Trailer Brake System Fault

[iceman77]

I stopped at gas station last night to refill the truck and when restarted this error message started popping up every 5 seconds or so and kept continuing popping up for the next 4 hours of my long drive!

Anyone seen this issue before ? Its a brand new 2022 F-150 PowerBoost FX4 with MaxTow package. No trailer attached ever since the truck was bought. No DTC from the trailer module neither.

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[El Amigo]

same error encountered on my 2021 F150 Limited last night. Never connected any trailer since delivered.

 

[iceman77]

Its gone this morning! No error, no DTCs. I will keep an eye on this and report back here if anything changes

 

[Ford Motor Company]

I stopped at gas station last night to refill the truck and when restarted this error message started popping up every 5 seconds or so and kept continuing popping up for the next 4 hours of my long drive!

Anyone seen this issue before ? Its a brand new 2022 F-150 PowerBoost FX4 with MaxTow package. No trailer attached ever since the truck was bought. No DTC from the trailer module neither.

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Hello, Pete!
Send us a private message with your VIN and the name and location of your local Ford dealer.
I’d be happy to see what I can do to assist with this "trailer brake system fault" message on your F-150. Thanks!

 

[Ford Motor Company]

same error encountered on my 2021 F150 Limited last night. Never connected any trailer since delivered.

Good morning! Could you please send us a private message with your VIN and dealership information? I would like to look into this error concern for you on my end. Thanks!

 

[Laser Man]

Same issue encountered here. I checked Fuse #91 and it was fine. The fault went away after around 15 minutes of fiddling on my driveway. No trailer attached at the time.

Now the real problem: My trailer brakes keep disconnecting (Airstream 25') in transit. They will not reconnect, even if I pull the 7-way and reseat it. Turning the truck on/off doesn't restore the brakes. If I come back a few hours later, the brakes will reconnect. The only way to know they're disconnected (other than not being able to slow down) is by squeezing the manual brake controller lever at which point I get a "No trailer connected" error. The tail lights, blinkers, brake lights, etc. continue to work fine. I've already had the brakes disconnect on a long downgrade (CA, Altamont Pass) and it wasn't fun. I've heard this is a real safety fault with the 2021/2022 trucks. Any ideas? I purchased this 2022 Powerboost brand new this month for towing. Now I'm grounded, afraid to leave home with the trailer. Hoping to get a response from the Ford Rep as seen above in this thread.

Thanks.

 

[discothan]

Same issue encountered here. I checked Fuse #91 and it was fine. The fault went away after around 15 minutes of fiddling on my driveway. No trailer attached at the time.

Now the real problem: My trailer brakes keep disconnecting (Airstream 25') in transit. They will not reconnect, even if I pull the 7-way and reseat it. Turning the truck on/off doesn't restore the brakes. If I come back a few hours later, the brakes will reconnect. The only way to know they're disconnected (other than not being able to slow down) is by squeezing the manual brake controller lever at which point I get a "No trailer connected" error. The tail lights, blinkers, brake lights, etc. continue to work fine. I've already had the brakes disconnect on a long downgrade (CA, Altamont Pass) and it wasn't fun. I've heard this is a real safety fault with the 2021/2022 trucks. Any ideas? I purchased this 2022 Powerboost brand new this month for towing. Now I'm grounded, afraid to leave home with the trailer. Hoping to get a response from the Ford Rep as seen above in this thread.

Thanks.

Maybe @Ford Motor Company can help you too.

 

[Ed21]

There are about 20 pages on this problem in the towing and trailering forum. I would post the thread but I can't seam to find any instructions on how to do it.

 

[JEB]

There are about 20 pages on this problem in the towing and trailering forum. I would post the thread but I can't seam to find any instructions on how to do it.

There are a few threads on this. Here is one of the longer ones: https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/trailer-brake-not-working.3039/page-19

Last I heard Ford doesn’t have a fix for the random disconnects. There is a TSB coming out soon that addresses a slightly different issue that dealers are hoping will include a fix for the disconnects as well. I’m not optimistic.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Same issue encountered here. I checked Fuse #91 and it was fine. The fault went away after around 15 minutes of fiddling on my driveway. No trailer attached at the time.

