Thanks

asked by: Chris A

Expert Reply:

Congrats on your daughter winning first place and the Wild Card entrance to the National Barrel Race Championships! I definitely want to make sure you are up and running so you can continue her on her winning streak, so lets get into it.

With that said, there is one thing to double check before the more intense stuff. That being, if the trailer was not plugged into Echo # C51180 after it was plugged into your vehicle, there may not have been enough load for the vehicle to recognize a trailer. This can cause the lack of power.

If the trailer was plugged in though, there are a couple things that will cause this to happen. First will be a ground issue. This can happen on either the towing vehicle or the trailer, but with the stable owners using a tester on the vehicle already, I suggest double checking the grounds on the trailer. Especially the grounds at the brakes. If your grounds look good and secure though, there is most likely something wrong with the Curt Echo # C51180 and, unfortunately, the controller is defective.

If this ends up being the case, the Echo # C51180 does have a lifetime warranty and this is definitely covered. If this was ordered from etrailer.com, you can contact our customer service at 1-800-289-1624 or cs@etralier.com to assist with warranty information. We would simply need the order information to get you all squared away. If it was not ordered through us, you could contact the business it was and they should be able to cover the warranty as well.

If you do decide to go with a hardwired controller, which I prefer to be honest, the Curt Spectrum # C51170 is definitely a good option. Once this is installed, only the knob will be visible and is a nice clean look. But, this will not come with wiring to connect to your vehicle as Curt does not currently have one available. You will need to splice the Tekonsha # 3066-P pigtail together with the # C51515 to get everything plugged in and running.