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Farmall & IHC Tractors Discussion Forum
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Electric trailer brakes

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Charlie

12-26-2003 11:18:06




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Not sure where else to ask this question but I know a lot of you guys have trailers with electric brakes so thought I'd ask. The brake hook up on my truck (Ford F150) stopped working after the plug corroded badly and I had to replace it. I have no power to the plug so I figured the controller went bad. I bought one from Napa, hooked up the ground and went to hook up the battery wire to it and the new controller immediately started to smoke and now its dead. Did I do something wrong or do I have a bad unit. I'm out $60 and don't want to just try another one if I messed up someplace.

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Stretch_03

12-28-2003 21:22:27




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 Re: Electric trailer brakes in reply to Charlie, 12-26-2003 11:18:06  
Not that this helps your immediate problem, but I have to agree with NDS. If you can afford it, get the Tekonsha Prodigy. I've owned 4 brake controllers, and this last one I opted for the best.... and I think I got it. See it at brakecontroller.com.
Good luck



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Ed Hotaling

12-26-2003 16:17:29




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 Re: Electric trailer brakes in reply to Charlie, 12-26-2003 11:18:06  
You've gotten some good advice re: the controller cooking. As for the corroded socket, I used to have that problem a lot. The solution I found was a heavy dose of WD-40 into the connector every week or two for a few months and then every month or so thereafter. If you are using the 6-pole connector with the aluminum housing, moisture and road salt will cause a chemical reaction between the aluiminum and the brass terminals. WD-40 or a similar product will coat the metals and prevent electrical currents that cause the corrosion, but will allow the circuits to function as they should.

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Van

12-26-2003 14:04:26




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 Re: Electric trailer brakes in reply to Charlie, 12-26-2003 11:18:06  
One thing to remember about the newer electronic controllers, if you hook them up wrong. Its fried



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will@ont.ca

12-26-2003 12:43:41




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 Re: Electric trailer brakes in reply to Charlie, 12-26-2003 11:18:06  
Hi Charlie,If I was you I'd replace all the wiring from the control box to the back bumper, it's easy to wire up and your trouble will end as far as your truck being OK.You have 4 wire come out of box.#1 to fused power,#2 to brake light switch at the pedal,#3 all the way back to bumper conection,#4 to a ground under dash[has to be metal source under there],a brace like peice.That's it!!!.The rest of your bumper plug is running lights,direction lights,brake lights.

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Bill Smith

12-26-2003 12:26:43




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 Re: Electric trailer brakes in reply to Charlie, 12-26-2003 11:18:06  
Anybody that travels alot of back and side roads has trouble with the dang sockets filling up with dirt and moisture thus enhancing corroding especially if they don't use the socket much. My first thought would be wiring, so I would agree with what has been said already. Either it was wired up wrong when installed or you have a wiring problem somewhere else (either truck or trailor). Could very well be a shorted wire someplace.

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Stretch_03

12-26-2003 12:01:04




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 Re: Electric trailer brakes in reply to Charlie, 12-26-2003 11:18:06  
I'm no electrical mechanic, but I do have brakes on my trailer...

You probably hooked up a wire or two wrong when you installed your new plug. Also, check your wiring from under dash to controller. It could also be a wire is grounding either on your truck or on the trailer. I would trace them all.

More unlikely...but possible....Check your trailer brakes. Leave wheel mounted, jack up trailer one side at a time and see if your wheels spin freely ( a slight drag is ok). You're checking to see if your brake pads are stuck to the drums.
My first inclination would be grounding somewhere. I'm wondering why your plug corroded so badly... not enough use? Double check your new plug's wiring.
Hope this helps.

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DHuth2

12-26-2003 11:57:54




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 Re: Electric trailer brakes in reply to Charlie, 12-26-2003 11:18:06  
Smoke almost always indicates a short circuit. A bare wire rubbing the Frame. You need to verify you used the proper color code for the controller and vehicle hook up. I always use a 20 amp reset circuit breaker between battery and controller when installing. This will eliminate burning out controller.What brand of contoller is it?I would guess on the info you supplied that you wired it incorrectly. Test your wires from controller to bumber plug for a short(ohmmeter). Let us know what You figured out.

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Charlie

12-26-2003 15:22:56




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 Re: Re: Electric trailer brakes in reply to DHuth2, 12-26-2003 11:57:54  
The new controller has the same color coded wires as the old one. In fact the black wire says battery right on the wire, the white one says ground and the red one says stop light. The blue one goes back to the plug and I didn't have it plugged in yet. I connected the white wire to ground first and the black battery wire second. Never got to the other wires as the unit was smoking as soon as the black wire was plugged in.

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Dhuth2

12-27-2003 11:21:08




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 Re: Re: Re: Electric trailer brakes in reply to Charlie, 12-26-2003 15:22:56  
I would suggest you return it to where you bought and explain to them excatly what happened.Most places have the policy no return on installed electrical. I would try to hunt out the sharpest guy there and if nothing else get his advise and answers. You may also be able to get warranty through the manufacter. My controller has same wire code. All the ones I have ever worked on blue is always the brake,but the others may vary. If you had no other wires hooked up then I would say you could rule out the shorted harness theory.If the only two you hooked up is the positive and negative directly to the battery then it smoked I would say it is a bad controller. Were the other two wires touching a grounded object possibly? Another piece of advise I would offer is when doing electrical work keep this rule in mind....Always hook the negative up last and remove it first. Good luck on your project.....

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NDS

12-27-2003 06:57:56




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 Re: Re: Re: Electric trailer brakes in reply to Charlie, 12-26-2003 15:22:56  
I have 3 vehicles with Tekonsa brake controlers and they are marked like yours White ground Black battery, went out and checked to be sure. Now for an unpaid testomonial, have used many different type brake controlers over the years and the new Tekonsa Prodigy is the best by far. Much smoother and does not require constant readjustment.



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Dakota Jim

12-26-2003 16:50:55




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 Re: Re: Re: Electric trailer brakes in reply to Charlie, 12-26-2003 15:22:56  
If your black wires actually says "battery" on it than I won't try and tell you it isn't. But what I can say is that I can't think of any vehicular electrical device I ever saw where black was not the ground. I'm not entirely sure how you could verify this without seeing your device but I would certainly take a long hard look at it.



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Mark in AB

12-26-2003 13:04:38




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 Re: Re: Electric trailer brakes in reply to DHuth2, 12-26-2003 11:57:54  
I'd have to agree that you wired the controller wrong. All controllers have built in protection for shorted out trailer plugs, brake wiring etc. I would almost bet you hooked the wire for the brake light switch to the live power. Should be one wire that goes to the plug at the rear for the trailer brakes, one wire for the brake light switch on the brake pedal, one ground and one power that should be breaker connected. double check the instructions, black does not nessesarily mean ground and red not nessesarily power. If you did wire correctly you may have got a crappy module, it does happen.

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