Now the real problem: My trailer brakes keep disconnecting (Airstream 25') in transit. They will not reconnect, even if I pull the 7-way and reseat it. Turning the truck on/off doesn't restore the brakes. If I come back a few hours later, the brakes will reconnect. The only way to know they're disconnected (other than not being able to slow down) is by squeezing the manual brake controller lever at which point I get a "No trailer connected" error. The tail lights, blinkers, brake lights, etc. continue to work fine. I've already had the brakes disconnect on a long downgrade (CA, Altamont Pass) and it wasn't fun. I've heard this is a real safety fault with the 2021/2022 trucks. Any ideas? I purchased this 2022 Powerboost brand new this month for towing. Now I'm grounded, afraid to leave home with the trailer. Hoping to get a response from the Ford Rep as seen above in this thread.

Thanks.

Hey, Laser Man! I would like to look into this trailer brakes issue you’re experiencing with your F150. Could you please send over a private message with your VIN and the name/location of your local Ford dealer?

 

[Laser Man]

So, after providing a lot of information, the contact from "Ford Motor Company" resulted in them asking "Have you taken your truck to the local dealer?" Here's my answer:

"No, I have not. The fact that this has been a documented problem with no resolution posted by anyone for the last 6 months leads me to doubt whether my local dealership will even have a clue. I'd rather not go through changing the trailer brake controller, etc. that other owners have been put through with no correction of the problem. I'll look forward to hearing that this problem is acknowledged with a TSB for its correction before I'll hand off my truck. Thanks for your consideration."

 

[Ed21]

Hey, Laser Man! I would like to look into this trailer brakes issue you’re experiencing with your F150. Could you please send over a private message with your VIN and the name/location of your local Ford dealer?

Lol

 

[quantum82]

Same issue encountered here. I checked Fuse #91 and it was fine. The fault went away after around 15 minutes of fiddling on my driveway. No trailer attached at the time.

Now the real problem: My trailer brakes keep disconnecting (Airstream 25') in transit. They will not reconnect, even if I pull the 7-way and reseat it. Turning the truck on/off doesn't restore the brakes. If I come back a few hours later, the brakes will reconnect. The only way to know they're disconnected (other than not being able to slow down) is by squeezing the manual brake controller lever at which point I get a "No trailer connected" error. The tail lights, blinkers, brake lights, etc. continue to work fine. I've already had the brakes disconnect on a long downgrade (CA, Altamont Pass) and it wasn't fun. I've heard this is a real safety fault with the 2021/2022 trucks. Any ideas? I purchased this 2022 Powerboost brand new this month for towing. Now I'm grounded, afraid to leave home with the trailer. Hoping to get a response from the Ford Rep as seen above in this thread.

Thanks.

I have the same problem. I had the fault show up randomly while on vacation last week. Truck was parked in the hot sun for a few hours. Every 5s the dumb message popped up. I was so ticked, we were getting ready to leave for home (22 hour drive) and this message just kept popping up. I jiggled some wires and pulled fuse 42 and that seemed to clear it.

I also lost my trailer brakes 2x, once without notice, the second time it happened after I did the "reset" on the radio while driving. The first time I checked all my wiring, thinking it was a trailer issue (in a South Carolina rest area). I pulled the emergency breakaway cable and tested the voltage, it was just fine. Then I knew it was a truck issue. Once I restarted the truck, the controller worked fine.

The 2nd time, I had reset my radio b/c the GPS was not working on the NAV screen and it said that the trailer was disconnected. I could see the lights working in my mirror, but no brakes. I unplugged the 7-pin at a rest area, but I couldn't get the truck to recognize the trailer. I ended up pulling fuse 42 again to reset the brake module and then everything worked. So frustrating.

 

[discothan]

Just a follow up, I was also getting this error after the dealer swapped out my side mirrors for trailer tow mirrors with BLIS/360 cameras. I took the TSB 21-2249 document to them and they performed reflash and recalibration and the error has gone away. I've driven it over 2000 miles since and no error for me.

I've attached the TSB for review.

 

[b4hand]

I don't get why these messages just repeat. I had that happen to me with parking brake error that turned out to be a lose connector. The system literally spammed messages at me multiple times over and over for like 3 hours. How does that make any sense?

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