Trailer brake not working

[turbopilot]

I have given up on Ford. It seems they have a hardware problem but are probably holding back on replacing all the brake controllers because of the chip shortage.

I installed the Tekonsha 90195 P3 Electronic Brake Control in my PowerBoost. This is an excellent controller with many more features than the Ford brake controller, but more importantly it works.

I took the advice of another poster and installed this controller independent of Ford systems. The controller is powered by the Airstream trailer I am towing. Only link to the F-150 is the brake light sense lead. I installed a new, watertight umbilical plug and cord between the trailer and the truck. Nothing going through the 7 pin plug.

For an $80,000 truck it is worth it to eat $139 to have a better, more reliable trailer brake controller.

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[tderouchie]

I have given up on Ford. It seems they have a hardware problem but are probably holding back on replacing all the brake controllers because of the chip shortage.

I installed the Tekonsha 90195 P3 Electronic Brake Control in my PowerBoost. This is an excellent controller with many more features than the Ford brake controller, but more importantly it works.

I took the advice of another poster and installed this controller independent of Ford systems. The controller is powered by the Airstream trailer I am towing. Only link to the F-150 is the brake light sense lead. I installed a new, watertight umbilical plug and cord between the trailer and the truck. Nothing going through the 7 pin plug.

For an $80,000 truck it is worth it to eat $139 to have a better, more reliable trailer brake controller.

Im curious on how you wired this. Any chance of drawing a quick diagram?

 

[turbopilot]

Im curious on how you wired this. Any chance of drawing a quick diagram?

Only 4 leads: +12v, Ground, Brake light sense and power to the brakes. I brought +12v, ground and power to the brakes back to driver's seat of the F-150 from the trailer. I tapped the brake light circuit at the rear brake light on the F-150 and brought that lead back with the 3 leads above. Problem with the 7 pin brake lead is that it is combined with turn signal which confuses the brake controller with turn signal or flashers on.

 

[tderouchie]

Only 4 leads: +12v, Ground, Brake light sense and power to the brakes. I brought +12v, ground and power to the brakes back to driver's seat of the F-150 from the trailer. I tapped the brake light circuit at the rear brake light on the F-150 and brought that lead back with the 3 leads above. Problem with the 7 pin brake lead is that it is combined with turn signal which confuses the brake controller with turn signal or flashers on.

Thank you. Good to know. If my problems persist when I take out my camper, I will be going this route. We have a 5th wheel, so I installed a 7pin in the box. This will simply my wiring a bit. I ordered a 2022MY but canceled it last week due to fears of having the same issue as our 2021

 

[turbopilot]

Thank you. Good to know. If my problems persist when I take out my camper, I will be going this route. We have a 5th wheel, so I installed a 7pin in the box. This will simply my wiring a bit. I ordered a 2022MY but canceled it last week due to fears of having the same issue as our 2021

Also I set up the wiring in the trailer to simply swap the power to the electric brakes between the F-150 controller and the Tekonsha controller in case I want to use the F-150 controller in the future. So both controllers are installed and available for use by simply swapping one wire between controllers.

 

[tmdaley]

Turbopilot: thanks for the update on your fix. Since you are still using the original 7-pin, that does rule out the 'bad connector'.

 

[turbopilot]

Turbopilot: thanks for the update on your fix. Since you are still using the original 7-pin, that does rule out the 'bad connector'.

I am not using the original 7-pin. I fabricated a custom 3 pin connector between the trailer and the F-150. The only connection to the F-150 from the Tekonsha controller is the brake light sense connection. So in essence I have two independent trailer brake controllers that can be toggled at the trailer to select which controller actually activates the trailer's electric brakes.

Simple fix for $139 and nothing is lost since either controller can be used if you pull different trailers. Though based on my early experience with the Tekonsha not sure why anyone would want to use the Ford controller when and if it is ever fixed.

 

[tmdaley]

Aren't you using the 7-pin for lights?

 

[turbopilot]

Aren't you using the 7-pin for lights?

Yes, 7 pin connector is hooked up, the only change is the brake wire coming from the 7 pin connector into the trailer is disconnected from the electric brakes in the trailer. Instead the power to the brakes is switched over in the trailer to the Takonsha controller electric brake output. So both the Ford controller and the Takonsha controller are alive and active when towing but only the controller hooked up to the brakes controls trailer braking.

 

[rpeterslll]

Ford replaced my brake module last November after a case was opened about this issue and Ford engineers inspected my truck. They sent my dealer a new Brake module to install and I have now updated to the latest TRM software. My new module information is below. I have not had a chance to test it as it’s been winter and my trailer is in storage so I don’t know if the problem is fixed yet for me. I’ll know end of April.

 

[tmdaley]

Yes, nice fix. Since the lights work, the 7-pin connection is not a problem. As you said, you have isolated the problem to the Ford Controller (software?), and had to fix it yourself.

 

[tmdaley]

Yes, nice fix. Since the lights work, the 7-pin connection is not a problem. As you said, you have isolated the problem to the Ford Controller software?), and had to fix it yourself.

 

[tmdaley]

Rob - was your brake problem intermittent or just not working all the time? I wonder if my 2021 has the same controller and software.

 

[turbopilot]

Yes, nice fix. Since the lights work, the 7-pin connection is not a problem. As you said, you have isolated the problem to the Ford Controller software?), and had to fix it yourself.

Since I bypassed the 7 pin connector for trailer braking I can't rule out a 7 pin problem but all the lights on the 7 pin connector work fine. In time Ford will fix the issue, I guess, but for now just having something that works and is not complicated by software revisions/updates is worth $139.

 

[rpeterslll]

Rob - was your brake problem intermittent or just not working all the time? I wonder if my 2021 has the same controller and software.

it was intermittent. It would work for the start of a trip but at some point stop working. They didn’t say specifically what was done to address it, just just sent this brake controller and heard nothing more about it.

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