Brake controller problem

[Garypowell]

Warming up the truck yesterday the "service brake controller" message came on my DIC. 2008 Chevy 2500 Diesel. I had never seen this message before.

Finished the tear down and when I hooked up the trailer to the truck.....the truck did not know the trailer was back there....i.e. no brakes.

The controller is OEM and it would register the "strength" numbers (can't think of exactly what it is called) while I pushed the button up and down but would not activate the brakes.

Pulled the fuse and put it back in again......everything worked fine.

Pulled down to Richmond, VA and after unhooking the RV pigtail went through rehooking it up. Again the brake controller went dumb. Pulled the fuse again and it came back to life again.

On line it mainly says "loose wire" but I am curious if anyone else has had this problem and what you eventually found to be the cause?

Thanks,

 

[danemayer]

I'd check the connections where the trailer plugs in to the truck. A loose pin connection would be equivalent to loose wire and seems more likely. When disconnecting, if you don't pull the plug straight out, you could bend the contacts causing a loose connection.

 

[Bones]

I'd check the connections where the trailer plugs in to the truck. A loose pin connection would be equivalent to loose wire and seems more likely. When disconnecting, if you don't pull the plug straight out, you could bend the contacts causing a loose connection.

Ohm your brakes to ground to make sure they have resistance. If one of the magnets shorted out you will have no resistance and you truck will think there is a short and no trailer. Also check the connections of the pigtail as well

 

[Bob&Patty]

Gary, call the dealer you use. There were some issues early on with 2008 OEM brake controllers. They should be able to pull up service bulletins for you. You will need the VIN#. They may apply to your truck...maybe not.

 

[Garypowell]

When I first posted this it was raining in Richmond, VA. When it stopped and I got outside I dove under the truck. I found the connector that was hooked to the bulkhead pass through connect to be ajar. On top of that part of the harness that held the wire in place had popped off. And there was water dripping from the assembly. I was excited....but no ultimate joy as once I took it all apart, dried it out, and WD-40'd it.....there was still spotty operation.

It seems once I have a connection it continues to work. It does not turn off and on as I go down the road. My guess is there must be some "check" circuit and once it passes it lets it keep working with no interruption.

So once it was working I hooked up and am now in Florence, SC. We are just staying the night and not unhooking....so I'll leave it connected.

We'll be home on Saturday (spending two days in Gainesville, FL seeing customers. Once home the RV is going into storage for probably until 2016 so I'll have lots of time to work on this. I will probably buy a new bulkhead connector and the connector that hooks to that. It seems the wires just pull out once the harness is released. My guess is since it has been cracked open and getting wet it was just a problem waiting to happen. Once I have the new plugs I can renew everything and hope the problem will go away. At home I can also trace the wire bundle better and possible see some other problem.

And as Bob suggested I will call the dealership once I get home.

Thanks all,

 

[Boca_Shuffles]

I had the same problem on my 2008 GMC. I ultimately replaced the controller and connectors at the dealer for about $250
Your controller is near the dual wheels on the drivers side. It's on the inside of the frame and is about the size of a thick iPad. Some engineer decided that putting electronics next to the wheels was a smart thing to do.

The unit is held on by three bolt that hook on to the frame. You can loosen the bolts and slide it off. No need to take the bolts out.

The is a latch on the cable to lock it into the controller. Lift this to separate the connectors. The problem is corrosion on these pins. You can clean these a bit with an old tooth brush.

If you still have problems after cleaning both parts, you may have to have the dealer replace the controller and solder new connectors on the cables.