Factory trailer brake controller issues

CATDiezel · Apr 14, 2016

First off. Does anybody else HATE the factory brake controller.

Several of our newer model superduty trucks including my personal ones are more finicky than Kim Kardashian.

I continually have gotten the error on the dash "trailer disconnected"

To be short I've just about checked and ohlmed out everything out I can possibly wrap my brain around. Standard trucks with aftermarket brake controllers and same trailers seem to NEVER have the same problem. Same trailers different trucks.

Thoughts, opinions, soothing gripes, or "ahHa I fixed it" comments very welcome!!

Thanks.

Atsah · Apr 14, 2016

My 12 did the same sh!t, IDK why, I tried EVERYTHING to make the POS work to no avail, it would be fine that it would act up, my 05 6.0 did the same now that I think about it.

And Kim isn't really that finicky, I mean she is with kanye west last I knew but that was last week so she may have switched up by now..

sledhead_24_7 · Apr 14, 2016

I've found when that happens it is a broke/loose wire on the brakes/brake wire.

Also my 15 had a faulty control unit, which had to be replaced. Much better after.

Clean-15 · Apr 14, 2016

My 15 is the same. Dealer says "well the trailer emulator shows no faults"....

Clean-15 · Apr 14, 2016

Meanwhile multiple trailers say trailer disconnected.

JRLott · Apr 14, 2016

Might be a bit of a PITA, but try adding a dedicated ground. Worked on my dad's. Haven't had the problem on mine.

CATDiezel · Apr 14, 2016

I've even spent way too much time reading other forums from brain dead people's opinions and even went to the extreme to try their ideas all in while their ideas defied ohms law 100% !!!

I'm about ready to throw a aftermarket controller on it. Grrrrrrr.

Anybody have a good used one (factory) from a wrecked truck or anything?

CATDiezel · Apr 14, 2016

JRLott said:
Might be a bit of a PITA, but try adding a dedicated ground. Worked on my dad's. Haven't had the problem on mine.

Tried that too.

The trailer brakes are supposed to (and I verified it) be grounded through the 7 pin. Tapped the ground on the trailer harness and went to the frame on the truck and I have 0.3 ohms....

I do read in one forum that if the brakes are not 100% adjusted this error can arise.

Heck I even hooked up to a brand new big tex trailer and WHAM. Half way down I-40. "Trailer disconnected"

I have a large amount of patience but this makes me want to punch the instrument cluster! Lol

JRLott · Apr 14, 2016

Gotcha. I'd be ready to break things too. Friggin computer is smarter than you. Meaning you shouldn't trust your eyes. Kidding. I know absolutely nothing else to try. Dad had to run a separate ground. As in not through the connector. No clue why that fixed his issue when, as you said, There is one in there already.

CATDiezel · Apr 15, 2016

I'm really just mad at myself because this has been ongoing since the truck was new on mine.

Notneb · Apr 15, 2016

Same problem on my '12, but the one on my '15 works fine. IMO it's a crappy option that ford dropped the ball on. If I towed more with my '15 I would get rid of the stocker and go aftermarket. At least with an aftermarket unit you can just return it for a refund/new unit if it sucks, whereas with your stocker you get to deal with Ford tech's...

Jomax · Apr 15, 2016

Knock on wood, I've never had an issue. Towing 10+ different trailers.

I'd try changing the plug on the bumper, they're cheap enough
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CATDiezel · Apr 15, 2016

The odd part is I drove the truck this morning. Didn't change ANYTHING. everything functions correctly and it said

"TRAILER CONNECTED" lol.... whatever. I'm beginning to think the problem is in the integrated controller.

Jomax, I checked every pin and everything on the plug on the bumper. I do have a new one for my work Truck that's identical and tested it with my personal one. All is the same. But I may do just that here in a few minutes just in spite.

sledhead_24_7 · Apr 15, 2016

Here is a portion from a PM I had on Ford Truck Enthusiasts forum. Regarding the TSB on the 15 MY trailer brake controls. Might be helpful, I know it fixed my issues.

truckman1974 · Apr 18, 2016

Did you ever figure this out? My 12 did the same thing.....except as I was driving down the interstate it would magically say "trailer connected". Even when I would manually apply the brakes using the trailer controller on the dash, it would still apply the brake at the trailer back there......so I'm wondering if everything is really working properly but the dash is saying trailer disconnected....... I don't know. It seemed to be working. It's just aggravating. If we could find a solution (and not have to replace it with aftermarket) that would be great.

CATDiezel · Apr 18, 2016

No. I have NOT figured anything out yet. I'm afraid I'm going to just replace the module too see what happens. Cheapest I have found a OEM is $99. Still not happy about that. Towed 27,000 gvw last Friday and it got very annoying. I even spliced into the wiring with the trailer connected and pin tested everything to ground with a $5,000 annually calibrated fluke process calibrator (if that makes it more valuable) lol...

All was good on the pin test.

truckman1974 · Apr 19, 2016

I have to believe that the plug and pin assembly are in perfect working order..... We'll see though. Last time I towed, and would accidentally veer off to the left side of the lane on the interstate and hit those little bumps on the side (divets in the road that indicate to you when you're getting close to the edge) it would vibrate something back there and "trailer connected" would appear and it wouldn't say disconnected again for the rest of my trip. It was a 800 mile trip and each time I would stop for fuel, I would try that again as I got back on the interstate and boom....it would fix it every time. It's weird......... I've tried spraying WD-40 in the socket, putting bulb grease, etc..... Whatever, I guess. I will play with it a little later before I tow next time and see what it does. Like I mentioned to someone else though.....the lights and brakes still worked fine on the trailer, it just showed as disconnected for some reason. Who knows....

Let us know if it fixes it when you replace the module. That's a $99 "fix" that may or may not work, but let us know.....if it works for you then I guess I will try that too. Is it hard to change?

TyCorr · Apr 19, 2016

Hmmmm....interesting. My dad had an 11 and never said anything. His 15 he asked me about after the one day we were rolling about 75mph on the highway and my dmax made an annoying sound when it lost connectivity with the trailer. He asked what it was and i told him. I stopped, got out, jiggled the wires going into the trailer 7 pin and sprayed silicone into the truck side. Done. Did the same with his. And he never brought it up again.

Does the trailer ground through the hitch connection at all too?

truckman1974 · Apr 19, 2016

TyCorr said:
Does the trailer ground through the hitch connection at all too?

I'm not sure. I read on another thread that if you have a stainless ball (which I have a stainless hitch and ball) that it could cause a problem with grounding. They mentioned that if you do have a stainless setup, you should try to ground the trailer through the 7 pin connector to see if that fixes it. I'm honestly not sure how to know where/how the trailer grounds but I will look into it when I get back home.

TyCorr · Apr 19, 2016

Well it used to happen through the hitch but the 7 pins do through the plug or you wouldn't be able to plug them in and get lights uncoupled.

With ford id not rule anything out. Insufficient grounding in between the dash brake module and the trailer giving it a no ground situation.

Were it me, id be looking at the harness from the controller to the chassis.